Governor Gavin Newsom today announced he has chosen his judicial appointments secretary, Martin Jenkins, to serve on the Supreme

Court. (Video of Newsom’s announcement and a statement by Jenkins here.) If, as is probable, his appointment is confirmed by the three-member Commission on Judicial Appointments, Jenkins will become the first openly gay justice and the third African-American man to ever serve on the court.
And, although we have not researched this thoroughly, Jenkins will also apparently be the first former professional athlete to serve on the court. He had a brief career as a cornerback for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks before enrolling at the University of San Francisco’s law school.
Jenkins will fill the vacancy created when Justice Ming Chin left the court at the end of August, a retirement Chin announced almost nine months ago.
In his statement following the Governor’s announcement, Jenkins spoke movingly about the importance of his milestone appointment. “There’s significant responsibility that goes with being [the] first” openly gay Supreme Court justice, he said. And he addressed “some young person who may be out there today who is struggling with their identity.” Jenkins said, “my identity has been, as a gay man, perhaps the greatest challenge of my life, and it has not been easy.” But, he continued, “I am not here in spite of the struggle, I am here because of the struggle.” He also advised, “living a life of authenticity is the greatest gift you can give yourself.”
Jenkins is the second judicial appointments secretary in a row to be appointed to the Supreme Court. Although having a different title and a job with a broader portfolio, Justice Joshua Groban oversaw judicial appointments for then-Governor Jerry Brown before Brown named Groban to the court almost two years ago.
He is now serving in the executive branch, but Jenkins is no stranger to the bench. Unlike Governor Brown’s four current appointees to the court, Jenkins has been a judge, and in fact has already had an extensive judicial career. Governor Deukmejian appointed Jenkins to the now-defunct municipal court in 1989 and Governor Wilson elevated him to the superior court in 1992. President Clinton then named Jenkins a federal district court judge in 1997, where he served until 2008, when Governor Schwarzenegger appointed him to the First District Court of Appeal.
Jenkins has already served on the Supreme Court, albeit as a pro tem, including sitting on one case just before joining Governor Newsom’s staff in early 2019.
Jenkins’s name was mentioned when Governor Brown was looking to replace Justice Joyce Kennard after she retired six years ago. (Here and here.) That appointment went instead to Justice Leondra Kruger.
If the Commissions on Judicial Nominees Evaluation and on Judicial Appointments act quickly enough, Jenkins might be confirmed in time to sit on the court’s November calendar, which will take place the first week of that month and should be announced by next week.
Once (probably) confirmed, Justice Jenkins will face the voters in two years, where the question is a simple “yes” or “no” whether to keep the justice in office; there are no contested elections for appellate judges in California. It will be a crowded ballot; Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and Justices Goodwin Liu and Groban are expected to join Jenkins as 2022 election candidates. (See here.)
Related coverage:
Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Maura Dolan and Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times.
Hannah Wiley in the Sacramento Bee.
Malcolm Maclachlan in the Daily Journal.
Alaina Lancaster in The Recorder.