Cynthia Laird reports for the Bay Area Reporter: “Both women have been in their positions on the California Supreme Court for less than a month, but Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero and Associate Justice Kelli Evans received standing ovations at the recent dinner of the Alameda-Contra Costa Trial Lawyers Association.”
Evans “was honored by the trial lawyers as one of two judges of the year” and Guerrero “delivered the evening’s keynote address.”
In an interview, “Evans said that her first couple of weeks on the high court ha[ve] been ‘tremendous.’ ‘I’ve been learning about the court from an insider perspective,’ she said, adding that she heard her first oral argument her first week. She said her judicial colleagues have been welcoming and are of the ‘highest caliber.’ ”
In her speech, “Guerrero praised [her predecessor as chief justice.] ‘Tani Cantil-Sakauye was the first person of color to serve as chief justice,’ Guerrero said, adding that she had a ‘constant focus’ on ensuring access to justice. ‘She never lost that focus,’ Guerrero added.”
The article identifies Evans as “the first queer Black woman on the court” and Guerrero as “[t]he state’s first Latina chief justice.”