Arnold taps Fil-Am as chief of California SC

An American jurist of Filipino descent, Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye on Wednesday was nominated by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for chief justice of the California Supreme Court. If approved, the nomination of Associate Justice Cantil-Sakauye, daughter of a Filipina farm worker and a Filipino-Portuguese plantation worker, would make her the first Asian-American to hold the highest position in any state judiciary in the United States. “Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, has a distinguished history of public service and understands that the role of a justice is not to create law, but to independently and fairly interpret and administer the law," said Schwarzenegger in a press statement released from the state capitol in Sacramento, California. “She is a living example of the American Dream and when she is confirmed by the voters in November, Judge Cantil-Sakauye will become California’s first Filipina chief justice; adding to our High Court’s already rich diversity," the governor who is also a Hollywood action star added. Sacramento-based Cantil-Sakauye, 50, earned a juris doctorate from the University of California, a law degree from the Davis School of Law and an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Davis. Since 2005, Cantil-Sakauye has served as an associate justice for the Third District Court of Appeals in Sacramento. Previously, she was a superior court judge of the Sacramento County Superior Court from 1997 to 2004 and a municipal court judge pf the Sacramento County Municipal Court from 1990 to 1997. Cantil-Sakauye is a member of the California Judicial Council and of the Commission on Impartial Courts. She is the chair of the Judicial Branch Financial Accountability and Efficiency Advisory Committee, and president of the Anthony M. Kennedy Inn of Court. Currently one of only two women, and one of only two persons of color, in the Court of Appeal’s Third District, she was the first woman of Asian ethnicity to serve as judge in Sacramento County. She was then one of the youngest judges in the state at 31. In a statement, Cantil-Sakauye said it is “a privilege and a tremendous honor" to be nominated to lead the state’s judiciary. “I have had the distinct pleasure of being a municipal court judge, a superior court judge and an appellate court justice. Being nominated to serve on the highest court in California is a dream come true... As a jurist, woman and a Filipina, I am extremely grateful for the trust Governor Schwarzenegger has placed in me. I hope to show young people what they can achieve if they follow their dreams and reach for their full potential," she said in a statement. The governor’s nomination will still be submitted to the State Bar’s Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation and confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. Once confirmed by the commission, the nominee’s name will appear for voter approval on the Nov. 2 ballot, when California will hold its general election. A graduate of C.K. McClatchy High School, Cantil-Sakauye worked as a blackjack dealer in a casino during summers while at law school. She also worked as a waitress, according to the local news site Sacramento Bee. She is married to Sacramento Police Lieutenant Mark Sakauye, and has two daughters: Hana, 14, and Claire, 11. Before Cantil-Sakauye, the late Benjamin Menor, a native of Ilocos Norte, was the first Filipino-American to be appointed in a state’s highest judiciary as justice of the Hawaii State Supreme Court. —VS, GMANews.TV