Patricia Guerrero confirmed as California’s next chief justice, will go before voters

California Supreme Court Justice Patricia Guerrero won confirmation Friday to serve as the court’s next chief justice, following a hearing in which fellow justices and other legal colleagues praised her as uniquely qualified to lead the state’s judicial branch.

The confirmation means Guerrero will appear on the November ballot statewide and, if approved by voters, will take over in January as the court’s first Latina chief justice.

“I’m honored to be living in a state where a little girl who grew up in the Imperial Valley and raised by immigrant parents from Mexico could grow up, follow her dreams and become the first Latina associate justice on the California Supreme Court,” she said in brief comments after her confirmation. “There has never been a Latino or a Latina to serve as chief justice until now. I am proud to be the first, and I look forward to the second, third and the fourth.”

Guerrero was nominated to the chief position by Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this month, after current Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye announced she would not be seeking a second term. Legal experts consider Guerrero a moderate who falls slightly to the center-left ideologically.

California Supreme Court Chief Justice nominee Patricia Guerrero speaks after her nomination was confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments in San Francisco.

(Eric Risberg / pool photo)

On Friday, Cantil-Sakauye voted to confirm Guerrero’s appointment to replace her. So did the two other members of the state’s Commission on Judicial Appointments: Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and presiding California Court of Appeals Justice Manuel Ramirez.

Cantil-Sakauye called the confirmation “preordained” and the hearing a “joyous” one, praising Guerrero as well qualified not only to lead the court, but also to serve as the top administrator of the judicial branch.

“Gov. Newsom has made an inspired choice,” Cantil-Sakauye said.

The Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation, a body that reviews judicial candidates, had found Guerrero to be “exceptionally well qualified” to take over as chief, which means it determined she “possesses qualities and attributes of remarkable or extraordinary superiority that enable her to perform the appellate judicial function with distinction.”

Speakers at Friday’s hearing, including a former law partner of Guerrero’s and fellow Associate Justice Martin Jenkins, sang Guerrero’s praises as well — focusing in large part on her leadership experience.

David L. Mulliken, a retired partner at Guerrero’s former firm Latham & Watkins, said the firm identified Guerrero early on as a “megastar” who had skills both as an attorney and as a manager, putting her on the “fast track” to leadership roles — which she assumed even as an associate.

“She had a great, great talent for all aspects of effective management. She effectively managed large teams in a collaborative and collegial way,” Mulliken said. “She was a consensus builder, she was compulsively organized, and she was a very, very effective and a forceful advocate for her positions — which perhaps comes as a surprise to people who see her as a kind, soft-spoken, humorous individual.”

Jenkins called Guerrero a “consummate and effective lawyer” with “a first-rate legal mind that allows her to unravel complex legal issues without sacrificing efficiency.”

He also called her “a gifted and talented and fluid writer, but extremely careful,” and said “her work ethic is simply unsurpassed.”

Guerrero, 50, will be the only official candidate listed for the chief position on the November ballot.

As chief justice, Guerrero would continue to serve as one of seven justices who decide cases. She would also be the court’s administrative leader and chair of the Judicial Council of California, which sets administrative policy for all state courts.

Newsom appointed Guerrero to the court as an associate justice in February, and she was confirmed in March.

Before that, Guerrero served on California’s 4th District Court of Appeal, overseeing cases in San Diego and the Imperial Valley. She attended UC Berkeley and Stanford Law School, and served as a federal prosecutor and a Superior Court judge in San Diego.

Guerrero lives in Coronado and is married with two teenage sons. The commission that vetted her noted in its report that her hobbies include “swimming, golfing, horseback riding, and snowboarding.”

The justice said she has “very big shoes to fill” replacing Cantil-Sakauye and will approach the job humbly, relying on her fellow justices and others in the judiciary to help her learn the ropes.

“I come in with realistic expectations, knowing that I have my work cut out for me and also knowing that I will give 100% plus,” she said.

Guerrero also thanked Newsom’s team for ensuring that the judiciary comprises judges with “a rich diversity of backgrounds and experiences” — including Alameda County Superior Court Judge Kelli Evans, who Newsom has said he will appoint to Guerrero’s associate justice seat once it becomes vacant in January.

Guerrero said Evans, who is Black and would be the court’s first openly lesbian justice, would come to see, as she did, that the state’s high court is “an amazing group of talented, committed justices who care deeply about the rule of law and serving the public.”