Nation - California 1st Filipina-American nominated for chief justice Candidate has served quietly in several influential positions

By Paul Elias Associated Press Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger nominated a Sacramento appellate court judge Wednesday to serve as California's next chief justice. Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, 50, of the 3rd District Court of Appeal would become the first Filipina-American to lead the state's judiciary if confirmed by the three-member Commission on Judicial Appointments and by voters in November. The commission includes retiring Chief Justice Ronald George, Attorney General Jerry Brown and appellate Justice Joan Dempsey Klein. Cantil-Sakauye also will undergo a review by a State Bar of California commission that issues ratings for judicial nominees. Schwarzenegger plans to introduce the nominee Thursday at a news conference in Sacramento. Her confirmation would give the California Supreme Court a female majority for the first time in its history and leave the seven member Supreme Court with just one Democrat, Justice Carlos Moreno. "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," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. She would replace Chief Justice George, a moderate Republican who announced his retirement July 14 and will leave office Jan. 2. "It is a privilege and a tremendous honor to have the opportunity to serve as chief justice of the California Supreme Court," Cantil-Sakauye said in the statement from the governor's office. "I deeply respect the inspirational and visionary work of Chief Justice Ronald George and hope to build upon it." Cantil-Sakauye, a Sacramento native, is a Republican who graduated from the University of California, Davis School of Law. She was appointed to the appellate court in 2005 after serving 15 years as a judge in superior and municipal courts in Sacramento County. Though she is little known outside legal circles, Cantil-Sakauye has served quietly in influential positions. For the past two years, she sat alongside the chief justice on the Judicial Council, a 28-member board that controls the judiciary's annual budget and sets policy for the courts. Before becoming a judge at age 30 in 1990, she worked as Gov. George Deukmejian's deputy legal affairs secretary and as a deputy legislative secretary -- two powerful political posts. She was also a Sacramento County prosecutor for four years after graduating law school in 1984. As an appellate judge, Cantil-Sakauye wrote a 2007 decision siding with nurses that prohibited school staffers from administering insulin shots to students. She has served on several committees addressing domestic violence and was named a special master for the Commission on Judicial Performance, which investigates and disciplines judges. Cantil-Sakauye is married to a Sacramento police lieutenant and has two daughters, according to her official biography on the California courts' website. She is active in her Methodist church and is a Brownie and Girl Scout leader. Published: Fri, Jul 23, 2010

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