Governor Gavin Newsom has nominated two gay men to serve on the state's appellate courts and moved to elevate a lesbian appeal court justice to preside over her bench. Should they be confirmed as expected, it would bring the number of known LGBTQ appellate justices in the state to seven, two of whom are now serving in presiding justice positions.
In 2021, Newsom had tapped Laurie M. Earl for a vacancy on the Third District Court of Appeal. The former Sacramento County Superior Court judge was confirmed in January 2022 to become her appellate court's first LGBTQ member.
Now Newsom has nominated Earl to serve as its presiding justice. She would succeed retired presiding justice Vance W. Raye if confirmed later this spring.
Since 2018 gay San Francisco resident James M. Humes has been the administrative presiding justice of the First Appellate District. In 2014, Humes had become the presiding justice of the First District Court of Appeal's Division One just two years after becoming the state's first out member of an appellate court.
Last November, lesbian San Francisco resident Therese Stewart won confirmation to become presiding justice of the First District Court of Appeal's Division Two. In 2014, Stewart became the first out female appellate court justice in the state.
Also on Thursday Newsom nominated his deputy judicial appointments secretary, Gonzalo Martinez, to serve as an associate justice of the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Seven. If confirmed, the Alameda County resident would fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Laurie D. Zelon.
And Newsom also nominated San Diego Superior Court Judge David Rubin to serve as an associate justice of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One. Rubin would fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Cynthia G. Aaron if he is confirmed.
Martinez and Rubin would both double out representation in their respective appellate districts. The other current out appeals court justice serves in the Fourth appellate district.
Rubin, who earned his law degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law, has served on his superior court bench since 2007. Before his judicial appointment he had worked as a deputy district attorney at the San Diego County District Attorney's Office since 1987.
Martinez, a graduate of Harvard Law School, has worked for Newsom since 2019 after spending two years as a deputy solicitor general in the California Attorney General's Office. He was also a partner in the Appellate and Supreme Court Practice Group at Squire Patton Boggs from 2007 to 2017 and in 2019.
Before becoming a judge, Earl had been a senior assistant inspector general at the California Office of Inspector General from 2004 to 2005 and a deputy district attorney at the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office from 1995 to 2004. She graduated from the Lincoln Law School of Sacramento.
The State Bar's Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation will review all three nominees. They will each stand for confirmation before the Commission on Judicial Appointments, which consists of California Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, Attorney General Rob Bonta and the senior presiding justice of their respective appellate court.
Their confirmation hearing dates should be announced in early April. The trio of appeals court nominees would each earn $264,542 if confirmed.
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