A Spotlight on SCBA Affiliates - Sacramento County Bar Association

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After 20 years on the bench, 3rd District Court of Appeal, Associate Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to serve as Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, replacing the retiring Ronald M. George. On February 10, 2011, over 900 of the new Chief Justice’s family, friends, colleagues and fans gathered to celebrate her Investiture as Chief Justice. Sitting among those attending the largest event in Sacramento County Bar Association history, I marveled at how many showed up to support one of their own. In an earnest, lyric tone, the Chief Justice detailed her first 39 days. Her easy warmth met the admiration of the crowd. The script was her telling synopsis of how a jurist acclimates to the job of Chief Justice. Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye is the quintessential native Sacramentan. Born in Sacramento, she attended McClatchy 24 SACRAMENTO LAWYER JULY/AUGUST 2011 The Chief Justice A Chat With The New Chief Justice By Helene Friedman Photography by Charr Crail High School, Sacramento City College, UC Davis and UC Davis King Hall School of Law. She served at the Sacramento District Attorney’s Office, on the senior staff in Governor George Deukmejian’s office, on the Sacramento Superior Court, and on the Third District Court of Appeal. I met with her for this interview on Day 47 of her being California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye speaking at her February 2011 Investiture Celebration in Sacramento. Chief Justice at the Natomas location of the Administrative Office of the Courts (“AOC”). Having arranged the meeting through her various ‘handlers’ (their word), I witnessed that not only is Tani Cantil-Sakauye the Chief Justice, but a grand overseer, managing a conglomerate of jurists, administrators and committees. Almost immediately, we segued into how she is addressing the fiscal constraints all California government branches now face. She conceded she has been working nearly 24/7 on where to apply the deep budget cuts, and has engaged in
frank discourse on this issue with the Governor and Senate President Pro Tem Darryl Steinberg (a classmate from UCD King Hall School of Law,’84). Moreover, the Chief Justice said that the decision where to apply budget cuts in the judicial branch of government is an issue discussed and voted on by the Judicial Council. Court Governance Frankly, I had a vague understanding of the structure and purpose of AOC and its relationship to Judicial Council. 1 The Chief Justice said that few understand the current court structure, in large part because it is only 14 years young compared to the prior court structure, which was over 160 years old. She animatedly unraveled the current structure of the AOC enacted by the passage of the Lockyer- Isenberg Trial Court Funding Act of 1997, Cal. Gov’t. Code § 77200 et seq., and opined that few are familiar with how the courts are governed. 2 Sensing that this interview might be an educational opportunity, she launched into the statewide court compo- The Chief Justice sition, essentially outlining the pyramid structure of California’s courts’ governance. Basically, the Judicial Council is the policymaking body of the courts, made up of Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye being administered the oath of office by Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal Judge Consuelo M. Callahan at the Sacramento Investiture Celebration. judges appointed by the Chief Justice, attorneys appointed by the State Bar Board of Governors, members from each legislative house, and advisory members, including court executives or administrators and the president of the California Judges Association. The AOC is the staff agency to the Judicial Council. 3 According to the Chief Justice, over 22 advisory committees 4 made up of volunteer attorneys, judges and court personnel feed information, public opinions and proposals to the Judicial Council on a variety of topics. These topics range from access and fairness to appellate practices, criminal jury instructions to information technology and more. The Judicial Council committees vet proposals on these topics assessing whether and how to institute them; the Council also seeks further public comment. The Chief Justice knew the process intimately having served on Judicial Council committees “forever.” She JULY/AUGUST 2011 SACRAMENTO LAWYER 25
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A Spotlight on SCBA Affiliates - Sacramento County Bar Association

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