ACR 47 Assembly Concurrent Resolution

BILL NUMBER: ACR 47	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 25, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Davis
    (   Coauthors:   Assembly Members 
 Achadjian,   Alejo,   Allen,  
Ammiano,   Atkins,   Beall,   Bill
Berryhill,   Block,   Blumenfield,  
Bonilla,   Bradford,   Brownley,  
Buchanan,   Butler,   Charles Calderon,  
Campos,   Carter,   Chesbro,   Conway,
  Cook,   Dickinson,   Eng,  
Feuer,   Fletcher,   Fong,   Fuentes,
  Galgiani,   Garrick,   Gatto,  
Gordon,   Grove,   Hall,   Harkey, 
 Hayashi,   Roger Hernсndez,   Hill,  
Huber,   Hueso,  Huffman,   Jones, 
 Lara,   Logue,   Bonnie Lowenthal,  
Ma,   Mendoza,   Miller,   Mitchell, 
 Monning,   Morrell,   Nestande,  
Nielsen,   Pan,   Perea,   John A. Pщrez,
  V. Manuel Pщrez,   Portantino,   Silva,
  Skinner,   Smyth,   Solorio,  
Swanson,   Torres,   Valadao,  
Wieckowski,   Williams,   and Yamada   )


                        APRIL 7, 2011

   Relative to the 50th anniversary of service by African American
justices in the California Courts.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 47, as amended, Davis. Courts: 50th anniversary of service by
African American justices.
   This measure would acknowledge the 50th anniversary of service by
African American justices in the California Courts, and would
encourage all Californians to share in statewide and local
celebrations throughout the year to recognize the contributions and
diversity of these and other judicial trailblazers. The bill would
also call upon the leadership of the judicial, legislative, and
executive branches of government, and the greater legal, educational,
and justice communities, to sponsor and participate in educational
and outreach activities that highlight the work of the justices of
the California Courts of Appeal and the California Supreme Court.
   Fiscal committee: no.



   WHEREAS, In 1961, Associate Justice Edwin L. Jefferson, a native
of Mississippi and a University of Southern California, Gould School
of Law graduate, became the first African American to serve on a
California Court of Appeal, where he served with distinction in the
Second Appellate District, Division Four, from 1961 to 1975; and
   WHEREAS, Edwin L. Jefferson was appointed to the Los Angeles
Municipal Court in 1941 by Governor Culbert Olson, further marking
the year 2011 as the 70th anniversary of the appointment of
California's first African American judge, and he served honorably in
that court until he was elevated to the Superior Court of Los
Angeles in 1949 by Governor Earl Warren; and
   WHEREAS, At his retirement in 1975, Justice Jefferson was still
the only African American appellate justice serving on the California
Courts of Appeal when Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., appointed
Justice Jefferson's brother, Bernard S. Jefferson, to succeed him;
and
   WHEREAS, Justice Jefferson opened the door for the historic
appointments of other judicial pioneers to the California Supreme
Court and Courts of Appeal, including Wiley W. Manuel, a graduate of
the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, who became
the first African American associate justice of the California
Supreme Court, serving with the utmost distinction from 1977 to 1981;
and
   WHEREAS, Associate Justice Clinton White, a graduate of the
University of California Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), became
the first African American to serve as a presiding justice of a
California Court of Appeal, heading the First Appellate District,
Division Three, from 1978 to 1995; and
   WHEREAS, Presiding Justice Arleigh Maddox Woods, a graduate of
Southwestern University School of Law, became the first African
American female justice to serve on a California Court of Appeal,
where she served in the Second Appellate District, Division Four,
from 1980 to 1995; and
   WHEREAS, On the occasion of the 50th anniversary year, the state
of California congratulates the 14 justices who have served on
appellate courts throughout the state--six of whom are currently
serving--and the three African American justices who have served on
the California Supreme Court, all having heard and decided landmark
legal cases and having set legal precedents that remain in force
today; and
   WHEREAS, The historic tenures of these justices include that of
Associate Justice John J. Miller, who has the distinct tribute of
having served as a member of the California State Legislature prior
to his appointment to the Court of Appeal, First Appellate District
in 1978 by Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., the same who currently
serves as Governor of the State of California--and where Justice
Miller served until 1985; and
   WHEREAS, Justice Miller, a graduate of Howard University School of
Law, served honorably in the California State Assembly from 1967 to
1978, representing the 17th Assembly District, later renumbered as
the 13th Assembly District, holding the leadership post of Assembly
Minority Leader from 1970 to 1971, and holding numerous standing
subcommittee and select committee leadership posts, including
judiciary, criminal justice, criminal procedure, ways and means,
governmental administration, local government, and resources and land
use, to name a few; and
   WHEREAS, In addition, while serving the Assembly, Assembly Member
Miller's outstanding contributions to the administration of justice
in California included his service as a member of the Judicial
Council of California from 1975 to 1978, where he supported the
causes of improving the administration of the courts and increasing
access to justice for all Californians; and
   WHEREAS, These men and women of distinction are among the
thousands of justices, judges, and subordinate judicial officers who
serve admirably each day in courts throughout the state of
California, whose service inspires the trust and confidence of
Californians from all walks of life, and who share a common goal of
ensuring that all persons have equal access to the courts and court
proceedings and programs; and
   WHEREAS, As a strategic goal of California's judicial branch, the
judicial branch community strives to understand and be responsive to
the needs of court users from diverse cultural backgrounds and will
work toward ensuring that the makeup of California's judicial branch
will reflect the diversity of the state's residents; now, therefore,
be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature joins all Californians in
acknowledging the occasion of this 50th anniversary historical
milestone and encourages all Californians to share in statewide and
local celebrations throughout the year to recognize the contributions
and diversity of these and other judicial trailblazers; and be it
further
   Resolved, That the Legislature calls upon the leadership of the
judicial, legislative, and executive branches of government, and the
greater legal, educational, and justice communities, including the
courts, bar associations, universities, law schools, legal education
pipeline programs, and legal aid providers, to sponsor and
participate in educational and outreach activities that highlight the
work of the justices of the California Courts of Appeal and the
California Supreme Court; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.