BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SCR 38
Author: Price (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SUBJECT : Courts: 50th anniversary of service by
African American justices
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution acknowledges the 50th
anniversary of service by African American justices in the
California Courts, 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. This resolution also calls
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.
ANALYSIS : This resolution states the following:
1. 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.
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2. 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.
3. At his retirement in 1975, Justice Jefferson was still
the only African American appellate justice serving on a
California Court of Appeal when Governor Edmund G. Brown
Jr. appointed Justice Jefferson's brother, Bernard S.
Jefferson, to succeed him.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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
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in force today.
8. 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 current Governor of the State of
California--and where Justice Miller served until 1985.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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
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the diversity of the state's residents.
13. 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.
14.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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
RJG:kc 4/13/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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