Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye (born October 19, 1959), a Filipino-American jurist, is the 28th Chief Justice of California. Nominated by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for California's highest judicial office on July 22, 2010, and retained in office by California voters on November 2, 2010, she was sworn in on January 3, 2011. Prior to her current appointment, Cantil-Sakauye had served in judicial offices on California's appellate and trial courts. She is the first Asian-Filipino American and the second woman to serve as California’s chief justice.
Early life and education
Born in Sacramento, California, as Tani Gorre Cantil, she was raised in the Land Park neighborhood of Sacramento and earned her high school diploma from C. K. McClatchy High School in 1977, her A.A. from Sacramento City College in 1978, her B.A. from the University of California, Davis in 1980, and her J.D. from UC Davis School of Law in 1984. Cantil-Sakauye is technically of mixed descent. Her Hawaii-born father, Clarence, was of Filipino and Portuguese ancestry, while her mother, Mary Gorre, was Filipino.
Legal career
Upon graduation from law school in 1984, Cantil was unable to find a job in law, so she became a blackjack dealer in Reno, Nevada. At the time the Sacramento County Public Defender's Office had refused to hire her because of her age. Later that same year, Deputy District Attorney Russell Hom (a future Sacramento County Superior Court Judge) recruited Cantil to come to the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office.
In 1988, Cantil left the District Attorney's office to become a Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary to Governor George Deukmejian. The next year, Deukmejian appointed Cantil as a Deputy Legislative Secretary.
Judicial career
In 1990, Deukmejian appointed her as a Judge of the Sacramento Municipal Court. She left the Municipal Court in 1997 when Governor Pete Wilson appointed her as a judge of the Sacramento County Superior Court. She served there until 2005, when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed her as an Associate Justice of the California Third District Court of Appeal.
On July 21, 2010, Schwarzenegger nominated Cantil-Sakauye, who is also a Republican, to succeed retiring Chief Justice of California Ronald M. George. On August 25, 2010, the three-member California Commission on Judicial Appointments unanimously approved her nomination as the next chief justice of California. The voters in the November 2010 general elections subsequently retained her for a 12-year term as Chief Justice.
During her time as an appeals court justice, Cantil-Sakauye served as a member of the Judicial Council, where she was vice chair of the Rules and Projects Committee, chair of the Advisory Committee on Financial Accountability and Efficiency for the Judicial Branch, co-chair of the Judicial Recruitment and Retention Working Group, and a member of the California Commission on Impartial Courts. She has served as President of the Anthony M. Kennedy American Inns of Court, an organization promoting civility, ethics, and professionalism in the practice of law. Beginning in 2007, she also served as a Special Master, selected by the Supreme Court to hear disciplinary proceedings before the Commission on Judicial Performance.
Personal life
In 1994 she married Mark Sakauye, a retired Sacramento Police Department Lieutenant. Cantil-Sakauye and Sakauye have two daughters.
References
External links
- Official Biography
- McCarthy, Nancy (December 2010). "Still awed by the judicial branch’s top job, the new chief justice digs in". California Bar Journal. Retrieved 2010-12-01.Â