Amended
IN
Senate
May 11, 2011
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Amended
IN
Assembly
April 25, 2011
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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2011–2012 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Concurrent Resolution
No. 47
Introduced by
Assembly Member
Davis
(Coauthor(s):
Assembly Member
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 Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jones, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Pan, Perea, John A. Pérez, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada)
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April 07, 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 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.
Digest Key
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 1994; 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 in 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.