Tani Cantil-Sakauye
Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye was the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court. She assumed office on August 25, 2010. She left office on January 1, 2023.
In California, the position of chief justice is a specific seat on the court (similar to the Supreme Court of the United States) rather than a peer-selected leadership position. Cantil-Sakauye was appointed to the court by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on July 22, 2010, to replace retiring Chief Justice Ronald George. The Commission on Judicial Appointments confirmed Cantil-Sakauye's appointment on August 25, 2010.[1] To read more about judicial selection in California, click here.
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country. As part of this study, we assigned each justice a Confidence Score describing our confidence in the degree of partisanship exhibited by the justices' past partisan behavior, before they joined the court.[2] Cantil-Sakauye received a confidence score of Indeterminate.[3] Click here to read more about this study. Although her position on the California Supreme Court is officially nonpartisan, Cantil-Sakauye announced on December 13, 2018, that she had switched her party registration from Republican to no party preference.[4]
Prior to her appointment to the state supreme court, Cantil-Sakauye served as a judge on the Sacramento Municipal Court, the Superior Court of Sacramento County, and the California Third District Court of Appeal.[5]
Cantil-Sakauye was the first non-white person to serve as chief justice in California and the second woman to do so.[6]
On July 27, 2022, Cantil-Sakauye announced she would not seek retention to her seat.[7]
Biography
Cantil-Sakauye was born on October 19, 1959, in Sacramento, California.[8][9] She received an associate degree from Sacramento City College in 1978, a bachelor's from the U.C. Davis in 1980, and a law degree from U.C. Davis in 1984.[8]
She began her professional career as a deputy district attorney in Sacramento County in 1984.[10] In 1988, she joined the staff of Gov. George Deukmejian (R) as an assistant legal counsel, later becoming a deputy legislative secretary.[8] In 1990, Deukmejian appointed Cantil-Sakauye to the Sacramento County Municipal Court. Gov. Pete Wilson elevated Cantil-Sakauye to the Sacramento County Superior Court, where she served until 2005 when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) appointed her to the California Third District Court of Appeal.[8]
Elections
California Supreme Court (2010-2023)
2022
- See also: California Supreme Court elections, 2022
Tani Cantil-Sakauye did not file to run for retention.
2010
- See also: California judicial elections, 2010
Cantil-Sakauye was appointed to the California Supreme Court by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on July 22, 2010, to replace retiring Chief Justice Ronald George. The Commission on Judicial Appointments confirmed Cantil-Sakauye's appointment on August 25, 2010.[1] In California, supreme court justices must stand for a retention election to a 12-year term following his or her appointment.
| California Supreme Court, Chief Justice 2010 General election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
Tani Cantil-Sakauye 
|
4,772,376 | 67.1% | ||
| Against retention | 2,345,611 | 32.9% | ||
Analysis
Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)
Last updated: June 15, 2020
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.
The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on an ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. The scores were based on seven factors, including but not limited to party registration.[11]
The five resulting categories of Confidence Scores were:
- Strong Democrat
- Mild Democrat
- Indeterminate[12]
- Mild Republican
- Strong Republican
This justice's Confidence Score, as well as the factors contributing to that score, is presented below. The information below was current as of June 2020.
Tani
Cantil-Sakauye
California
- Partisan Confidence Score:
Indeterminate - Judicial Selection Method:
Direct gubernatorial appointment - Key Factors:
- Was a registered Republican before 2020
- Donated less than $2,000 to Democratic candidates
Partisan Profile
Details:
Cantil-Sakauye was registered as a Republican prior to 2020. She donated $100 to Democratic candidates and organizations. Cantil-Sakauye was appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R).
Other Scores:
In a 2012 study of campaign contributions, Cantil-Sakauye received a campaign finance score of -0.62, indicating a liberal ideological leaning.
Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Cantil-Sakauye received a campaign finance score of -0.62, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was more liberal than the average score of -0.32 that justices received in California.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[13]
State supreme court judicial selection in California
- See also: Judicial selection in California
The seven justices of the California Supreme Court are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. The state bar's Commission on Judicial Nominee Evaluation—also known as the "Jenny Commission"—is required to perform an extensive investigation on prospective appointees. The commission recommends candidates to the governor after examining their qualifications and fitness, ranking them as exceptionally well qualified, well qualified, qualified, or not qualified. The commission is composed of attorneys and public members.[14][15] Although the governor is not bound to these recommendations, the Commission on Judicial Appointments can approve or veto the appointment by majority vote.[16]
Following confirmation from the Commission on Judicial Appointments, the appointed justice is sworn into office and is subject to voter approval at the next gubernatorial election. The appointed justice must be confirmed by voters via a yes-no retention election. According to the California Constitution, the term for a supreme court justice is 12 years. If retained by the voters, the appointed justice remains in office but their term may depend on their predecessor's term. If the predecessor served part of their term before leaving office, the appointed justice would be retained to serve the remainder of their predecessor's term. This would be for either four or eight years. At the end of that term, the justice again must be confirmed by the voters at a gubernatorial election to begin a new 12-year term.[17][18] If a justice has been appointed to a seat where the predecessor's term would have expired the January 1 immediately after that November gubernatorial election, then the justice would serve a full 12-year term.[19]
Qualifications
To serve as a justice, a candidate must have practiced law for at least 10 years in California or served as a judge in California for at least 10 years.[19]
Chief justice
The court uses the same process described above for selecting its chief justice. The governor, with commission approval, appoints a chief justice for a full 12-year term.[20]
Vacancies
Vacancies are filled by gubernatorial appointment. Appointed judges are required to participate in yes-no retention elections occurring at the time of the next gubernatorial race, which is held every four years.[19]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 California Courts, "About the Chief Justice," accessed June 16, 2021
- ↑ We calculated confidence scores by collecting several data points such as party registration, donations, and previous political campaigns.
- ↑ The five possible confidence scores were: Strong Democrat, Mild Democrat, Indeterminate, Mild Republican, and Strong Republican.
- ↑ CALmatters, "Chief justice of the California Supreme Court leaves the Republican Party, citing Kavanaugh," Dec. 13, 2018
- ↑ California Courts, "Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye," accessed June 16, 2021
- ↑ Sacramento Bee "Cantil-Sakauye sworn-in as state Supreme Court chief justice," Dec. 3, 2010
- ↑ Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, "Governor Newsom Statement on California Supreme Court Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye Stepping Down," July 27, 2022
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Los Angeles Times, "Profile: Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye," accessed June 16, 2021
- ↑ Sacramento Bee, "Chief Justice Tani Canil-Sakauye holds court," March 12, 2016
- ↑ SmartVoter, "Full Biography for Tani Cantil Sakauye," accessed June 16, 2021
- ↑ The seven factors were party registration, donations made to partisan candidates, donations made to political parties, donations received from political parties or bodies with clear political affiliation, participation in political campaigns, the partisanship of the body responsible for appointing the justice, and state trifecta status when the justice joined the court.
- ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
- ↑ The State Bar of California, "Background," accessed March 27, 2023
- ↑ The State Bar of California, "Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation," accessed March 27, 2023
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "Judicial Selection: An Interactive Map," accessed March 23, 2023
- ↑ California Legislative Information, "Article VI Judicial Sec. 16.," accessed March 27, 2023
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Justices of the Supreme Court," accessed March 27, 2023
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 California Courts, "Judicial Selection: How California Chooses Its Judges and Justices," accessed March 27, 2023
- ↑ Justia, "Supreme Court of California Decisions," accessed March 27, 2023
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California
State courts:
California Supreme Court • California Courts of Appeal • California Superior Courts
State resources:
Courts in California • California judicial elections • Judicial selection in California
