AsAmNews has published a wide-ranging conversation with Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye. The Chief Justice was interviewed by Eric Chang, a California Deputy Attorney General, in advance of tonight’s ceremony at which she will be one of ten inducted into the Asian Hall of Fame.
During the interview, which appears in a section of the AsAmNews website called “Bad Ass Asians,” Cantil-Sakauye was asked about challenges facing the Asian American legal community. She responded that “Asian Americans are entering law school in greater numbers than ever before but there’s still an implicit bias against Asian Americans.”
Cantil-Sakauye said Asian Americans “are not in the places where our skill or merit entitle us to be,” such as “in the top echelon of the best firms” or “at the top levels of government leadership,” despite being “one of the fastest-growing minority groups.” “[H]ow come nobody complains about the lack of Asian American representation in the U.S. Supreme Court?,” she asked. (However, she disclaimed any personal interest in a high court appointment — “I’m too old and I don’t want to go there.”)
The Chief Justice joked that she’s thought about writing a book titled, “Overlooked, underestimated, and interrupted.”
Additionally, Cantil-Sakauye talked about her personal and professional history, including that she “was surprised as anyone to be selected” as Chief Justice. She also said that the “hardest part” of her judicial career is missing the advocacy aspect of being a lawyer, but that she now engages in “a different kind of advocacy” when she goes to the Legislature or to Governor Gavin Newsom to “advocate for the judiciary, for fair funding, for stable funding or fair fees, or ending onerous practices.”
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