A Sacramento Bee opinion piece says that in California, which is “home to more Native Americans than any other state in the nation” and which “often establishes legal precedent for Indian law matters across the country,” “greater Native representation is urgently needed in the state courts across all levels.”
The column is by James Siva, chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association and vice chairman for the Morongo Band of Mission Indians in Banning. He notes that only five superior court judges — “less than one-third of 1%” — and no appellate court justices identify as American Indian. And he says that, with Justice Jenkins’s October retirement, “Gov. Gavin Newsom has the opportunity to correct this historic imbalance by following the example set in 2022 when the Honorable Sunshine Suzanne Sykes (Navajo Nation) became the first-ever Native American judge confirmed to the U.S. District Court Bench in California.”
Siva concludes, “The next State Supreme Court appointment offers a rare chance to make history, correct generations of exclusion and elevate an experienced jurist with deep experience in tribal law, community leadership and the legal issues that define Native life in this state.”
Related:
“Gov. Newsom must appoint a Black man to the California Supreme Court”
