When the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in two weeks, it will be without Justice Martin Jenkins, who is retiring in 10 days. There will a Court of Appeal justice sitting pro tem on each of the three cases to be argued.
When the court announced its November calendar, only one of the three pro tem justices was disclosed — First District, Division Two, Presiding Justice Therese M. Stewart sitting on Fuentes v. Empire Nissan, Inc.
We now know the other two:
Second District, Division Eight, Presiding Justice Maria E. Stratton is the pro tem for the consolidated City of Gilroy v. Superior Court and Law Foundation of Silicon Valley v. Superior Court cases.
On Sellers v. Superior Court, the pro tem is First District, Division Four, Justice Jon B. Streeter.
The court assigns pro tem justices on a mostly alphabetical rotation. The court’s internal operating practices and procedures say:
[T]he Chief Justice . . . assigns in alphabetical order (except as set forth below) a Court of Appeal justice as a pro tempore justice. . . . A newly appointed Court of Appeal justice will be assigned as a pro tempore justice of the Supreme Court only after he or she has served on the Court of Appeal for one year. If a Court of Appeal justice is unable to serve on a particular case, the next justice on the alphabetical list will be assigned, and the Court of Appeal justice who was unable to serve will be assigned in the next case in which a pro tempore appointment is required.
