Ex-Federal Judge Jenkins Named to California Supreme Court (1)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday named retired state and federal Judge Martin Jenkins to the state Supreme Court, making his first appointment to the court.

Jenkins, most recently Newsom’s judicial appointments secretary, would become the first openly gay California Supreme Court justice and only the third African American man to serve on the state’s highest court. It has been 29 years since an African American man has served on the California Supreme Court, Newsom said in a statement.

“Anyone who knows me knows my identity has been as a gay man. Perhaps the greatest challenge of my life. And ...