First Latina Justice Confirmed to California Supreme Court

Patricia Guerrero is the newest California Supreme Court justice, becoming the first Latina justice to be confirmed to the state high court.

The Commission on Judicial Appointments, composed of Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Senior Presiding Justice of the state Court of Appeal Manuel Ramirez, unanimously approved Guerrero.

Guerrero started as a justice for the Fourth District Court of Appeal in 2017. The University of California Berkeley and Stanford Law graduate was a trial judge, a Latham and Watkins LLP partner from 2007 to 2013, and an assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California from 2002 to 2003.

“I am so thrilled to be joining you. It is such an honor and a privilege,” Guerrero told Supreme Court justices after the vote.

“I am humbled to be here recognizing the historic significance of this nomination as the first Latina to ever be appointed to the California Supreme Court. I embrace this nomination knowing that I’m not here today on my own. I stand of the shoulders of my grandparents and my parents who came to this country, even though it would be a struggle for them,” she said.

The first-generation Californian was raised by immigrant parents in the Imperial Valley.

She replaces Associate Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, who resigned to become president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Guerrero is Gov. Gavin Newsom’s second supreme court appointment. Newsom tapped Martin Jenkins, former federal judge and appellate justice, in November 2020.