The DJ has 2028 ambitions loom over Newsom's next state Supreme Court pick -- Civil rights advocates urge a second Latino justice on the seven-member court, while others say the bench is already highly diverse. Potential nominees include appellate Justices Gonzalo C. Martinez, Jose S. Castillo, Tracie L. Brown and Lamar W. Baker.
- Gov. Gavin Newsom has nominated three justices to the California Supreme Court during his two terms in office, including Justice Martin J. Jenkins, his former judicial appointments secretary. But his selection this time will be different in one significant way.
- there are several sitting Latino judges, including many appointed by Newsom, who would be qualified candidates. One who was mentioned by several lawyers is 2nd District Court of Appeal Justice Gonzalo C. Martinez, a former deputy judicial appointments secretary who worked for Newsom before the governor appointed him to the bench in 2023.
- Another Latino candidate who won praise is 4th District Court of Appeal Justice Jose S. Castillo, who was born in Mexico, moved to the United States as a child, then joined the U.S. Marine Corps at 17, serving four years.
- Another popular candidate is 1st District Court of Appeal Justice Tracie L. Brown, a former associate with Morrison & Foerster LLP and Cooley LLP who was an assistant U.S. attorney in San Francisco for more than a decade. Brown, whose mother was born in Japan, was appointed as a San Francisco County Superior Court judge in 2013 until Gov. Jerry Brown appointed her to the 1st District five years later.
- Justice Lamar W. Baker on the 2nd District Court of Appeal, a former special assistant in the Obama White House, previously was a prosecutor in the Central District of California. Baker, who is Black, graduated from Yale Law School.
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