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Martin Jenkins
Martin Jenkins
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; December 4, 2020
Appointed by	Gavin Newsom
Preceded by	Ming W. Chin
Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal; from the 1st district
	In office; April 4, 2008 – January 15, 2019
Appointed by	Arnold Schwarzenegger
Preceded by	Joanne Parrilli
Succeeded by	Teri Jackson
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
	In office; November 12, 1997 – April 3, 2008
Appointed by	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Eugene F. Lynch
Succeeded by	Edward M. Chen
Personal details
Born	Martin Joseph Jenkins; November 12, 1953 (age 70); San Francisco, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	City College of San Francisco (AA); Santa Clara University (BA); University of San Francisco (JD)

Martin Joseph Jenkins (born November 12, 1953) is an American attorney and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California. He was previously a justice of the California Court of Appeal for the First District, located in San Francisco, and a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.^[1]

Early life and education

Jenkins was born in San Francisco and raised in the neighborhood of Ingleside.^[2] He earned an Associate of Arts degree from City College of San Francisco, then graduated from Santa Clara University with a Bachelor of Arts degree.^[3]^[4] Jenkins played on the Santa Clara Broncos football team at defensive back.^[5] After college, Jenkins briefly played professional football for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League.^[2] Jenkins then attended the University of San Francisco School of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctor with honors.^[2]

Career

Jenkins was a law clerk in the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, California, from 1980 to 1981, and then a deputy district attorney (prosecutor) in that same office from 1981 to 1983.^[3]^[6]^[7] and for the United States Department of Justice in the Civil Rights Division from 1983 to 1985.^[3]^[7] In 1985, Jenkins moved back to the Bay Area when his mother became ill,^[2]^[7] then served as in-house counsel for Pacific Bell for four years.^[7] He served as the Judicial Appointments Secretary for California Governor Gavin Newsom from January 14, 2019, to December 4, 2020.^[8]

Judicial service

A Democrat,^[3]^[9] Jenkins was appointed to the Alameda County Municipal Court by Republican Governor George Deukmejian in 1989.^[2] In 1992, Republican Governor Pete Wilson appointed him to the Alameda County Superior Court,^[2] where he served until 1997.^[6]

Jenkins was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. He was nominated by President Bill Clinton on July 24, 1997, to a seat vacated by Eugene F. Lynch. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 9, 1997, and received commission on November 12, 1997.^[6]^[7] His contribution to federal law includes the Jenkins-Laporte Doctrine, which defines the boundary of copyright and contractual rights in the licensing of digital works.^[10]

In August 2007, Jenkins asked Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to consider him for a seat on the California Court of Appeal.^[11] On January 25, 2008, Schwarzenegger nominated Jenkins to fill the vacancy on the First District Court of Appeal created by the retirement of Justice Joanne C. Parrilli.^[3]^[11] Jenkins resigned from the federal bench on April 3^[6] and was confirmed on the state bench on April 4, 2008.^[7]

On October 5, 2020, Governor Newsom announced that he would nominate Jenkins to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California, replacing Ming Chin, who retired on August 31, 2020. When confirmed, he became the first openly gay justice, the third African American man, and the fifth African American person to serve on the court.^[12]

On November 11, 2020, Jenkins was confirmed as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California. The state's Commission on Judicial Appointments approved his nomination by a 3–0 vote.^[13] On December 4, 2020, Jenkins was sworn in as the newest Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court.^[14]

In 2022, Jenkins voted with a majority of the California Supreme Court in ordering University of California, Berkeley to cut its enrollment after a local NIMBY group argued that more students in the college town would have an adverse environmental impact.^[15]

As of November 11, 2022^[update], following the 2022 election, he was retained by California voters to continue to serve as an associate justice with 69.4% of an affirmative vote.^[16]

Personal life

Jenkins is Catholic and a member of the St. Thomas More Society of San Francisco.^[17] Jenkins is openly gay.^[18]

References

^ Harris, Bruce (December 13, 2007), "Judicial Activism and New Zealand's Appellate Courts", Judicial Activism in Common Law Supreme Courts, Oxford University Press, pp. 273–322, doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199213290.003.0007, ISBN 9780199213290
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Harriet Chiang, Wal-Mart judge praised for compassion, diligence , San Francisco Chronicle (June 23, 2004).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Governor Schwarzenegger Appoints Martin Jenkins to First District Court of Appeal Archived 2010-10-08 at the Wayback Machine, Press Release: Office of the Governor (January 28, 2008).
^ "Commission Confirms Judge Martin Jenkins as Court of Appeal Justice". Metropolitan News-Enterprise. April 7, 2008. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
^ McKee, Mike (September 21, 2009). "Martin Jenkins". The Recorder. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Jenkins, Martin J. - Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov. Archived from the original on October 5, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Commission Confirms Judge Martin Jenkins as Court of Appeal Justice Archived 2012-02-24 at the Wayback Machine, Metropolitan News-Enterprise (April 7, 2008).
^ "Governor Newsom Appoints Judicial Appointments Secretary and Legal Affairs Staff". Governor of California. January 14, 2019. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
^ Howard Mintz, Schwarzenegger defies stereotypes, party labels in shaping California judiciary Archived 2012-03-16 at the Wayback Machine, Contra Costa Times (July 24, 2010).
^ California Supreme Court Judge Martin Jenkins to receive Stonewall Award, The American Bar Association Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (February 4, 2021).
^ ^a ^b Bob Egelko, Federal judge nominated to state appeals court, San Francisco Chronicle (January 26, 2008).
^ Egelko, Bob (October 5, 2020). "Newsom nominates Martin Jenkins to California Supreme Court, where he would be first openly gay justice". San Francisco Chronicle.
^ Egelko, Bob (November 11, 2020). "California confirms first openly gay state Supreme Court justice — Martin Jenkins". San Francisco Chronicle.
^ "Governor Newsom Swears in Justice Martin Jenkins to the California Supreme Court" (Press release). Sacramento, California. Governor of California. December 4, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
^ Asimov, Nanette; Egelko, Bob (2022). "UC Berkeley must withhold thousands of acceptance letters after state Supreme Court ruling". San Francisco Chronicle.
^ "State Supreme Court - Statewide Results". electionresults.sos.ca.gov. November 11, 2022. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
^ Anonymous (January 11, 2022). "Black Catholics in Conversation: Martin Jenkins and Timothy Alan Simon on Faith, Community, and Justice". University of San Francisco. Archived from the original on February 5, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
^ Lyons, Byrhonda (October 5, 2020). "Newsom's Supreme Court pick confirmed as state's first openly gay justice". Calmatters.

Sources

Martin Jenkins at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

Legal offices
Preceded by Eugene F. Lynch	Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California 1997–2008	Succeeded by Edward M. Chen
Preceded by Ming W. Chin	Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California 2020–present	Incumbent