COURTESY OF CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR'S.OFFICE.
Governor Jerry Brown nominated a new Supreme Court justice to replace retiring Justice Marvin Baxter, who was one of the Court’s most conservative members. The nominee is Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, a Mexican-born Stanford Law School Professor. Mr. Cuéllar would become the second Democrat to sit on a Court filled with Republication appointees, except for Justice Goodwin Liu, who was appointed in 2011. Governor Brown has one more vacancy to fill, which became open when Justice Joyce Kennard decided to retire.
Cuéllar has substantial experience in immigration, having service as a special assistant for justice and regulatory policy in the Obama White House from 2009-2010. He co-chaired the Obama transition team’s immigration policy working group in 2008 and 2009. He also worked for the U.S. Treasury Department from 1997 to 1999 under President Clinton.
Cuéllar was born in Mexico. When he was young, he crossed the border legally each day to attend a Catholic school on a scholarship in Brownsville, Texas. His family then moved to the Imperial Valley in California. His family was granted green cards and he graduated from Calexico High School. Cuéllar became a U.S. citizen in 1994 and has taught at Stanford since 2001.
Cuéllar appointment will add diversity to the panel and will have a Latino justice. The Court’s only other Latino member, former Justice Carlos Moreno, retired in 2011. Even though the Court is stacked with Republicans, it is nice to see the appointment of a Latino judge, particularly one who has hands on experience with immigration and a scholar to boot! If Cuéllar is confirmed, his name will be listed on the November 4thballot for voter approval.