Room at the Top

Gov. George Deukmejian has made an excellent choice in nominating Court of Appeal Justice Edward A. Panelli for the California Supreme Court. Panelli, 53, has a reputation as a conscientious judge and a decent man who is not doctrinaire about his judicial views. He was found “exceptionally well qualified” by a committee of the State Bar Assn. that reviewed Deukmejian’s six candidates for the nomination.

While Panelli’s philosophy can be described as conservative, he was by no means the most conservative of the possible appointees on Deukmejian’s list. Though the governor has frequently disagreed with the court, he appears to have passed up a chance to add a justice who would staunchly battle the majority in favor of someone with the proper judicial temperament. He did not impose an ideological litmus test on his nominee, as President Reagan is doing with the federal judiciary. The nomination was clearly decided on the merits.

No judge is a tabula rasa, deciding cases in a vacuum. Every jurist brings a lifetime of experience and his own set of values to each case that he hears. Panelli can be counted on to weigh the facts before him and to reach decisions based on them rather than on a preconceived world view.

Aside from its judicial aspects, Panelli’s nomination is also a reminder that the American Dream remains alive and well. The son of Italian immigrants for whom English was a second language when he started school at the age of 5, Panelli has distinguished himself through ability and hard work. In this country as in few other places in the world, it is still possible for a person from a humble background to rise to the top.