Anglo Men Top Nominee List for Judgeships

If you’re looking for a judicial appointment from Gov. George Deukmejian, get a job as a government lawyer--preferably a prosecutor. Public defenders and Legal Aid attorneys probably should apply elsewhere.

A survey in the July issue of California Lawyer magazine examined backgrounds of the more than 500 judges Deukmejian has appointed in 5 1/2 years in office, about 40% of all judges in the state. It found a predominance of former government lawyers, ex-prosecutors, Anglos and males.

As lawyers, the study said, 69% of Deukmejian’s judges had worked for the government at some time; 55% had been prosecutors, and 40% had never worked as private attorneys. Only 1.6% had been career public defenders, and 1.4% had any experience as Legal Aid attorneys.

Recruiting Difficult

Deukmejian’s legal affairs secretary, Marvin Baxter, a candidate for a judgeship on the 5th District Court of Appeal in Fresno, said recruiting private lawyers as potential judges can be difficult because “successful private practitioners will have to take a significant cut in pay to serve as judges.”

Racially, 88.9% of Deukmejian’s judicial appointees are Anglo, 3% are black, 4.4% Latino and 3.7% Asian. By comparison, 75% of Edmund G. Brown Jr.’s appointees were Anglo, 12% were black, 9% Latino and 4% Asian.

Sixteen percent of Deukmejian’s judges are women, compared to 17% for Brown. Of Deukmejian’s female judges, the survey said, 69% had been prosecutors.

Baxter said he has been “pounding the pavement” to encourage women and minorities to apply for judgeships. Of those who apply, he said, each group has been selected in roughly equal proportions--20% of black applicants and 35% of Asian applicants have been chosen--but the pools of Anglo and male applicants are much larger.