Gonzalez Could Be S.D.’s First Latino Federal Judge

Irma E. Gonzalez, a Superior Court judge in Vista and former U.S. magistrate, has been recommended for San Diego’s federal bench, sources said Tuesday, a move that would make her the first Latino federal judge in San Diego history.

U.S. Sen. John R. Seymour (R-Calif.) recommended recently to President Bush that he formally nominate Gonzalez, 43, of Coronado, sources in San Diego and Washington said. If Bush concurs, as expected, Gonzalez will face U.S. Senate confirmation for the lifetime post, probably by spring, sources said.

Now shy two of eight judges, the San Diego federal court has been straining for months under the added pressure of an increasing caseload, primarily criminal drug and immigration cases. Gonzalez, who was at a meeting in Mexico on Tuesday and unavailable for comment, would fill one of the two vacancies.

San Diego lawyer Jim McIntyre has been recommended by Seymour--and, before that, by Gov. Pete Wilson, when he was senator--for the other post on the federal bench. McIntyre’s nomination, though, has been stalled by political infighting in Washington.

The recommendation and nomination process is complex and highly political. A candidate is first recruited by local committee, then recommended by a U.S. senator, then screened by the U.S. Department of Justice, then nominated by the President. He or she finally becomes a judge when confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Before Senate hearings, the key step in the process is recommendation by a home-state senator, since that is when a candidate emerges from a pack of contenders. Though there occasionally are exceptions, such as in McIntyre’s case, approval by the Justice Department and the President are usually routine.

In a test of emerging political savvy, Latino groups in San Diego had been courting Seymour since last spring, urging him to recommend a Mexican-American for one of the two vacancies. Seymour must run for election next year.

Latinos account for 20% of the city and county populations, according to the U.S. Census, and there are several Mexican-Americans on the Superior and Municipal Court benches--but never, in its 24-year history, has there been a Latino on the San Diego federal court. Demanding anonymity, several sources said Tuesday that Seymour tabbed Gonzalez a couple of weeks ago.

Word of the choice reached Latino leaders this week.

“We wish her the best, and our community is certainly proud that a Hispanic has been chosen,” said Jesse Navarro, a businessman who founded the San Diego Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, upon hearing the news.

Seymour’s office, however, declined to comment.

“The only statement that (Seymour) is willing to give, and I am willing to give is we have submitted a name to the Justice Department, and it is a Hispanic,” Floyd Farano, Seymour’s legal counsel, said Tuesday. “Other than that, there is nothing else I can say.”

The head of Seymour’s San Diego judicial search committee, lawyer John G. Davies, also would not discuss the matter. U.S. District Judge Judith N. Keep, San Diego’s chief federal judge, could not be reached for comment.

Gonzalez’s husband, San Diego attorney Robert S. Brewer Jr., declined to comment. So did San Diego Superior Court Judge Jesus Rodridguez, who enjoyed wide support among the Latino bench and bar.

Though stressing that the selection of any Latino is cause for delight, several Latino leaders said Tuesday that the choice of Gonzalez might not prove an automatic political windfall for Seymour. Several activists said they had preferred Rodriguez because he had closer ties to the area’s Mexican-American community than Gonzalez does.

“She’s got the job, she’s got the nomination, congratulations,” said one leader who asked to remain anonymous. “In the future, though, we’d like to see her be closer to our community.”

Gonzalez had applied last year for another opening at the San Diego federal court, created when Judge William B. Enright took senior, or part-time, status upon reaching age 65. That slot ultimately was filled May 31 by local lawyer Marilyn Huff.

McIntyre has been recommended to succeed Judge J. Lawrence Irving, who resigned Dec. 31 to protest rigid new criminal sentencing laws. The vacancy for which Gonzalez has now been recommended is a new position created last year by Congress.

Gonzalez has been on the Vista Superior Court since January. For six years before that, she served as a federal magistrate in San Diego, setting bail for accused felons as well as trying misdemeanor cases and a few civil cases. Gonzalez said she switched to state court to see a wider variety of cases.

Before becoming a magistrate, Gonzalez was in private practice from 1981 to 1984 with the San Diego law firm of Seltzer, Caplan, Wilkins & McMahon. She had been a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles and Tucson, Ariz., from 1975 to 1981.

She is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of Arizona law school.