Bar groups decry lack of Asians in California’s new judicial appointments

California Governor Jerry Brown

SAN FRANCISCO, California – A coalition of Asian American bar associations criticized the absence of Asians among Gov. Jerry Brown’s recent new judicial appointments “as lagging behind Northern California’s demographics.”

In mid-July 2014, Gov. Brown announced 10 new judicial appointments to the California Superior Court, four of whom were in Northern California, but none were Asian.

The Coalition of Asian Pacific Islander Bar Associations of Northern California, which includes the Filipino Bar Asssociation, praised Brown’s appointment of two Asian Americans from the region during his term.

But it noted in a statement that the governor “lags far behind the record of his Republican predecessor, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who appointed 13 Asian American judges in Northern California during his two terms.”

The coalition said Brown has appointed only two Asian American judges to the Superior Courts in Northern California since 2011 but included no Asian Americans in his 15 appointments to the Superior Courts in Alameda, San Mateo and Contra Costa Counties.

“Governor Brown’s current record on judicial appointments in Northern California does not yet reflect his strong commitment to diversity in the judiciary,” its statement said.

Citing statistics from Bay Area counties, the coalition claimed that the number of Asian American judges lags significantly behind county demographics:

• In San Francisco County, Asian Americans comprise a third of the population but only 16 percent of the bench;
• In Santa Clara County, a third of the population is Asian American, but only 9 percent of its judges are Asian American;
• In Alameda County, Asian Americans comprise more than a quarter of the population (26.4 percent), but only 7 percent of its judges are Asian American;
• In San Mateo County, Asian Americans make up 25 percent of the population, but only 3 percent of its judges are Asian American; and
• In Contra Costa County, Asians are nearly 15 percent of the population, yet only 5 percent of its judges are Asian American.

The coalition comprises the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area, Asian American Criminal Trial Lawyers Association, Asian American Prosecutors Association, Asian Pacific American Bar Association-Silicon Valley, Filipino Bar Association of Northern California, Korean American Bar Association of Northern California, South Asian Bar Association of Northern California and the Vietnamese American Bar Association of Northern California.