California judges may be asked about their gender identity and sexual orientation if legislation introduced Monday at the Capitol is enacted.
SB 182, sponsored by the gay rights group Equality California, would require the governor to collect the information from willing judicial applicants and appointees and to report the aggregate numbers annually.
Openly gay, lesbian and transgender Californians “are extremely underrepresented on the bench,” said Equality California Executive Director Geoff Kors. “If our judiciary is going to represent the population as it should, then it’s important for the governor to have as much information as possible.”
A state law enacted in 2006 already requires the governor to release volunteered information about applicants’ and appointees’ race, gender and ethnicity. Critics of then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pushed the legislation in an attempt to show that he was appointing few women and lawyers of color to the bench
“It’s really important that people see themselves in the judiciary, and we support that for all groups,” said Kors.
Kors said candidates would simply be asked to list their sexual orientation and whether they are transgender. Whether enough candidates would volunteer such information to make the data meaningful is unknown.
“If someone is hiding who they are, that doesn’t really help,” Kors said.
A spokesman for the governor said Monday that he was unaware of the bill, which was not yet in print, and had no immediate comment. California Judges Association President Keith Davis was also unaware of the legislation and declined to offer an opinion.
Gov. Jerry Brown, in his previous terms in office, appointed the first openly gay judge in the United States when he named Stephen Lachs to the Los Angeles County Superior Court in 1979.
Alameda County voters last year elected Victoria Kolakowski, who became the first transgender judge in the country.