Bill Supporting Appointment of LGBTs in the Judiciary of California Introduced

California Senator Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro) has introduced SB 182, sponsored by Equality California, which seeks to promote and increase the representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the state’s judicial branch.

If passed, the bill would add gender identity and sexual orientation as demographic information collected by the governor for state and county judicial appointees and applicants.

“While there are approximately 1,600 judgeships in the state of California, only a handful of judges serving on the bench are openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender,” said Equality California Executive Director Geoff Kors. “This legislation is designed to ensure that judges represent and reflect the diversity of our great state. By collecting additional data, the Governor will have additional information that will hopefully result in qualified judicial applicants and appointees from underrepresented groups such as the LGBT community being appointed so that our judges reflect our population.”

The Governor’s office already collects demographic data provided by all judicial applicants relative to ethnicity, race and gender. This bill would amend state code to include questions on sexual orientation and gender identity on the appropriate forms.

“As Senate Majority Leader and as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I have worked tirelessly to achieve equality for all Californians,” said Senator Ellen Corbett. “For Californians to have confidence in the judicial system, it would be helpful to know that our judges represent the diversity that makes California unique among states.”

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