SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Today, Martin Jenkins was unanimously confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments to serve on the California Supreme Court, filling the vacancy of Justice Ming W. Chin, who retired from the court last in August. Jenkins, who is gay, becomes the first openly LGTBQ individual to serve on the highest court in the nation’s largest state, as well as the third Black man.    

Statement by Imani Rupert Gordon, Executive Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights:

“NCLR is thrilled that Martin Jenkins was confirmed today by the Commission on Judicial Appointments to serve on the California Supreme Court. Justice Jenkins is an outstanding and highly-regarded individual who will serve with dignity on the highest court in the nation’s most populous state. He brings a distinguished abundance of experience both as a civil rights litigator and as a federal and state judge to the court

Jenkins’ confirmation as the first LGBTQ justice also sends a strong message to both Black and LGBTQ youth in particular that they can achieve any aspiration that they dream of, and who for the first time in our state’s history will see themselves reflected at the highest level of our state’s judiciary.”