First Filipina Chief Justice

Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye is the first Filipina-American and Asian American to become the chief justice of the California Supreme Court.

Governor Arnold Schwartznegger nominated Cantil-Sakauye in July after Chief Justice Ron George announced his retirement.

Her nomination is subject for ratification on the November 2, 2010 elections by California residents. If elected, Cantil-Sakauye will be the second woman to attain such a position in the United States. So far, there has been no opposition. The three-member commission team unanimously approved her nomination and has praised her leadership and her skills as a judge.

Cantil-Sakauye graduated from the University of California Davis in 1980 where she obtained a Bachelors of Arts. In 1984, she graduated from UC Davis School of Law. Upon graduation, Cantil-Sakauye worked for the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office as a Deputy District Attorney. From 1997 to 2005, she served as a judge of the Sacramento County Superior Court. She served there until Governor Arnold Schwartznegger appointed her as an Associate Justice of California Third District Court of Appeal in 2005.

Cantil-Sakauye is married to Lieutenant Mark Sakauye and has two adolescent daughters.