As Robert mentioned, there is still a lot to learn about this nominee. However, at the very least Arnold is making history by appointing the first Asian-American Chief Justice. The oficial announcement is, well, right now. Here’s his tweet:
Introducing my nominee for CA Supreme Court Chief Justice, Justice Cantil-Sakauye. Watch live at 11 at tweetcast
The state will vote on the nomination in Novembr. I, and others, will be doing a lot of investigation between now and then.
According to Judgepedia, Associate Justices Ming W. Chin and Carlos R. Moreno are also up this year. If confirmed they would have new 12-year terms.
Justice Chin, appointed by Pete Wilson, joined Justice Baxter in the 4-3 minority against the court’s 2008 ruling that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right. Baxter and Chin argued that the “age-old understanding of marriage” could only be changed by the legislature, and not by the court.
Justice Moreno, appointed by Gray Davis, joined Chief Justice George’s majority opinion in the Marriage Cases, which states that “[T]he right to marry is not properly viewed simply as a benefit or privilege that a government may establish or abolish as it sees fit, but rather that the right constitutes a basic civil or human right of all people.”