Gay CA Supreme Court Justice Jenkins to retire

California Supreme Court Associate Justice Martin J. Jenkins, the first openly gay person named to the state’s highest court, will retire at the end of October. The announcement was made Thursday by the supreme court.

Jenkins, 71, will have had more than 35 years of judicial service when he steps down. He has served on the supreme court for five years, having been appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2020.

“I could not imagine a better capstone to my career on the bench than serving on the California Supreme Court,” Jenkins stated in a news release. In addition to being the first openly gay justice, he was the third Black man to serve on the court.

Jenkins came out later in life, when Newsom nominated him for the seat on the high court.

"I want to say to some young person who may be out there watching today who is struggling with their identity. Anyone who knows me knows my identity has been as a gay man perhaps the greatest challenge of my life. And it has not been easy," Jenkins said during a joint appearance with the governor when he was appointed. "But I want to say today to those young people who may be watching and those who may hear about what has transpired here: that I'm not here in spite of the struggle, I am here because of the struggle."

News of Jenkins’ retirement means that Newsom will name his replacement. There remains out representation on the high court with Associate Justice Kelli Evans, a Black queer woman, who was appointed by Newsom in 2022.

“Having been a judge at every level of the state court system and with the federal district court, I have seen firsthand how judges and justices at each stage of the judicial process faithfully apply the law in a fair and empathetic manner,” stated Jenkins in the retirement announcement. “I have strived to do the same as a trial judge, at the First District Court of Appeal, and finally, at the California Supreme Court.”

 
Gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) stated in a text message that Jenkins will be missed on the bench.

“Justice Jenkins is an extraordinary jurist, and his retirement is a loss to the Supreme Court and to California,” Wiener stated. “As the first openly LGBTQ person to serve on the court, he broke a huge barrier. I’m so grateful for his service.”

Jenkins spent almost two years advising Newsom on judicial appointments prior to filling the vacancy on the court created by Associate Justice Ming Chin’s retirement. Before joining the Newsom administration, Jenkins served as an associate justice on the First District Court of Appeal from 2008 to 2019 and as a federal district judge at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California from 1997 to 2008. Earlier, Jenkins served as a judge on the Alameda County Superior Court (1992-1997) and on the Oakland Municipal Court (1989-1992). Jenkins’s prior experience as a practitioner included three years as a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice and three years as a prosecutor with the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.

Jenkins’ colleagues praised his tenure.

“It has been an honor to work with Justice Jenkins at the court,” stated Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero. “His collegiality, and the thoughtfulness and care with which he has approached his work, have provided a constant source of inspiration. I speak for all of my colleagues when I thank Justice Jenkins for his many contributions to the court, to the public, and to the law.”

At the time of his appointment, Newsom's office described Jenkins, a Democrat like the governor, as "a son of San Francisco" who grew up cleaning office buildings and churches with his father who also worked a full-time job with the City and County of San Francisco as a clerk and janitor at Coit Tower. Jenkins attended two Jesuit-run universities in the Bay Area, Santa Clara University and the University of San Francisco School of Law, where he earned his law degree.