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California Supreme Court

Dec. 29, 2025

Newsom pick could shift balance in criminal cases on California Supreme Court

Gov. Gavin Newsom's choice to replace retiring Justice Martin J. Jenkins could determine whether the California Supreme Court maintains its resistance to challenges of convictions and sentences or strengthens a dissenting bloc pushing for greater scrutiny under the Racial Justice Act and death penalty jurisprudence.

Newsom pick could shift balance in criminal cases on California Supreme Court
Retired Justice Martin J. Jenkins

Gov. Gavin Newsom's choice to replace Justice Martin J. Jenkins on the state Supreme Court will either strengthen the majority that has resisted challenges to convictions and sentencing or provide support for Justice Goodwin H. Liu and Justice Kelli M. Evans, who have frequently dissented.

Jenkins, a Newsom appointee who retired at the end of October, was a mainstream liberal justice on a court dominated by the choices of Democratic governors, and almost always sided with the ...

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