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This day at the capitol was a day to celebrate an important anniversary for the State of
California. Both the senate and the assembly unanimously passed resolutions honoring 50
years of service by African Americans on the Court of Appeal.
Assemblyman Mike Davis, D-Los Angeles “And so today madam speaker and members I rise
with the greatest of honor and pride on the diversity that we have accomplished, and join
with the officers of the court of California in this awesome celebration.”
Six African Americans are currently serving in the appellate courts. Since the appellate
courts were created in 1905, there have been only 15 African American justices throughout
the entire state.
Hon. Vance Raye, Presiding Justice, 3rd District Court of Appeal, Sacramento “On the one
hand it’s a measure of the progress that we’ve come as a State, in the involvement
of African Americans in the judiciary, and on the other hand it could be said to be a
measure of the difficulty that we had in absorbing African Americans into the judicial process.”
The educational exhibit panels in the grand rotunda of the capitol are sponsored by the
California Legislative Black Caucus and the Administrative Office of the Courts.
Family and friends of the honorees gathered to preview the display, which features the
honorable Edwin L. Jefferson. He is said to be the first African American judge west of
the Mississippi, appointed in Los Angeles in 1941. Then he became the first African
American justice in California in 1961. His daughter remembers him as a modest unassuming
man, devoted to his profession.
Susan Jefferson, Hon. Edwin Jefferson’s Daughter “My father loved the law, he loved
being a judge and wherever that led him, that’s where he wanted to be. It’s quite touching
for us; quite touching; emotionally touching.”
Justice William J. Murray Jr. is one of the newest members of the Appellate Court. He
says he is deeply indebted to those who came before him, and they are rightly honored this
day.
Hon. William J. Murray, Jr., 3rd District Court of Appeal, Sacramento “It’s about
those trailblazers who fought the fight and exposed themselves to all the discrimination
that occurred in the past and overcame that and blazed the trail for people like myself.”
And looking to the future – (Tour guide references poster) -this display might very
well inspire the next generation to even greater diversity on the bench.
I’m Leanne Kozak reporting from Sacramento for California Courts News.