Martin Joseph Jenkins (born November 12, 1953) is an American attorney and jurist serving as an associate justice of the

Supreme Court of California The Supreme Court of California is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the judiciary of California, courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly ...

. He was previously a justice of the

California Court of Appeal The California Courts of Appeal are the state intermediate appellate courts in the U.S. state of California. The state is geographically divided along county lines into six appellate districts.

for the First District, located in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, and a former

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the Northern District of California The United States District Court for the Northern District of California (in case citations, N.D. Cal.) is the federal United States district court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties of California: Alameda, Contra Costa, De ...

Early life and education

Jenkins was born in

and raised in the neighborhood of Ingleside.Harriet Chiang
Wal-Mart judge praised for compassion, diligence
''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'' (June 23, 2004). He earned an

Associate of Arts An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

degree from City College of San Francisco, then graduated from

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private university, private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university' ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree.Governor Schwarzenegger Appoints Martin Jenkins to First District Court of Appeal
, ''Press Release: Office of the Governor'' (January 28, 2008). Jenkins played on the Santa Clara Broncos football team at

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

. After college, Jenkins briefly played professional football for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

. Jenkins then attended the

University of San Francisco School of Law The University of San Francisco School of Law (USF Law) is the law school of the private University of San Francisco. Established in 1912, it received American Bar Association accreditation in 1935 and joined the Association of American La ...

, where he earned his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

with honors.

Career

Jenkins was a

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

in the

Alameda County Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. A ...

District Attorney's Office, California, from 1980 to 1981, and then a deputy district attorney (prosecutor) in that same office from 1981 to 1983.Commission Confirms Judge Martin Jenkins as Court of Appeal Justice
, ''Metropolitan News-Enterprise'' (April 7, 2008). and for the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

in the Civil Rights Division from 1983 to 1985. In 1985, Jenkins moved back to the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...

when his mother became ill, then served as in-house counsel for

Pacific Bell The Pacific Bell Telephone Company (Pac Bell) is a telephone company that provides telephone service in California. The company is owned by AT&T through AT&T Teleholdings, and, though separate, is now marketed as “AT&T”. The company has ...

for four years. He served as the Judicial Appointments Secretary for California Governor Gavin Newsom from January 14, 2019, to December 4, 2020.

Judicial service

A Democrat,Howard Mintz
Schwarzenegger defies stereotypes, party labels in shaping California judiciary
, ''

Contra Costa Times The ''East Bay Times'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Walnut Creek, California, United States, owned by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of Media News Group, that serves Contra Costa and Alameda counties, in the East ...

'' (July 24, 2010). Jenkins was appointed to the Alameda County Municipal Court by Republican

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

George Deukmejian Courken George Deukmejian Jr. ( ; June 6, 1928May 8, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of California from 1983 to 1991. A member of the Republican Party, he was the state's first governor of Armenian descent. B ...

in 1989. In 1992, Republican Governor

Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Wilson previously served as a United S ...

appointed him to the Alameda County Superior Court, where he served until 1997. Jenkins was a United States District Judge of the

. He was nominated by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

on July 24, 1997, to a seat vacated by Eugene F. Lynch. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on November 9, 1997, and received commission on November 12, 1997. His contribution to federal law includes the Jenkins-Laporte Doctrine, which defines the boundary of copyright and contractual rights in the licensing of digital works.California Supreme Court Judge Martin Jenkins to receive Stonewall Award
''The American Bar Association Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity '' (February 4, 2021). In August 2007, Jenkins asked Republican Governor

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

to consider him for a seat on the California Court of Appeal.Bob Egelko
Federal judge nominated to state appeals court
''

'' (January 26, 2008). On January 25, 2008, Schwarzenegger nominated Jenkins to fill the vacancy on the First District Court of Appeal created by the retirement of Justice Joanne C. Parrilli. Jenkins resigned from the federal bench on April 3 and was confirmed on the state bench on April 4, 2008. On October 5, 2020, Governor Newsom announced that he would nominate Jenkins to be an associate justice of the

, replacing Ming Chin, who retired on August 31, 2020. When confirmed, he became the first openly gay justice, the third African American man, and the fifth African American person to serve on the court. On November 11, 2020, Jenkins was confirmed as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California. The state's Commission on Judicial Appointments approved his nomination by a 3–0 vote. On December 4, 2020, Jenkins was sworn in as the newest Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court. In 2022, Jenkins voted with a majority of the California Supreme Court in ordering University of California, Berkeley to cut its enrollment after a local

NIMBY NIMBY (, or nimby), an acronym for the phrase "Not In My Back Yard", is a characterization of opposition by residents to proposed real estate development and infrastructure developments in their local area, as well as support for strict land us ...

group argued that more students in the college town would have an adverse environmental impact. , following the 2022 election, he was retained by California voters to continue to serve as an associate justice with 69.4% of an affirmative vote.

Personal life

Jenkins is

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and a member of the St. Thomas More Society of San Francisco. Jenkins is openly gay.

References

Sources