California’s chief justice speaks to Sonoma County legal community

California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye spoke Thursday in Santa Rosa at a luncheon held by the Sonoma County Bar Association.|

California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye told a group of North Coast lawyers and judges Thursday in Santa Rosa that the devastation wrought by the October wildfires in Sonoma County requires government officials to muster an entirely new level of leadership.

From price gouging to the rate of underinsurance among those who lost homes, Cantil-Sakauye said the state’s judicial system must aid those whose lives were upended by the fires and, more broadly, those who come to state courthouses seeking justice. Cantil-Sakauye told a joint session of the state Legislature earlier this week that Californians have filed more than 45,000 insurance claims totaling nearly $12 billion dollars stemming from recent wildfires, underscoring the need for the state to ensure courts are well-staffed, modern and efficient.

“I’m a firm believer that in government we are elected to serve,” said Cantil-Sakauye, who toured Santa Rosa’s fire-scarred neighborhoods Thursday morning. “Government should do what we can’t do for ourselves.”

California’s top justice spoke for more than an hour Thursday to about 115 people at a Sonoma County Bar Association luncheon at the Vintners Inn on Barnes Road, less than a mile from the Tubbs fire’s burn scar on Santa Rosa’s northern outskirts.

Moderated by Gary Nadler, Sonoma County Superior Court’s presiding judge, the event included a wide-ranging discussion on both local issues like long-awaited plans for a new courthouse in Sonoma County and larger concerns like the inequity of the ?money-bail system and the #MeToo movement.

Cantil-Sakauye became chief justice of the California Supreme Court in 2011 under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a time of recession-led budget cuts with widespread court closures and layoffs. She’s spearheaded an analysis of the money-based bail system and has pushed to modernize the state’s courts. Thursday, she said traffic infractions should be paid, negotiated and challenged online.

Cantil-Sakauye said she designated a judge to look at all proposals for new courthouses, including one for Sonoma County, and trim costs so the most-needed projects could finally get underway. Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budget released January committed to a new Sonoma County courthouse, a $175 million project sought since 2008.

Without mentioning President Donald Trump by name, Cantil-Sakauye has been outspoken in challenging his administration’s policies that she says undermine the rule of law and judicial independence. Last year, she asked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to keep federal immigration actions out of state courthouses.

She called the independence of the judicial branch essential and “fragile” given the current national political climate.

In response to an audience question about the #MeToo movement, Cantil-Sakauye said she’s “using it as fuel” to encourage her daughters to think critically about situations they observe or experience, and take appropriate action.

She described the kinds of conversations she and her husband, Mark Sakauye, a retired Sacramento police lieutenant, have had with their daughters around the kitchen island.

“We talk about calling it what it is - avoid the terms victim, bully, a girl’s job, a boy’s job,” Cantil-Sakauye said. “You have to report it and report it to the right person.”

Cantil-Sakauye didn’t directly address a question about the upcoming June recall vote for Santa Clara Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky, who has been criticized as giving a lenient sentence to Brock Turner, a former Stanford student convicted of sexual assault. Cantil-Sakauye defended the right of a voter-drive recall, but asked people to consider a question suggesting the focus of the recall was too limited and not taking in Persky’s entire record as a judge.

“Let’s think critically about this, let’s get the facts. Is this about one decision or a series of decisions?” Cantil-Sakauye said.

In addition to bar association members, local government leaders who attended included District Attorney Jill Ravitch and Sonoma County Counsel Bruce Goldstein, as well as judges from Humboldt, Mendocino, Lake and Sonoma counties attended.

The attendees also included those who are interested in a future in law.

Gymmel Garcia, 30, a graduate of Petaluma’s Casa Grande High School and current student at UC Davis School of Law, drove from Davis to Santa Rosa to hear someone she considers an important role model, particularly for women, immigrants and people of color. Garcia pointed out that Cantil-Sakauyoe started higher education at a community college, Sacramento City College.

“When she speaks, she gives hope to everyone in the room,” Garcia said.

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