Gov. Brown Nominates U.S. Justice Department Official To California Supreme Court

Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday nominated U.S. Justice Department official Leondra Kruger to serve on the California Supreme Court.

Kruger, 38, is currently a deputy assistant attorney general in the department’s Office of Legal Counsel in Washington, D.C.

She previously served in the department’s Solicitor General’s Office and argued 12 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the federal government, according to Brown’s office.

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Kruger must be approved by the state Commission on Judicial Appointments before she can join the seven-member state high court, which is headquartered in San Francisco.

Brown nominated her to fill a seven-month vacancy left when Justice Joyce Kennard retired in April.

Kruger grew up in Los Angeles and received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and her law degree from Yale University. She was a visiting assistant professor of law at the University of Chicago in 2007.

Brown said in a statement, “Leondra Kruger is a distinguished lawyer and uncommon student of the law. She has won the respect of eminent jurists, scholars and practitioners alike.”

Kruger, in a statement provided by Brown’s office, said she was “deeply honored” by the nomination.

“I look forward to returning home to California and, if confirmed, serving the people of California on our state’s highest court,” Kruger said.

Brown also provided a statement by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who said, “Her remarkable judgment, tireless work ethic, and dedication to the highest ideals of public service have marked her as one of the foremost leaders of her profession.”

If confirmed to the high court, Kruger would be one of four women and the only African-American serving on the panel.

The commission that will consider her nomination will be made up of California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Attorney General Kamala Harris and senior Court of Appeal Presiding Justice Joan Dempsey Klein.

A hearing has not yet been scheduled. Kruger is the third person nominated by Brown to the current court.

Brown’s other two appointments were University of California at Berkeley law professor Goodwin Liu, who joined the court in 2011, and Stanford University law professor Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, who will take office in January.

--Bay City News