By Aurelio Rojas / The Sacramento Bee

07/18/07 04:44:25

SACRAMENTO -- Charging that Gov. Schwarzenegger's record on judicial diversity has been deficient and is getting worse, the Legislature's minority caucuses are urging that funding for new judges be deleted from the budget.

Democrats have been pressuring the Republican governor since last year to make the judiciary better reflect the state's diverse population -- and the round of appointments he made last month only raised their ire.

Of those 26 appointments, announced on a Friday as the Capitol was emptying for the weekend, none were Asian Pacific Islanders, one was Hispanic and three were black.

"If the administration was proud of the appointments, why were they announced when they were?" said Assembly Member Ted Lieu, a Torrance Democrat and the incoming chairman of the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus.

Last week, the leaders of the Asian Pacific Islander, black and Hispanic caucuses sent a letter to legislative leaders of both parties asking them to reject Schwarzenegger's request for 50 more judgeships.

"While we support increasing the number of judges, we believe an additional 50 judgeships for this year should not be authorized until the governor addresses the diversity issue," the statement said.

Of the 260 judges Schwarzenegger has appointed, 4.6% have been Asian-Americans, according to caucus leaders. Another 5.8% have been black and 8.5% Hispanics.

The 50 new judgeships, which would be funded by $27.2 million in the proposed budget, are the second installment of the governor's three-year plan to add 150 new judges.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 44% of California's population is white, 35% is Hispanic, 12% is Asian and 6.7% is black. As California becomes more diverse, Lieu said, it is imperative the judiciary reflect that diversity to ensure the public's trust in the legal system.

Legal experts and the Schwarzenegger administration acknowledge the disparity, but say changing the numbers is a monumental challenge.

Part of the governor's challenge, they say, has been the pool of applicants. Membership in the State Bar is almost 85% white and two-thirds male.

More than 70% of the state's judiciary is white, and close to 73% are men, according to the Judicial Council of California.