Martin Jenkins, who briefly played for the Seahawks before pursuing a career in law, made California history.
California made history on Tuesday when the Commission on Judicial Appointments announced it unanimously confirmed Associate Justice Martin J. Jenkins, the state's first openly gay Supreme Court justice.
Jenkins, 66, is only the third Black associate justice to serve on the state's highest court and the first since the appointment of Allen Broussard in 1981. Jenkins fills the vacant seat from Associate Justice Ming Chin, who retired on Aug. 31.
Jenkins played varsity football and tennis for Santa Clara University before pursuing a professional football career. He competed in two games as a defensive back for the Seattle Seahawks before pursuing a career in law, according to SF Gate.
He earned his law degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law and then worked as a prosecutor for the Alameda County District Attorney's Office for three years.
He went on to be a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, where he litigated civil rights cases, and returned home to work as in-house counsel for Pacific Bell's legal department in San Francisco.
Before he was appointed by former President Bill Clinton to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 1997, Jenkins, a Democrat, served as a judge on the Oakland Municipal Court and the Alameda County Superior Court.
The San Francisco native was nominated by former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and served on the California Court of Appeal for the First District from April 2008 to January 2019, when Gov. Gavin Newsom named him his judicial appointments secretary.
Newsom nominated Jenkins to the state Supreme Court in October.
A report from the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation said that Jenkins is “exceptionally well qualified,” and that “he is praised for his brilliant intellect, first-class temperament, and boundless humanity.”