Asian Americans and judicial appointments – Orange County Register

A vacancy in the United States Senate is treated differently than a vacancy in a U.S. House of Representatives seat, or a seat in the Legislature, in California.

If a vacancy arises less than 148 days before the next statewide primaries, the governor appoints a senator to serve for two years. Conversely, the governor must call a special election to fill a vacancy in the House of Representatives, or Legislature, within 126 to 140 days of the vacancy occurring.

The practical effect of this provision is that if U.S. Senator of California Dianne Feinstein announces her retirement, Governor Gavin Newsom will appoint her replacement, who will not have to run until March 2024. Beginning that spans more than two years that will be an important event advantage for Newsom’s appointee. With two years of experience in the Senate, the alternate senator can point to the many federal projects she or he helped win for the state. The most prominent incumbent advantage, however, will likely be in the area of ​​federal district court appointments in California. Traditionally, a senator from the state where a federal district court vacancy arose is given respect by the president if the senator is from the president’s party.

This advantage remains even if the Senate turns Republican in 2022. President Joe Biden could announce his nominations for US district judges in California and credit the senator on his behalf. designated for making recommendations. The other senator from California, now Senator Alex Padilla, will probably share the credit, or even happily agree to give all credit to the appointed senator, as Senator Padilla, if elected this year, will not run for re-election until 2028.

The most obvious way that this ability to nominate federal district judges can help an appointed senator’s electoral chances is if the judicial candidate matches a particular ethnicity, gender, or orientation. It is possible that members of the California constituency would notice and reward the senator for doing so. If the Senate becomes a Republican with a majority and rejects the candidate, the political benefits to the appointed senator are likely to be greater — she or he can use the refusal to do so. highlights how Republicans belittle the ethnic group, gender, or inclination to which the nominee is a member, and how the Democratic vote is the surest remedy.

A notable group that is underrepresented on the federal bench nationally are Asian Americans, who make up 5.7% of the nation’s population but less than half of the one percent of federal district judges. Although the numbers in California are more closely matched (Asian Americans make up 15% of California’s population and 13.6% of federal district judges here), it helps to give the number of countries in the state where human attorneys general. Asian Americans are most likely to be found. politically attractive. An additional argument with particular acclaim while we focus on the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy is that no Asian-American has ever served on the supreme court. The pipeline to that office typically runs from the federal appeals courts and to those courts from the federal district judge level.