After being sworn in as an appellate judge Monday, Patricia Guerrero became the first Latina appointed to the state’s highest court.
“It made history for us and the future of California,” Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said.
She continued by saying “it is such a substantive and well-deserved appointment.”
Furthermore, Guerrero’s election restored the majority of women on the seven-member court, Cantil-Sakauy pointed out.
Guerrero, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, brings a “different perspective than has ever been offered on this court,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom before administering the oath of office.
But Newsom said his appointment of Guerrero “is not just about first, this is about best.”
In a brief statement, Guerrero, 50, of San Diego, who grew up in the Imperial Valley, said she was shaped by “the courage, the sacrifices and the struggles of my parents and my grandparents.”
“They came to this country knowing that it would not be easy for them,” she stated.
“But like so many others, they came here with hope — the hope of a brighter future for their children, the pursuit … of the American Dream.”
According to the KTLA report, Guerrero fills the vacancy created by the resignation of Associate Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar in October.
