Included among Sen. Boxer’s appointments is EJS board member Prof. Margaret Russell, who will sit on the Northern District committee.

“These committee members will ensure that my recommendations for judges, U.S. Attorneys, and U.S. Marshals will be highly qualified and worthy of the enormous trust that Californians will place in them,” said Senator Boxer.

Senator Boxer has established judicial advisory committees in each of California’s four federal districts:

Northern District:

Jack Lee (Chair): Mr. Lee is a partner at the law firm of Minami Tamaki LLP, San Francisco, specializing in complex employment litigation, consumer fraud and antitrust law. Mr. Lee has substantial federal court litigation experience and was a former Lawyer Representative for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Lee has served as a Regional Civil Rights Attorney for the U.S. Department of Education and as senior attorney in the San Francisco Public Defender Office.

Cristina Arguedas: Ms. Arguedas is a nationally recognized criminal defense lawyer and a founding partner of Arguedas, Cassman & Headley. She has been elected Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and was named one of the five most promising women lawyers in the country by Time Magazine.

William Turner: Mr. Turner is a distinguished attorney whose practice has included constitutional and civil rights cases. He has argued before the Supreme Court and previously served as a California Commissioner on Uniform State Laws. He also teaches first amendment law at the University of California, Berkeley.

Margaret Russell: Ms. Russell is on the law faculty at Santa Clara University, where she teaches constitutional law and civil procedure. She is a member of the American Law Institute and was a founding member of a community legal services office in East Palo Alto. She has lectured and consulted on legal educational issues in South Africa, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and England.

Chris Arriola: Mr. Arriola is a Deputy District Attorney in Santa Clara County. He is the former President of the Santa Clara County Bar Association and the California La Raza Lawyers Association. Mr. Arriola was named one of the top 20 lawyers under 40 in California by the Daily Journal.

Hon. Eugene Lynch: Judge Lynch is a former U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of California as well as a former California Superior Court Judge. He has received awards as both a judge and a mediator and serves as Faculty and Advisory Board Member of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Hon. Linda Gemello: Justice Gemello is a former Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal as well as a former California Superior Court Judge. She is a former President of the San Mateo County Bar Association.

Southern District:

Candace Carroll (Chair): Ms. Carroll is of counsel to Sullivan Hill Lewin Rez & Engel. She is a former president of California Women Lawyers. Ms. Carroll has also served as an attorney in the Appellate Court Branch of the National Labor Relations Board.

Sister Sally Furay: Sister Furay is an attorney at law and a consultant in higher education. She is Provost Emerita and former Academic Vice President of the University of San Diego. Sister Furay has received the California Governor’s Awards of Merit for achievement in education and women’s rights, among other awards.

Gregory Vega: Mr. Vega is a shareholder at the law firm Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek. He is a former U.S. Attorney and served as Commissioner on the inaugural City of San Diego Ethics Commission. Mr. Vega currently serves on the board of the National Conflict Resolution Center.

Hon. Annie Gutierrez: Judge Gutierrez is a former California Superior Court Judge as well as a former Assistant U.S. Attorney. She has served as District Director of the INS, Domestic Policy Advisor to President Carter, and Executive Secretary of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board.

Janice Brown: Ms. Brown is the founder of Brown Law Group where she specializes in employment law and general civil litigation. Before entering private practice, she was an Honors Program Attorney with the Justice Department. She has received a number of awards, including the Justice Department’s Trial Lawyer of the Year Award, Lawyer of the Year from the California Association of Black Lawyers, and the Witkin Legal Professional of the Year.

Erika Hiramatsu: Ms. Hiramatsu is a Deputy Attorney General in the San Diego Office of the Attorney General. She also served as a Deputy Alternate Public Defender. Ms. Hiramatsu is a former president of Pan Asian Lawyers of San Diego and has served on the state Commission for Judicial Nominees Evaluation. She has won awards such as the California Wiley W. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Legal Services and the 2008 San Diego County Bar Association’s Diversity Award for her service.

Robert Fellmeth: Professor Fellmeth is the Price Professor of Public Interest Law at the University of San Diego School of Law. A former Assistant U.S. Attorney, he founded both the Children’s Advocacy Institute and USD’s Center for Public Interest Law. Professor Fellmeth serves on the boards of numerous child advocacy organizations.

Central District:

Joseph Cotchett (Chair): Mr. Cotchett is a partner at Cotchett, Pitre and McCarthy. He has served on the Board of Governors of the State Bar of California, on the California Judicial Council, and on the board of Hastings College of Law. Mr. Cotchett is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has received a number of awards.

Tita Nguyen: Ms. Nguyen is a Deputy Attorney General in the Los Angeles Office of the Attorney General. She has served as a Deputy District Attorney and is on the boards of both the Vietnamese American Bar Association of Southern California and the Orange County Asian American Bar Association. She has also served as chair of the National Conference of Vietnamese-American Attorneys.

Michelle Williams Court: Ms. Court is the Director of Litigation at Bet Tzedek, one of the country’s premier legal services organizations. She has litigated state and federal cases involving civil rights, constitutional claims, and other public interest issues. She has served on the state Commission for Judicial Nominees Evaluation, and is a volunteer faculty member at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. She received the 2008 Distinguished Service Award from the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles.

Cecilia Estolano: Ms. Estolano is the Chief Executive Officer of the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles. She has served on the California Coastal Commission and as Senior Policy Advisor to the Environmental Protection Agency. Among her honors, she was named one of five “High Performing Environmental Lawyers.”

Terry Bridges: Mr. Bridges is a Senior Attorney at Reid & Hellyer, a Fellow of the American Board of Trial Advocates and listed in The Best Lawyers in America from 1993 to date. He served as President of the Riverside County Bar Association and has chaired its Judicial Evaluation Committee since 1991. Mr. Bridges has also served as a delegate to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference.

Morgan Chu: Mr. Chu is a nationally known litigator with Irell & Manella LLP. He has over 30 years of experience, specializing in intellectual property and patent law. Among his many awards, he has received The UCLA Medal, The Learned Hand Award and The Distinguished Advocate Award. He also serves on the board of directors for Public Counsel, the largest pro bono public interest firm in the country.

Eric George: Mr. George is a partner with Browne, Woods & George, specializing in complex business litigation. He has also served as counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary to Gov. Wilson. He has also co-authored a book on litigation.

Eastern District:

Donald Fischbach (Chair): Mr. Fischbach is an attorney with Dowling, Aaron & Keeler, specializing in civil litigation. He is a former president of the State Bar of California and has been elected to membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates.

Marilyn Isenberg: Ms. Isenberg is a Sacramento native and civic leader. She has served as a member of the State Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and is a former Executive Director of the California Industrial Development Financing Advisory Commission.

Vikram Amar: Mr. Amar is a Professor of Law and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of UC Davis School of Law. He clerked for U.S Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, and has co-authored a number of legal texts, including Wright & Miller’s Federal Practice.

Matthew Jacobs: Mr. Jacobs is a partner at Stevens, O’Connell & Jacobs, specializing in complex litigation and white-collar defense. He is a former Honors Program Attorney with the Justice Department and served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Sacramento for nine years, including Chief of the Criminal Division and First Assistant U.S. Attorney. He is a former President of the Federal Bar Association/Sacramento.

Hon. Alice Lytle: Judge Lytle is a former California Superior Court Judge and was the first African-American woman to serve on the Sacramento bench. She has served as Secretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency of California as well as head of the Division of Fair Employment Practices in the California Department of Industrial Relations.

Kevin Johnson: Mr. Johnson is a Professor of Law and the Dean of UC Davis School of Law. He is a current board member and President of Legal Services of Northern California and serves on the board of directors of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Tina Thomas: Ms. Thomas is a founding partner of Remy, Thomas, Moose and Manly LLP. She has served on the faculty of California State University-Sacramento and co-authored a textbook on environmental law. She received the Distinguished Lawyer Award from the Sacramento County Bar Association in 2005.

In the petition, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Equal Justice Society, California NAACP and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. argue that in order to protect the fundamental rights of all Californians, a higher standard is required to overturn the right to marry. Minority communities cannot be stripped of their fundamental rights by a simple majority vote.

“We would be making a grave mistake to view Proposition 8 as just affecting the LGBT community,” said Eva Paterson, president of the Equal Justice Society. “If the Supreme Court allows Proposition 8 to take effect, it would represent a threat to the rights of people of color and all minorities.”

The petition filed by Raymond C. Marshall of Bingham McCutchen and Prof. Tobias Barrington Wolff of University of Pennsylvania Law School on behalf of leading African American, Latino, and Asian American groups echo the arguments made in the November 5 lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights: Proposition 8 prevents the courts from exercising their essential constitutional role of enforcing the equal protection rights of minorities.

The California Constitution requires that any measure attempting to revise the underlying principles of the constitution must first be approved by a two-thirds vote of the legislature before being submitted to the voters. Proposition 8 was not approved through that constitutionally required process.

“Proposition 8 contradicts the most basic protection guaranteed by the California Constitution, which is the right to equal protection of the laws,” said John Trasviña, President and General Counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. “We can not allow the Constitution to sanction discrimination against one group of people.”

“Direct democracy cannot override the California Constitution, which requires more than a majority vote to deprive a minority group of their fundamental rights,” said John A. Payton, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

“We cannot become a society that picks and chooses who is entitled to equal rights,” said Alice A. Huffman, president of the California State NAACP. “We should include all people from all walks of life in the entitlement to all freedoms now enjoyed by the majority of our population As a civil rights advocate, we will continue the fight of eliminating roadblocks to freedom.”

“Consistent with core equal protection principles, minority communities must not be stripped of their fundamental rights by bare majority rule,” said Karin Wang, Vice-President of Programs for the Asian Pacific American Legal Center. “California went down this path before when the majority population chose to bar interracial marriages involving an unpopular minority: Asian immigrants. The state Constitution exists exactly for this reason – to protect the fundamental rights of minority communities.”

“Let’s not forget the landmark 1967 case of Loving v. Virginia, which allowed two people of different races to marry,” said Paterson of the Equal Justice Society. “People then believed it was acceptable to keep Mildred Loving from marrying a white man because of their ideas of who should marry whom. We must not return to those times.”

The court has precedent for invalidating an improper voter initiative. In 1990, the court overruled an initiative that would have added a provision to the California Constitution stating that the “Constitution shall not be construed by the courts to afford greater rights to criminal defendants than those afforded by the Constitution of the United States.” That measure was invalid because it improperly attempted to strip California’s courts of their role as independent interpreters of the state’s constitution.

A copy of the writ petition is available here.