No. 45: Capitol Weekly’s Top 100

45.  Marty Jenkins
The person who handles judicial appointments for Gov. Gavin Newsom is Marty Jenkins,
who holds a position that is pivotal in any administration – governors come and go but judges tend to stick around long after an administration departs. Jenkins knows judges: He served 12 years as a state appeals court justice for the 1st District and more than a decade as a federal judge for California’s Northern District. Before that, he was on the bench in the Alameda County Superior Court and the Oakland Municipal Court. He also worked as a trial attorney for Pacific Bell’s legal department and for the U.S. Justice Department, and he spent several years as an Alameda County prosecutor. He also played professional football, briefly, for the Seattle Seahawks. As Newsom’s Judicial Appointments Secretary, Jenkins will vet people who want to be judges and make recommendations to the governor. It’s a sensitive job and judgeships are among the most coveted jobs in state government.