Chief Justice Leads Government Summit on Ensuring Justice

SACRAMENTO– Leaders of three branches of government met in Sacramento on February 27 to discuss different approaches to shared goals at a legislative-judicial summit convened by Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye. The first-of-its-kind summit was sponsored by the Institute for Democracy and Justice and speakers included Assembly Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, Speaker Anthony Rendon, Attorney General Xavier Becerra, and Supreme Court Justices Ming Chin and Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar. The Chief Justice serves as honorary chair of the institute.

The program was presented by the Institute for Democracy & Justice (the Chief Justice serves as honorary chair), in conjunction with the California State Federal Judicial Council and the American Board of Trial Advocates.

“The beauty of today is that the Chief Justice brought us together,” said Becerra.

Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye gives remarks at the Legislative-Judicial Summit on Feb. 27, 2019, in Sacramento. Members from all three branches of government attended the summit and strategized ways to accomplish common goals.

The three-hour summit was kicked off with a video greeting by U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, a former honorary co-chair of the IDJ. The summit consisted of two moderated panels that focused on how the Legislature and the judicial branch approach similar issues in pursuit of justice.

Berkeley School of Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky moderated the first panel, which featured U.S. District Judge Ed Davila, State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, Assemblymember Mark Stone, and Justice Chin.

California State Librarian Greg Lucas moderated the second panel, which focused on the roles and responsibilities of the two branches of government. Presenters included President Pro Tem Atkins, Speaker Rendon, Justice Cuéllar, and Ninth Circuit Judge Consuelo María Callahan.

“Why did I convene this meeting of those who write the laws and interpret the laws?" posed the Chief Justice. “It starts with justice, the hallmark of our democracy. The first duty of society is justice."