Justice Cantil-Sakauye '84 Celebrated in Sacramento Investiture
More than 900 members of the Sacramento legal community came together February 10 for an Investiture Celebration for the Honorable Tani Cantil-Sakauye '84, Chief Justice of California. The event, hosted by the Sacramento Bar Association with support from UC Davis School of Law, featured remarks from Dean Kevin R. Johnson and was attended by a large contingent of UC Davis School of Law alumni and faculty, as well as UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi and Provost Ralph Hexter.
In addition to Dean Johnson, the event featured remarks from the Honorable Arthur Scotland, Presiding Judge (retired), California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District; SCBA President Michael Levy, Diversity Matters President Ruthe Catolico Ashley, Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Eugene Balonen, and Presiding Justice Vance Raye of the California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District. In addition, a ceremonial Oath of Office was administered by Judge Consuelo Callahan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye addressed the audience.
In his remarks, Dean Johnson talked about how, as a young woman, Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye had been inspired by the example of Gloria Ochoa '76, a Filipina attorney who served as a role model for her, and how the Chief Justice has volunteered to visit King Hall, speaking to students in the King Hall Outreach Program and serving as a role model for coming generations. The Chief Justice had agreed to speak to the King Hall Class of 2013 at UC Davis the following day, he noted. [Note: this event will be covered in a separate news item.]
"We at UC Davis are proud of Justice Cantil-Sakauye," Dean Johnson said. "At the School of Law, we see her story as our story. In about 40 years, UC Davis School of Law has progressed from humble beginnings, from the first classes held in trailers to a state-of-the-art Martin Luther King, Jr. Hall. Who would have thought that this start-up law school would quickly produce alums who would lead California, not only the courts, but also the state Legislature, where Darrell Steinberg is President pro Tem of the Senate and Charles Calderon, Majority Leader of the Assembly. Congratulations, once again, to Justice Cantil-Sakauye!"
Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye thanked the audience for attending and said she was proud to have come from the Sacramento, which she characterized as "one of the finest legal communities in the state." She talked about the hectic nature of her first 39 days as Chief Justice and said she was eager to take on the many challenges she faces.
"People ask me what it's like to be Chief Justice," she said. "They ask me, ‘How's it going? How are you feeling?' And I have one word for them: it's invigorating!"
The event was attended by King Hall Alumni Board Members Gene Woo '85, Steve Boutin '72, Carol Livingston '80, Stacy Boulware-Eurie '95, Michael Mills '97, Alberto Roldan'92, Grace Arupo '02, Demtrius Shelton '93, and Charity Kenyon '77, as well as more than 25 King Hall faculty and staff, 10 student volunteers who helped with the event, and more than 100 other alumni.
Michael Levy of the SCBA announced that the well-attended event had generated funds that would be given to the Sacramento Law Foundation, the charitable arm of the SCBA, with the intention of establishing the Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye Access to Justice Scholarship for Sacramento-area law students.