Gov. Gavin Newsom has selected 4th District Court of Appeal Justice Patricia Guerrero to replace Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuellar on the California Supreme Court. Guerrero formerly served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and was a partner at Latham & Watkins.
According to the Daily Journal, Guerrero is the daughter of Mexican immigrants. She grew up in Imperial County where her father worked as a ranch foreman. Newsom reportedly set out to choose a Latina justice to replace Cuellar, the only Hispanic justice on the court.
Guerrero was born in the Imperial Valley and graduated from Imperial High School in 1990. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1994, graduating magna cum laude, and a Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School in 1997.
Congratulations to Justice Guerrero on her appointment, her accomplished legal career and her connection to California agriculture.