Tani Cantil-Sakauye

Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye (née Cantil; born October 19, 1959) is an American lawyer and jurist who was the 28th Chief Justice of California and is the president/CEO of the Public Policy Institute of California. Nominated by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for California's highest judicial office on July 22, 2010, and retained in office by California voters on November 2, 2010, she was sworn in on January 3, 2011 as California's first Filipino and first Woman of Color to serve as California's Chief Justice. Prior to her appointment as chief justice, Cantil-Sakauye had served in judicial offices on California's appellate and trial courts. On July 27, 2022, she announced she would retire and not run for another 12 year term on the court in November and step down on January 1, 2023, leaving Governor Newsom to appoint her replacement. On September 28, 2022, the Public Policy Institute of California announced that Cantil-Sakauye would become its president and chief executive officer, effective January 1, 2023. On September 21, 2023, the Judicial Council of California voted unanimously to name the new Sacramento County courthouse after former Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye. Early life and education Born in Sacramento, California, as Tani Gorre Cantil, she was raised in the Land Park neighborhood of Sacramento. In 1977, she earned her high school diploma from C. K. McClatchy High School, and in 1978 her Associate of Arts from Sacramento City College, where she played competitive tennis and won awards in debate. In 1980, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Davis. In 1984, she received her Juris Doctor degree from UC Davis School of Law. Cantil-Sakauye is of mixed descent. Her Hawaii-born father, Clarence, was of Filipino and Portuguese ancestry, while her mother, Mary Gorre, was Filipino. Legal career Upon graduation from law school in 1984, Cantil was unable to find a job in law, so she became a blackjack dealer in Reno, Nevada. At the time, the Sacramento County Public Defender's Office had refused to hire her because of her young age. Later that same year, Deputy District Attorney Russell Hom (a future Sacramento County Superior Court Judge) recruited Cantil to come to the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office. In 1988, Cantil left the District Attorney's office to become a Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary to Governor George Deukmejian.