Leondra R. Kruger has been selected by Governor Brown for a vacancy on the California Supreme Court. The Governor’s nomination will be submitted to the State Bar’s Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation and must be confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. Ms. Kruger is a member of the Washington, D.C. and California Bar Associations and is admitted to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court.
“It is exciting to learn that Leondra Kruger has been nominated for the California Supreme Court. Raised and educated in the 41st Assembly District, her nomination is a reflection of her stellar academic background. Her academic and professional careers have exhibited a commitment to excellence,” said Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena).
Ms. Kruger was a resident of South Pasadena and graduated from Polytechnic School in Pasadena as a Presidential Scholar and a National Merit Scholar. She earned her undergraduate degree at Harvard, and her law degree at Yale Law School. She interned with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles and clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. She has worked for the U.S. Department of Justice since 2013, and the Office of the Solicitor General prior to that.
The last time an African American was appointed to the California Supreme Court was in 1996.