A Brilliant but Worrisome Choice : State court gains a superb jurist but loses needed diversity

Let there be no question about it. In nominating Ronald M. George to the California Supreme Court, Gov. Pete Wilson has selected an outstanding jurist with a most impressive personal and legal background. And that’s encouraging.

But let there be no question about this, either: By putting yet another white male on the state’s highest court, Wilson has taken a small but not insignificant step backward. A high court made up of seven white people does not reflect California’s diversity. And that’s disappointing.

There are few people of any race or ethnicity with the fine credentials that George, a Los Angeles native who sits on the state Court of Appeal, will bring to the Supreme Court. A Princeton and Stanford graduate, he was a deputy attorney general and argued cases for California before the U.S. Supreme Court.

George is politically conservative: He was appointed to the bench by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan in 1972 and to the appellate level by then-Gov. George Deukmejian in 1987. But he is widely regarded as an independent jurist whose rulings reflect no ideological agenda. Just the kind of appointee whom the pragmatic Gov. Wilson has looked for.

So under normal circumstances, we could applaud this appointment without hesitation. But these are not normal times. California is changing rapidly and dramatically, as every reading of the census figures prove. Very soon a day will dawn when the majority of the state’s population is made up of minorities--Latinos, Asians, blacks and others. Increasingly, almost all of this state’s institutions--from primary schools to retirement homes--reflect that diversity. More important, California institutions must take this diversity into account as they operate day to day. The judiciary is no exception.

That is why Wilson was widely urged to select a minority member to replace Allen E. Broussard, the court’s only African-American, who is retiring. (The other members of the court are Stanley Mosk, Edward A. Panelli, Marvin R. Baxter, Joyce L. Kennard, Armand Arabian and Malcolm M. Lucas, the chief justice.)

By not opting for a minority candidate, Wilson leaves the high court without a black or Latino for the first time in 14 years. That is a step back toward a past that simply will never exist again in the overall society.

This is not to say there has to be a “minority seat” on the high court. But there must be an effort to make sure that the high court reflects the people of California more fully than a panel of seven whites would.

And the men and women who sit in judgment on the most fundamental issues of law must be fully aware of the state’s changing face. This knowledge will be vital as they arbitrate between the majority and minority groups, and as they interpret the law based on old precedents and new realities.

On the whole, Wilson has a career record on minority appointments that’s quite good. And this was his first appointment to the state’s highest court. With more than three years left in his tenure--and maybe more--there will be many judicial appointment opportunities down the road for him, perhaps even more on the Supreme Court. When they present themselves, we hope that sooner or later he shows that he too is aware of California’s changing face.