Our judges should reflect the vision of society
By Arturo Varela / Drafting DAY
Although Mexican American novelist Michael Nava grew up in a poor neighborhood in Sacramento (CA) in a Chicano family he described as “tragically happy,” he managed to overcome obstacles.
Nava was entitled as counsel for Stanford, and now his 55 years as a candidate for Superior Court judge Criminal Attorney in San Francisco seeks to bring more diversity to this city to consider that those in charge of justice are mostly white men.
Nava worked with the first African American judge of the Court of Appeal of California, Arleigh Woods, and the third Latino to the state Supreme Court, Carlos Moreno, who also was considered for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, that was assigned to Sonia Sotomayor.
Nava, the grandson of a Yaqui Indian from Mexico, is also the author of seven novels about a gay Criminal Attorneys and is currently working on a novel that takes place in the Mexican border in times of revolution, based on Ramon Navarro, a star the movie was gay.
What is most important, his career as a writer or as a Criminal Defense Lawyers and judge potential?
Once you finish the campaign really want to go back to finish the novel.
If the judges should be fair and objective Why does it matter to be representative of the population?
Because the life experience of a judge can affect the way they see each case, and we want our judges reflect the view of society and most people entering the legal system and tend to be poor and of color, and That is obvious in the criminal legal system. The judges not only apply the law according to the books, make decisions and how to exercise its discretion depends on their life, their values and their training.
How is the representation of ethnic minorities in California?
In the court is very poor, there is a large gap between judges and the Latino, African American and Asian. Less than 6 percent of judges are Hispanic, while 36 percent of the population is Latino, in addition, 75 percent of judges are men, and 70 percent are white. At the state level, judges are not representative of the population.
And in San Francisco?
Of the 51 judges in San Francisco, 70 percent are white, and over half are male, while 15 or 20 percent of the population is Latino.
How would you improve the representation of the people if elected?
Most judges are upper-class men, however they are called to understand and judge the lives of the poor and of color. I’m not saying they can not do it, but I grew up among these people, and I think it would have a better understanding, I am also gay and that population is not represented.
How does the shifting landscape in the U.S.?
I am the grandson of a Mexican immigrant, you can guess where my heart is. My grandparents came to CA in 1920, in the Great Depression of 1930, Mexican immigrants were scapegoats and were put on trains back to Mexico even some Americans. When the economy is bad, the society seeks to blame and now are undocumented. Some white Americans feel threatened by the growing Latino population and I think that fear is based on a racist assumption unrecognized. U.S. is changing, there is a population explosion in CA is already happening, no racial or ethnic group is greater than 50 percent, Latinos comprise 37 percent and growing.
How is the picture of migration and cultural diversity in California?
I am a third generation Californian, I have lived here all my life except for the years studied in Colorado. California is the future of America, what is happening here will spread to the entire country, not only about the gay rights movement but from the Latin, I speak of the multicultural society we have here is a different state cultural hybrids created.
You got married before the Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage in CA What do you think is the future of these unions in their state and in the U.S.?
In the long term, will happen in the U.S., but in CA’s only a matter of time.
You said you grew up in a Chicano family tragically happy, “what do you mean?
I’ve reconciled with my family, my mom was 19 when I was born, I never knew my dad was an illegitimate child, my stepfather was a violent alcoholic who was in jail when I was growing up, my mom had to keep six children with the help government and my grandparents. I only went to college, I love my brothers, but they stayed in Sacramento, are employed working class.
NAVA accused judges of “anti-democratic”
Nava said that since he won the primaries, a panel of judges led by his opponent, Judge Richard Ulmer, met with former presidents of the Bar Association of San Francisco to urge them to sign a letter calling it a threat to independence judicial.
On June 8, Nava received 46 percent of votes, however, judicial candidates must win a majority, so Nava faces against Ulmer again in November.
“It is profoundly anti-democratic that these judges take a position today where a judge should not ever be challenged,” Nava said, explaining that the judges have posted attacks against them in legal newspapers, and have lobbied the Democratic Central Committee to withdraw its support him.
For his part, denied Ulmer feel you have an undeniable right to remain in his position as judge. “I think when someone does a good job, anyone who wants to challenge him in elections must have a good reason.”
“Nava has not disqualified my skills and my ethics, or have a good reason to challenge me, just based his campaign on the issue of diversity, but the Superior Court of San Francisco is the most diverse in the country. We have 24 judges, 10 judges Asian Americans, Latinos multiple, and at least 10 judges are gay or lesbian. If cared Nava diversity, would campaign for the court that corresponds to your location, San Mateo. “
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