There was plenty of skepticism among members of ethnic bar associations when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, promised to appoint more minorities to the bench in California, where the majority of the judges are white males.

In his first two years in office, Schwarzenegger appointed few minority judges and received harsh criticism for it from ethnic groups and some state legislators. They argued that the governor was giving lip service to changing a judicial appointments process they described as inherently political, lacking accountability and involving secret and local judicial screening committees.

With pressure building from ethnic and women's groups to diversify the bench, Schwarzenegger appointed the state's first African-American judicial appointments secretary, attorney Sharon Majors-Lewis, early last year.

Majors-Lewis has made believers of many minority bar groups, including the Ventura County chapters of the Mexican American Bar Association and the African American Bar Association, that the governor was serious about diversifying the state's benches.

"They are following through on their commitments. The governor is working to diversify the bench, together with the appointments secretary Sharon Majors-Lewis," said attorney Greg Ramirez, president of the local MABA chapter.

Alvan Arzu, president of the local AABA chapter, agreed.

"She made good strides," said Arzu, noting Majors-Lewis' aggressive efforts to recruit and reach out to ethnic lawyers along with women's legal groups.

Gaining accountability

Aimed at gaining more accountability on judicial appointments, a new state law requires gender and ethnic information to be provided by the governor, the State Bar of California's Commission of Judicial Nominees Evaluation, or JNE Commission, and the state's Administrative Office of the Courts. The JNE Commission investigates and evaluates judicial applicants.

Some Latino and black leaders say that a criminal justice system in which only white people are seen wearing robes or prosecuting minority defendants is perceived by many as being unfair and unjust.

The county needs more minority judges and commissioners, who are appointed by Superior Court judges and carry out most of the same duties as the judges, to reflect the diversity of the community, Arzu and Ramirez said.

Ventura County Superior Court has one minority judge, Judge Manuel J. Covarrubias, who is assigned to juvenile court.

The county recently lost two of its minority judges. Judge Arturo Gutierrez retired in April, and Judge Herbert Curtis retired last year.

The county has 29 judgeships, in addition to four commissioners, said Ventura County Superior Court Presiding Judge Colleen Toy White. Six of the judges are women, she said.

Candidates urged to apply

In California, there are 1,603 judges as of March 1, and 1,162, or 73 percent, are whites, and 72 percent are men. These numbers include the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal justices and Superior Court judges.

A total of 107 judges, or 6.7 percent, are Hispanic; 77, or 4.8 percent, are black; and 71, or 4.4 percent, are Asian, according to the Judicial Council of California.

The remaining 11 percent of judges either said they are of other races or didn't provide information about their ethnicity, said state officials.

Although all qualified candidates are urged to apply for judicial posts, Majors-Lewis is trying to fill judicial vacancies, including those in Ventura County, with more minorities to improve judicial diversity in California.

Four vacancies created

Since the appointment of Majors-Lewis in February 2007, minority judicial applicants have increased to 31 percent of the total, which is up 2 percent from 2006, state officials said.

In Ventura County, there are opportunities for qualified lawyers to become judges as a result of four vacancies created by the retirement of Superior Court judges. In addition, another judicial post will be created when a new Superior Court courtroom is opened, said White.

"I am cautiously optimistic that in July we will have that fifth position," she said, noting that it is rare to see this many judicial vacancies at one time. "I don't think that in most people's careers we will ever see four or five openings for judgeships at one time."

Majors-Lewis said the governor is committed to adding "the best and brightest" candidates to the state's judicial posts.

"It is important to appoint a diversity of people who bring different perspectives and see things in a different light," Majors-Lewis said in an interview. "It is critical throughout the state to continue to strive to make our courts diverse."

White agreed, and added that she talks to Majors-Lewis every four to six weeks, including discussions about appointing qualified minorities in Ventura County.

Diverse judicial system

The presiding judge said it is "extremely important" to have a diverse judicial system in the county and throughout the state.

"The bench needs to reflect the community that we serve," White said.

Attorney Matthew Guasco, president of the Ventura County Bar Association, said it's also important for bar associations, along with the legal profession as a whole, to become more diverse, especially in California.

"We need to accelerate the efforts," said Guasco.

Such comments are fine, Ramirez said, but one problem is that ethnic bar groups weren't invited to participate in the Ventura County Bar Association's Judicial Nominees Evaluation, or JNE committee, which investigates and rates local judicial candidates and sends its findings to the governor.

Lawyers must be in good standing with the state bar association for 10 years to apply for state judgeships.

MABA, a division of the Ventura County Bar Association, expressed its "surprise and disappointment" that it wasn't approached last year about providing input or representation on the judicial nominating committee, said Ramirez.

Guasco said the 13-member JNE committee tries to have a diversity of attorneys, with two Latinos, civil and criminal lawyers, female attorneys and representatives from the District Attorney's Office. He said committee members have two-year terms.

"The local bar has very little influence in all this," said Guasco.

Guasco acknowledged that in the past, the Bar Association didn't do a good job of including ethnic bar groups in its activities or communicating with these members. He said that in the past two years, efforts to be more inclusive and open the lines of communication have accelerated.

"The board wants a more inclusive process," he said.

State officials say there are eight local judicial advisory committees that also review applications and make recommendations to the governor.

Critics say the governor should release the names of those serving on the committees.

Schwarzenegger has not yet decided whether committee members' names should be made public, state officials said. The policy is under review, and Schwarzenegger could change it, according to state officials.

Subjected to pressure

State officials are concerned that the committee members could be subjected to outside pressure or influence if their names were made public.

Majors-Lewis' eyes are the final stop for judicial applications before they reach the governor's desk. The governor, however, is ultimately responsible for appointments to the bench, officials said.

Majors-Lewis said she spoke or met with ethnic and other groups "one to three times a week, every week" last year, although she slowed the pace a bit this year, she said.

"I wanted people to really and truly understand the process involved," she said.

Many qualified ethnic lawyers never applied because they believed they never had a chance of being appointed judges, according to Majors-Lewis. She said she also encourages those who have applied before and were not chosen to resubmit their applications.

Many minority lawyers, like Ramirez, believe that the judicial appointment process in Ventura County and many other counties has, for years, been tied to a "good old boy" network fueled by politics. So, Ramirez said, many Latinos, Blacks, Asians and other minorities felt they were wasting their time applying for posts.

Sharing the blame

"Why bother applying because you are never going to get it unless you are on the inside. I've heard that," he said.

But Ramirez also blames local ethnic bar associations, which, he said, should do more to recruit and encourage qualified candidates to apply.

He said the Los Angeles Mexican American Bar Association is active in the judicial application process.

"They've got all their ducks in a row. They've got candidates to run for office," said Ramirez. "They've got candidates to file for judicial appointments. We haven't done that in Ventura County. So shame on us."

There is no timetable or way to determine when vacancies in Ventura County or elsewhere in the state will be filled by judicial appointments, said Majors-Lewis. "The office is working as fast as it can get applicants through the process," she said.