The number of LGBTQ judges serving on California state courts has spiked by 15.87% over the last year. It is a marked change from 2019, when the ranks of LGBTQ jurists remained flat at an official count of 62, the same as was reported in 2018.
According to the latest demographic data for the makeup of the state courts, released Monday, March 1, there was an official tally of 69 LGBTQ judges as of December 31, 2020.
But the number of LGBTQ people serving on the California bench is now at least 73. That total includes the November elections of lesbian judges in Alameda and Santa Cruz counties, who were sworn onto their courts in January, and the appointment of a gay man to the Alameda County court, who was sworn in March 1.