Leondra Kruger sailed through her nomination to the California Supreme Court Monday, winning unanimous approval from the three-person Commission on Judicial Appointments.
Kruger grew up in Southern California, but has spent most of her career in Washington, D.C. Kruger, 38, is a deputy assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice. She went to Yale Law School, and has spent time as a clerk for Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens and at the Office of the Solicitor General.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris, who is part of the appointing commission, listed a string of glowing recommendations that came from luminaries ranging from U.S. Supreme Court justices to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Then she posed this question to Kruger:
“I don’t have any questions about your skills, but as a fellow native Californian who also lived in D.C., what most excited you about coming home?”
Kruger answered that her heart has always been in California and she praised the state’s diversity.