When Leondra Kruger settled into her new chambers at California’s highest court seven years ago, she asked her top assistant to place the reports from the U.S. Supreme Court on the shelf behind her desk.
It was an unusual request for a state court that does not frequently deal with matters of federal law, but Kruger wanted the justices’ latest rulings nearby, said attorney Greg Wolff, the former head of her chambers.
“She just wanted them within reach,” Wolff said. “I think the U.S. Supreme Court is her first love.”
Kruger, an associate justice on the California Supreme Court, may herself be within reach of a seat on the nation’s highest court. She is one of several Black women — judges and lawyers — whose names are being circulated as possible picks by President Joe Biden to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer.
Kruger, 45, has been lauded by colleagues for her sharp intellect, her boundless energy and an exceptional demeanor on the bench.
