Calif. Court Nominee Dodges Tough Questions

Tani Cantil-Sakauye, nominee for California chief justice, avoided many controversial issues in her first interview since her nomination.

Cantil-Sakauye would not give her opinion about gay marriage to the Los Angeles Times but said she would follow precedent if she heard a gay rights case. The moderate Republican performed a gay marriage in 2008 but said it was only because the marriage was legal at the time.

She also declined to make a major stance about the initiative process, which allowed voters to reverse the California supreme court's decision to legalize gay marriage. Cantil-Sakauye told the Times the initiative process "serves a useful purpose."
The chief justice nominee is relatively unknown, and no experts suggested her as a replacement for retiring chief justice Ronald M. George.

If elected, Cantil-Sakauye, who is Filipino-American, would be the first person from a racial minority to serve as California chief justice and the second woman.