SACRAMENTO - Democratic lawmakers, who say they are still unhappy that the governor is not putting enough women and minorities on the bench, want to shine a spotlight on the selection process.

Assembly Judiciary Committee Chairman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, is proposing to force Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to reveal the names of confidential advisers he uses statewide to screen judicial candidates. This requirement is among several last-minute changes that Jones inserted into a bill to create 50 new judgeships.

Naming Names

"Revealing who are on those local committees is non-negotiable,"

said Fredericka McGee, general counsel to Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez.

"If someone wants to serve a public function, their names should be public."

Democratic legislators commonly refer to the committees as "secret committees," because names are kept confidential. They argue that this perpetuates an "old boys network" of prosecutors, public defenders and litigators who do not regularly circulate with women and minorities.

"We think it is simply about leveling the playing field," McGee said. "Anyone who is interested in becoming a judge, who has the skill set to be part of that process, shouldn't be disadvantaged because someone in the circle - in the 'in crowd' - has more information than they are privy to."

Too Male, Too White

Schwarzenegger has faced a growing chorus of complaints from Democrats and minority leaders that the judges he has appointed have been too male and too white. Last month, members of the Asian American, Latino and African-American caucuses threatened to pull funding for the new judges unless the governor made more diverse choices.

Short of scrapping the bill, Democrats proposed amendments to create a more diverse pool of applicants at the outset and a more transparent selection process that allows them to hold the governor accountable for his appointments.

To that end, Jones offered a second amendment to his bill, AB 159, that would require the governor to record the ethnicity, race, gender and legal background of all judicial applicants, including those who are not ultimately selected. The data can then be used to compare how many minorities and women applied with how many of their applications were sent on to the State Bar's Commission for Judicial Nominees Evaluation.

"A whole slew of minority applicants never even make it to the State Bar's JNE commission process because these secret committees cut them off," said Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-El Segundo.

Lieu is one of the legislators who threatened to oppose giving the governor any new judgeships. He said he will support the bill with the new amendments in large part because Schwarzenegger selected a more diverse batch of judges in his latest round of appointments.

"But our patience is very limited," Lieu added.

A third amendment to the bill would broaden the definition of "legal experience" the State Bar should consider during its evaluation to include nonprofit, government, academic and dispute resolution work.

The goal, according to Democrats, is to break the bias in favor of prosecutors, public defenders and trial lawyers.

McGee said all three amendments were drafted with support of Senate Democrats. If the legislation is passed there, it will have to come back to the Assembly for a vote before it goes to the governor.

The governor has yet to take a position on the newly amended bill, said Gena Grebitus, a spokeswoman for Schwarzenegger. She would only say that the governor's staff "is still in discussions" with Democratic lawmakers.

Schwarzenegger drew criticism in his own party last year for choosing almost as many Democrats and independents as Republicans for the bench. AB 159 might tilt the selection process even more heavily in favor of lawyers who are not Republicans.

Nevertheless, Republican lawmakers, who appear to be choosing their battles carefully in the wake of a nasty and protracted budget fight, have expressed little concern about the amendments.

Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Claremont, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, said Jones' amendments are reasonable.

"We are not for a lack of principle or a lack of passion, but we have a collective desire to work in cooperation as much as possible,"

Adams said, adding that the amendments "are essentially window dressing.

At the end of the day, they won't have a substantive impact on how the governor selects his appointments."