FBANC Statement on the Passing of the Honorable Cruz Reynoso
May 18, 2021
FBANC mourns the loss of pioneering attorney and jurist, the Honorable Cruz Reynoso. Hon. Reynoso served as Associate General Counsel for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from 1967-1968. In 1968, he was the deputy director of California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA), where he served with Filipinx trailblazer Larry Itliong on CRLA’s Board of Trustees, along with César Chávez.
In 1976, Governor Jerry Brown appointed Hon. Reynoso as Associate Justice on the Third Appellate District of the California Court of Appeal. Recognizing Hon. Reynoso as “a man of outstanding intellect, superior judicial performance, high integrity, and … rare personal qualities,” Governor Brown elevated Hon. Reynoso to the California Supreme Court in 1981. He was the first Latinx-identifying jurist to serve on the appellate and high court.
Among his iconic work as a public servant, Hon. Reynoso wrote the California Supreme Court opinion, ruling that language access must be provided to criminal defendants at each procedural phase. Seen as too progressive at the time, he, along with Chief Justice Rose Bird and Justice Joseph Grodin, were voted off the bench in 1986 for supposedly not adequately enforcing the death penalty.
After his judicial tenure, Hon. Reynoso continued to fight for justice as a public servant and in academia. He served as faculty at UCLA School of Law and UC Davis School of Law, as a Congressional appointee to the U.S. Commission of Civil Rights, on President-elect Barack Obama’s White House transition team, and on the boards of Mexican American Legal Defense Education Fund (MALDEF), the National Resources Defense Fund, Children Now, and the Garment Workers Trust Fund.
Hon. Reynoso graciously served as FBANC’s Keynote Speaker at our first installation ceremony on June 19, 1981 at The Aristocrat Restaurant in Daly City, California. He also installed FBANC’s first Board of Directors. Hon. Reynoso provided the same service at FBANC's second installation gala in 1982.
FBANC Founder and 1982-1983 President Ernest Llorente shares, “Cruz was so supportive of FBANC and was our featured speaker for our first two installation dinners. He drove down from Sacramento to Daly City each time and would not accept an honorarium. He was a dynamic yet humble and personable man. He wanted us to succeed.” FBANC’s Principal Founder and 1990-1991 President Raymond L. Ocampo Jr. remembers Hon. Reynoso as “a good and decent man who was open to working with everyone. He was an early example of someone working with several minority bars as often as possible. His presence at our first two dinners was a big deal.”
FBANC is forever thankful for Hon. Reynoso’s allyship and service to the community.
Contact Jennifer L. Sta.Ana, FBANC President-Elect at jenniferstaana@fbanc.org for more information. Photo credits: First photo courtesy of California Supreme Court as seen in npr.org; second photo in FBANC archives; third photo, taken in 1982, courtesy of Ernest Llorente.
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Established in 1980, FBANC is an organization of attorneys, judges, and law students dedicated to serving the Filipino community. Through the volunteer work of its members, including lifetime members, FBANC offers various service programs, including regular, free legal clinics, professional development programs for attorneys, and mentorship for law students and young attorneys. The organization also provides a voice for and advocates on behalf of Filipino interests in various forums.