George Nicholas Zenovich (April 29, 1922 – September 25, 2013) was an American politician and jurist, as well as a longtime Democrat.

Career

Elected as Assemblyman for the 32nd District, Zenovich served in the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The ...

from 1963 to 1971, where he acted as Majority Floor Leader and Chairman of the Democratic Caucus.https://library.fresnostate.edu/sites/all/assets/doc/scrc/george-n-zenovich.pdf Representing the 16th District, Zenovich then served in the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. D ...

from 1971 to 1979, where he was responsible for legislating the California Housing Finance Agency. He also carried the 1975 legislation creating the Arts Council and the Agricultural Labor Relations Board. As vice chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he was involved in major legislation, leading him to want a career on the bench. From 1979 -1984, Zenovich served as Justice of the 5th District in the

California Courts of Appeal The California Courts of Appeal are the state intermediate appellate courts in the U.S. state of California. The state is geographically divided along county lines into six appellate districts.

. The Fifth District Court of Appeal Courthouse in Fresno is named after him. After leaving the bench, Zenovich became a lobbyist in Sacramento.

Background

Zenovich was born in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

, to parents Nicholas and Eva, who were

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

immigrants to the United States from Yugoslavia. While in high school and college, he was elected student body president. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Zenovich served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

as an Army Air Force Japanese Code Interceptor Operator. He studied at

California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...

and then at

Southwestern Law School Southwestern Law School is a Private university, private Law school in the United States, law school in Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and enrolls nearly 1,000 students. Its campus includes the Bulloc ...

. In 1947, he was admitted to the California Bar and began working as an attorney in 1953. Active in the Democratic party's Central Committee, he ran the John F. Kennedy campaign in California's Central Valley and President County . Zenovich was married to Vera "Kika" Sarenac, who was born in the former Yugoslavia. They have two daughters. Ninon Zenovich (aka Ninon Aprea) is an actress and

Marina Zenovich Marina Zenovich is an American filmmaker known for her biographical documentaries. Her films include ''LANCE'', '' Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind'', '' Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic'' and '' Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired'', which won tw ...

is a documentary film director. Zenovich died in

at the age of 91.

References

External links

Official Court biography
1922 births 2013 deaths People from Fresno, California California State University, Fresno alumni Southwestern Law School alumni Judges of the California Courts of Appeal Democratic Party California state senators Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II American people of Serbian descent United States Army Air Forces soldiers 20th-century American judges {{California-CASenate-stub