Joyce Kennard
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| Sitting justices |
| Carlos Moreno Joyce Kennard Kathryn Mickle Werdegar Ronald George Ming Chin Marvin Baxter Carol Corrigan |
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| California on Judgepedia |
Joyce L. Kennard is an Associate Justice on the California Supreme Court, a position she has held since her 1989 appointment by then-governor George Deukmejian. She is the first Asian-American, and only the second woman, to serve on the state's high court.
Kennard was born into a Japanese concentration camp in West Java, Indonesia. Her heritage is Dutch, Indonesian, and Chinese. Her family was placed into a concentration camp because of their mixed race. Accordingly, English is not Kennard's native language, which she speaks with a slight Dutch accent.
As a teenager, her leg was amputated, and she now walks with aid of a prosthesis.[1]
Legal education and experience
Kennard enrolled in the University of Southern California, where she completed a Bachelor's Degree in German, before going on to get a degree as a Master of Public Administration. In 17974, Kennard received her J.D. from Gould School of Law, the same university's law school.
After graduating law school, her judicial career was marked by her rapid assent to the top of California law through a series of substantial appointments and elevations:
- In 1986, Kennard was appointed to the Los Angeles Municipal Court
- A year later she was elevated to the California Superior Court
- Merely a year after that she was again elevated, this time to the California Court of Appeal
- Finally, and only another year later in 1989, she was appointed to the California Supreme Court by then-governor Deukmejian.
In her time on the bench, she has been noted for asking tough questions of attorneys arguing before the court--not so unlike judicial peer and retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.[2]
Awards and Recognition
Kennard is a member of academic societies Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi.
In 1991 Kennard won "Justice of the Year" Award from the California Trial Lawyers Association. Additionally, she was presented with the "1996 Spirit of Excellence Award", given by the American Bar Association's Commission on Opportunities for Minorities in the Profession.
External links
References
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The California Project on Judgepedia
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