Ronald George

From Judgepedia

Ronald M. George (b. March 11, 1940) is the current Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court. He was appointed to the court in July 29, 1991 by then-governor Pete Wilson. He was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in on September 3, 1991. He was elected to a full term on November 8, 1994. He has served as Chief Justice since March 28, 1996. He was retained to this position on November 3, 1998 and his current term ends in 2010.^[1]

In his position as Chief Justice of the state supreme court, George chairs the Judicial Council of California, which administers the California Administrative Office of the Courts, a 900-person agency that oversees California's state court system.^[1]

Legal education

George graduated from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University in 1961. George then immediately enrolled in Stanford Law School, from where he received a J.D.^[1]

Legal Experience

Deputy Attorney General

From 1965 to 1972 George served Deputy Attorney General in California's Department of Justice. During his time there, he represented the state of California in 11 cases before the state's Supreme Court, and six before the Supreme Court of the United States.^[1]

Los Angeles Municipal Court

George was appointed to the Los Angeles Municipal Court on April 20, 1972 by then-Governor Ronald Reagan. In 1976, he ran unopposed in an election to gain a six-year term. From 1974 to 1975, George served as the Supervising Judge in charge of the West Los Angeles Branch, and in 1977 he served as the Supervising Judge in charge of the Criminal Division. ^[2]

Los Angeles Superior Court

On December 23, 1977 then-Governor Edward Brown, Jr. appointed George to the Los Angeles Superior Court, where he eventually served for 10 years--winning re-election twice along the way in 1978 and 1984.^[1]

The most notable moment from his time on the Superior Court bench came in 1981, where he oversaw the People v. Angelo Buono, better known as the "Hillside Strangler Case". George rejected a motion from the prosecution to dismiss the charges, leading to a re-vamped prosecution that eventually convicted Buono on 9 of the 10 murder charges.^[3]

Court of Appeal

George was appointed to the California Courts of Appeal in 1987, by then-Governor George Deukmejian.^[1]

Supreme Court

George was finally appointed the California Supreme Court on July 29, 1991, by then-Governor Pete Wilson. He was appointed Chief Justice in 1996, and has served in that position ever since.

On Gay Marriage

On May 15, 2008 the California Supreme Court, backed by George's majority opinion, concluded that "equal respect and dignity" of marriage is a "basic civil right". This ruling overturned California's existing marriage laws.^[4]

A year later, after California voters decided to amend their constitution, the California Supreme Court affirmed the voters' referendum.^[5]

Awards and recognition

George has garnered several notable awards in his judicial career, including:

• 2007 - American Bar Association's John Marshall Award
• 2007 - Legal Writing Institute's Golden Pen Award
• 2002 - William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence^[1]

Controversies

Chemerinsky letter

In 2007, George weighed in on the appointment of Erwin Chemerinski to a position as Dean at California's newest law school at University of California, Irvine in Orange County. After George weighed in, Chemerinski's appointment was revoked, resulting in a maelstrom of academic rebellion from within UC Irvine as well as legal scholars from both the left and the right throughout the country. After significant media attention, Chemerinski's appointment was reinstated. Several legal pundits questioned the ethics of George involving himself in the appointment.^[6]

"Declaration of war"

According to Bob Egelko, writing in the California Courts Review^[7], George told a 2003 gathering of the California Judges Association^[8] that attempts by California judges or political leaders to alter the structure of the Judicial Council of California so that its members are chosen using a more democratic process would be taken by him as "a declaration of war." Under the current system, George appoints nearly all members of the Judicial Council of California; it, in turn, supervises the California Administrative Office of the Courts, a 900-person office with significant influence over the California state court system.^[9]

Court closures

In an August 2009 meeting of the Judicial Council, George stated that opposition to the decision to close the California courts for one day per month "has come from persons who in the past have shown little or no interest in our efforts to maintain and increase access to justice."^[10] In his comments, George questioned whether the expressed concerns with court closures were "totally geniune or reflect instead perhaps some personal concern about the implications, financial or otherwise, to oneself from closures and from the pressure to engage in voluntary furloughs one day a month." According to the Daily Journal, Sacramento County Superior Court judges Maryanne Gilliard and Loren McMaster requested an apology from George.^[11]

SBX2 11

Ronald George is the chairman of the Judicial Council of California,^[12] which wrote SBX2 11. The bill was signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on February 20, 2009. The bill reinstated certain supplemental benefits for judges and gave them retroactive immunity for accepting compensation from the county of Los Angeles, which the Constitution clearly states shall be set by the legislature. A story about the bill, and a link to it, can be found at Full Disclosure Network.^[13]

An organization known as Judicial Watch^[14] filed a lawsuit against the county. In October 2008, a California appellate court decision, Sturgeon v. County of Los Angeles^[15] declared the payments by the county to the judges were unconstitutional, thus reversing the decision made by a Los Angeles County Superior Court.

In March 2009, attorney Richard Fine, was jailed in retaliation for exposing the corruption, now involving all branches of California government. More information can be found in the story by Full Disclosure Network. From his jail cell, Fine filed various motions and petitions, including a certiorari petition in United States Supreme Court. The question before the court was whether or not Judge Yaffe should have ruled in a case which Fine represented plaintiffs in, against the county of Los Angeles, which has been paying Yaffe and other judges the supplemental benefits for years. According to the U.S. Supreme Court docket information on Attorney Fine's petition,^[16] the justices were set to discuss the case on September 29, 2009... and denied the petition on October 5, 2009.

Ron Branson encountered the same type of bias by judges in 1982 while helping a friend with a case against the county. He wrote Judicial Accountability Initiative Law in 1995 after he brought a lawsuit in 1994 against the county and seven police officers for false arrest, false imprisonment and unwarranted strip-search, as well as other charges; and when the City of Los Angeles defaulted, no judgment came, although the Constitution mandates one be rendered within ninety days of default. Branson’s biography, as well as the amendment to a state or federal Constitution, known as J.A.I.L. (Judicial Accountability Initiative Law), can be found at the JAIL 4 Judges website^[17]

Personal

Ronald George is married to Barbara George. They have three children. Barbara George is the chair of the California Supreme Court Art Selection Committee.^[18]

External links

• Biography of Ronald George on the California Supreme Court website
• Project Vote Smart biography of Ronald George
• Ronald M. George profile from the Metropolitan News-Enterprise

References

The California Project on Judgepedia

Supreme Court Courts of Appeal Federal court of appeal

Federal central district for California Federal eastern district for California Federal northern district for California Federal southern district for California