Moderate picked for the Supreme Court
The Commission on Judicial Appointments was set to consider the nomination
of state Appellate Justice Carol Corrigan to the Supreme Court early this month
after she was named to the court by Gov. Schwarzenegger, an appointment that
is widely believed will solidify the court’s moderate balance.
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Corrigan |
The governor described the 57-year-old Corrigan as a brilliant jurist and
someone who “is careful, thoughtful, quick-witted and brings a deliberate,
detail-oriented approach to the law.” He said he was looking for a jurist
with “strong experience, unimpeachable character and someone who is widely
respected,” and found those characteristics in Corrigan.
A popular and respected member of the bench, Corrigan is considered a moderate
who is tough on law and order issues and more moderate on social questions.
Standing beside the governor when he made his announcement, she said that “the
cornerstone of [her] judicial philosophy is the law doesn’t belong to
judges, it belongs to people and it belongs to all of us. It’s important
for judges to listen to the voice of the people and follow the law.”
Corrigan told reporters that hot-button issues, such as same-sex marriage,
were not raised by the governor in interviews.
U.S. District Court Judge Martin Jenkins, a longtime friend of Corrigan, described
her as the right person for the job. “Intellectually, she’s very
accomplished, she has a good broad life experience to bring perspective to
weighty issues, she’s humble and doesn’t take herself too seriously,
and she will listen to colleagues and lawyers alike in resolving issues,” Jenkins
said. “I don’t think you can ask for anything more.”
He described Corrigan as “a very fair-minded person” who takes
her responsibilities seriously.
If confirmed, Corrigan will replace Janice Rogers Brown, elevated by President
Bush to the Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., who is more conservative
and sometimes threw slings at her colleagues in her opinions. The appointment
will leave the court with no African-Americans, and its current makeup of three
women and four men, and just one Democrat, will remain intact. Corrigan switched
her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican in 1994.
The Commission on Judicial Appointments consists of Chief Justice Ronald George,
Attorney General Bill Lockyer and Joan Dempsey Klein, the state’s senior
presiding appellate judge. Although both George and Klein declined comment
before the hearing, Lockyer said in a statement that the governor “has
nominated a very strong candidate. . . . Justice Corrigan has a distinguished
history both as a judge and a practicing attorney. I look forward to reviewing
her qualifications and carefully considering her nomination.
Lockyer had criticized Vance Raye, the only other judge on Schwarzenegger’s
short list, for rejecting a racial discrimination claim filed by black employees.
Corrigan began her judicial service in the Alameda County Municipal Court
after working as a deputy district attorney and then a senior deputy district
attorney in Alameda County from 1975-1987. She was appointed a judge of the
Emeryville Piedmont Judicial District in 1987 and served on the Alameda Superior
Court from 1991-1994, when she was appointed by Gov. Pete Wilson to the First
District Court of Appeal.
She has been active in the judicial community, serving on the boards of numerous
organizations, including the Judicial Council, and has taught at several law
schools. Most recently, she completed eight years as co-chair of the Task Force
on Jury Instructions, where she led the effort to simplify criminal jury instructions.
A native of Stockton, Corrigan is the daughter of a journalist father and
librarian mother. She was student body president and graduated with honors
from Holy Names College in Oakland, where she later served as chair of the
board of trustees. After a couple of years of graduate study in a clinical
psychology program at St. Louis University, she switched gears and enrolled
at Hastings College of the Law, where she was the Note and Comment editor of
the Law Journal. She received her law degree in 1975.
She also has a long resume of community service and awards that include the
2004 Jurist of the Year Award, given by the Judicial Council, and the St. Thomas
More Award, presented last year by the St. Thomas More Society of San Francisco
in “recognition of her service and dedication to the legal profession,
our community, and to our church.” She has served as chair of the board
for St. Vincent’s Day Home, a child development center for poor children
in Oakland.
Corrigan is known for her quick wit and self-deprecating sense of humor. “One
of the things that marks Carol is she’s able to defuse hot-button issues
with her adroit sense of humor,” Jenkins said. “In large measure,
it helps her keep perspective.”
He described an incident when Corrigan was presiding over a mock “trial
of the century” at a downtown San Francisco hotel ballroom, filled with
more than 1,500 people and beamed to a larger audience on closed circuit TV. “In
comes Corrigan,” Jenkins recalled, “and she ascends the dais. All
of a sudden, the judge is nowhere to be seen. She flips over. Everybody was
holding their breath.
“As quick as you can imagine, Carol pops her head up and says, ‘Is
there a good lawyer in the house?’”
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