A late-September calendar will not be the only thing Supreme Court related at the State Bar’s annual meeting in San Diego. On Sunday, October 2, the California Supreme Court Historical Society and the Witkin Legal Institute will present a program about judicial elections, near the 30th anniversary of one of the most significant events in the court’s history: the election at which three justices lost their seats. It was an election that the then-new Chief Justice compared to a 100-year flood, hence the program title.
The program panel will include two of the justices who lost in 1986 — Joseph Grodin and Cruz Reynoso. Joining them will be Dean Erwin Chemerinsky of the UC Irvine School of Law.
The State Bar summarizes the event:
This program covers the California Constitution’s system for electing justices and judges, and how the elections can influence the administration of justice. Topics include an examination of the 1986 election at which three California Supreme Court justices were removed from the bench. The program will also involve discussion of campaign and campaign finance limitations on judicial candidates.
Disclosure: I’m on the Historical Society’s board and am organizing the program. But I can still say that it should be an enlightening and important program.