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Roger John Traynor (February 12, 1900 – May 14, 1983) served as the 23rd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of California from 1964 to 1970, and as an Associate Justice from 1940 to 1964. Events 1429 - English Forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orleans from attack by the Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar Events 1264 - Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured in France making Simon de Montfort the Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) The Supreme Court of California is the State supreme court in California. A nationally-respected jurist, Traynor's thirty-year career as California's 77th Justice coincided with tremendous demographic, social, and governmental growth in California and in the United States of America, and was marked by a belief (in the words of one commentator) that "the increased presence of government in American life was a necessary and beneficial phenomenon. JURIST is an online legal news service hosted by the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, written by founder Professor Bernard Hibbitts and a staff of more than California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. "[1]

Traynor has generally been viewed by the American legal community as the single greatest judge in the history of the California judiciary, and one of the greatest judges in the history of the United States[2]. A judge, or justice, is an Official who presides over a Court of law California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. In Law, the judiciary or judicial system is the system of Courts which administer Justice in the name of the sovereign or State The United States of America —commonly referred to as the His obituary in the New York Times noted that "Traynor was often called one of the greatest judicial talents never to sit on the United States Supreme Court. An obituary is an attempt to give an account of the texture and significance of the life of someone who has recently died The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. "[3]

He wrote a 1948 opinion that was the first instance of a state supreme court striking down laws prohibiting miscegenation and wrote a 1952 opinion that abolished the defense of recrimination in the context of divorce and paved the way for the social revolution of no-fault divorce; but his most significant and well-known contribution to contemporary American law is probably his 1963 creation of true strict liability in product liability cases. An opinion is a Person 's Ideas and thoughts towards something which it is either impossible to verify the truth of or the truth of which is thought unimportant to This article discusses the state supreme courts in the United States Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society Miscegenation (Latin miscere "to mix" + genus "kind" is the mixing of different racial groups, that is marrying, cohabiting In Law, recrimination is a defense in an action for Divorce in which the accused party makes a similar accusation against the Plaintiff. Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the termination of a Marriage. No-fault divorce is a Divorce in which the dissolution of a marriage requires neither a showing of wrong-doing of either party nor any evidentiary proceedings at all The law of the United States was originally largely derived from the Common law system of English law, which was in force at the time of the Revolutionary Strict liability is a Legal doctrine that makes a person responsible for the damage and loss caused by his/her acts and omissions regardless of Culpability (or fault Product liability is the area of law in which manufacturers distributors suppliers retailers and others who make products available to the public are held responsible for the injuries

An earlier generation of judges had timidly experimented with legal fictions like warranties to avoid leaving severely injured plaintiffs without any recourse. In the Common law tradition legal fictions are suppositions of fact taken to be true by the Courts of Law, but which are not necessarily A plaintiff ( Π in Legal shorthand) also known as a claimant or complainant, is the party who initiates a Lawsuit Traynor simply threw those away and imposed strict liability as a matter of public policy.

To those skeptical of the power of government to redress social wrongs, Traynor's extraordinary work is notable for the degree to which it asserted the power of the judiciary to resolve difficult issues of public policy, and to redefine the boundaries of corporate and governmental liability.

Contents

Personal life

Traynor was born and raised in the rugged mining town of Park City, Utah by Felix and Elizabeth Traynor, who were impoverished Irish immigrants from Hilltown in Ireland [4][5]. Mining is the extraction of valuable Minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually (but not always from an Ore body A town is a type of settlement ranging from a few to several thousand (occasionally hundreds of thousands inhabitants although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan Park City is a town in Summit and Wasatch counties in the US state of Utah. The Irish people ( Irish: Muintir na hÉireann, na hÉireannaigh, na Gaeil) are a Western European Ethnic group who originate Immigration refers to the movement of people among countries While the movement of people has existed throughout human history at various levels modern immigration implies long-term Hilltown ( Irish: Baile Hill) is a small Village in County Down, Northern Ireland. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world

In 1919, upon the advice of a high school teacher, he entered the University of California, Berkeley, though he had only $500 in savings to finance his college education [6]. The University of California Berkeley (also referred to as Cal, Berkeley and UC Berkeley) is a major research university located in Berkeley Fortunately, he won a scholarship at the end of his first year due to his excellent grades, and went on to earn a B.A. in 1923, a M.A. in 1924, and a Ph.D. in 1926; all these degrees were in political science. A scholarship is an award of access to an institution or a financial aid award for an individual student scholar for the purpose of furthering their Education A Master of Arts ( Latin: Magister Artium) is a Postgraduate academic Master's degree awarded by universities in a large "PhD" redirects here for other uses see PhD (disambiguation. Political science is a branch of Social sciences that deals with the theory and practice of Politics and the description and analysis of Political systems He also earned a J.D. from Boalt Hall in 1927. Juris Doctor (abbreviated JD or JD, from the Latin, Teacher of Law) is a first professional graduate degree and Professional The University of California Berkeley School of Law, commonly referred to as Berkeley Law and Boalt Hall, is one of 14 schools and colleges at the University He earned the two latter degrees at the same time, while teaching undergraduates and serving as editor-in-chief of the California Law Review. He was subsequently admitted to the State Bar of California that same year[7]. The State Bar of California is California 's official Bar association.

On August 23, 1933, Traynor married Madeleine Emilie Lackman, a woman who shared his love of learning: she already held a M.A. in political science from UC Berkeley and would go on to earn a J. Events 79 - Mount Vesuvius begins stirring on the feast day of Vulcan the Roman god of fire Year 1933 ( MCMXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. D. in 1956[8]. They had three sons: Michael, Joseph, and Stephen. Michael followed his father into law; he attended Harvard Law School, became a partner with Cooley Godward Kronish LLP [1], and currently serves as president of The American Law Institute [2]. Harvard Law School (also known as Harvard Law or HLS) is one of the professional Graduate schools of Harvard University. Cooley Godward Kronish LLP ("Cooley" is a law firm that represents entrepreneurs venture capitalists and emerging growth companies in major technology fields The American Law Institute ( ALI) was established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of American Common law and its adaptation to changing social

Early career in academia and government

At UC Berkeley, Traynor wrote groundbreaking articles on taxation, and became a full professor in 1936[9]. The meaning of the word professor ( Latin: professor, person who professes to be an expert in some art or science teacher of highest rank) varies He also acted as a consultant to the California State Board of Equalization from 1932 to 1940, and to the United States Department of the Treasury from 1937 to 1940. A consultant (from the Latin consultare means "to discuss" from which we also derive words such as consul and counsel) is a Professional The State Board of Equalization (BOE is a public agency charged with tax administration and fee collection in the state of California in the United The United States Department of the Treasury is a Cabinet department and the Treasury of the United States government. He took a leave of absence from the University in 1933 to work full-time for the Board of Equalization, and another leave in 1937 to help the Treasury Department draft the Revenue Act of 1938 (the precursor of the modern Internal Revenue Code)[10]. The Internal Revenue Code (or IRC; more formally the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as amended) is the main body of domestic statutory Tax law

Through his work for the Board of Equalization during the Great Depression, Traynor was responsible for creating much of California's modern tax regime, including the vehicle registration fee (1933), sales tax (1933), income tax (1935), use tax (1935), corporate income tax (1937), and fuel tax (1937)[11]. A vehicle registration plate is a metal or plastic plate attached to a Motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes A sales tax is a Consumption tax charged at the Point of purchase for certain goods and services A use tax is a type of Excise tax levied in the United States. Corporate tax refers to a Tax levied by various jurisdictions on the Profits made by companies or associations. A fuel tax (also known as a petrol tax, gasoline tax, gas tax or fuel duty) is a Sales tax imposed on the sale of Fuel. He served as the first administrator of the California sales tax and supervised its deployment across 200,000 retailers. [12]

In January 1940, he started working part-time as a Deputy Attorney General under California Attorney General Earl Warren (who later became Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court)[13]. In most Common law jurisdictions the Attorney General, or Attorney-General, is the main legal advisor to the government and in some jurisdictions may in addition Earl Warren ( March 19, 1891 July 9, 1974) was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States and the only person ever elected thrice The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. He also started serving as Acting Dean of Boalt Hall, UC Berkeley's law school[14]. The University of California Berkeley School of Law, commonly referred to as Berkeley Law and Boalt Hall, is one of 14 schools and colleges at the University

On July 31, 1940, Traynor was nominated to the Supreme Court of California by Governor Culbert Olson. Events 30 BC - Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian 's forces but most of his army subsequently Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Governor of California is the highest executive authority in the state government whose responsibilities include making annual "State of the State" addresses Culbert Levy Olson ( November 7, 1876 April 13, 1962) was an American lawyer and politician He was unanimously confirmed by the Qualifications Committee on August 13 and was sworn in the same day[15].

Contributions to the law

During his long and distinguished career, Traynor authored more than 900 opinions, and he gained a reputation as the nation's leading state court judge. In the United States, a state court has Jurisdiction over disputes with some connection to a U [16][17] During his tenure, the decisions of the Supreme Court of California became the most frequently cited by all other state courts in the nation. [18]

Several of these decisions were majority opinions that transformed California from a conservative and somewhat repressive state into a progressive, innovative jurisdiction in the forefront of American law. [19] In opinions written by Traynor, California adopted or developed:

—and also abolished:

Traynor was also noted for the quality of his writing and reasoning[22], and was honored during his lifetime with membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (a rare honor for a judge)[23]. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS is an organization dedicated to scholarship and the advancement of learning Many of his opinions are still mandatory reading for American law students.

Also, Traynor did not uniformly join all opinions that could be characterized as "liberal" or "progressive" during his time on the Court; for example, he filed a two-sentence dissent in the landmark case of Dillon v. Legg, 68 Cal. 2d 728 (1968), which was a major step towards the modern tort of negligent infliction of emotional distress. The Tort of negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED is a controversial legal theory and is not accepted in many United States Jurisdictions

Criticism

The liberal tendencies of much of Traynor's work has since made him the subject of extensive criticism from American libertarians and conservatives, and tort reformers have often grouped Traynor together with Earl Warren as examples of judicial activists. Libertarianism is a term used by a broad spectrum of political philosophies which prioritize individual Liberty and seek to minimize or even abolish the Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined Tort reform refers to the idea of changing the rules applicable to the Law of Tort. Earl Warren ( March 19, 1891 July 9, 1974) was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States and the only person ever elected thrice Judicial activism is a pejorative term for the misuse of judicial power and is a neologism for the older classical term " board judicial review. For example, the conservative magazine National Review attacked Traynor's reasoning in the Pacific Gas and Electric case in a 1991 cover story[24]. National Review ( NR) is a biweekly Magazine and Web site, founded by the late author William F

In 1998, Regulation (the Cato Institute's journal) published a harsh critique of the California tort law system by Stephen Hayward. The Cato Institute is a Libertarian Think tank headquartered in Washington D He claimed that "rather than protecting life, liberty, and property, [it] has . . . become a threat to these. "[25] In blunt language apparently based upon a misunderstanding of the extent of judicial power under the rule of stare decisis, Hayward identified Roger Traynor's liberalizing influence on the Court's view of liability as "the first breach":

In the 1944 case of Escola v. Stare decisis is a common law doctrine under which judges are obligated to follow the precedents established in prior decisions Coca Cola Bottling Co. [26] . . . Traynor introduced the idea of broad social fault. "I believe," Traynor wrote, "the manufacturer's negligence should no longer be singled out as the basis of a plaintiff's right to recover in cases like the present one. " . . . . "Even if there is no negligence," Traynor wrote further, "public policy demands that responsibility be fixed wherever it will most effectively reduce the hazards to life and health inherent in defective products that reach the market. " Note the appeal to the demands of public policy, rather than law . . . . While this line of reasoning might be the basis for a legislative debate over which public policies should be adopted to allocate and compensate for risk, Justice Traynor's opinion represents a clear case of legislation by judicial fiat.

In a 1966 essay addressed to both the legal community of his time and future generations, Traynor defended his judicial philosophy:

There are always some who note with alarm any appellate opinion that goes beyond a mechanical canvass of more or less established precedents. They include the diehards, dead set against all but familiar routines. They include the slothful, who would rationalize their own inertia. They also include carpers hostile toward any enlightenment, who would knowingly impair judicial vigil by keeping the visibility low. Slyly they equate justice with the blindfold image without articulating the corollary that decision would then be reduced to a blind toss of the coin. They do not state how problematic are the problems that reach the Supreme Court, and how great the need for judicial reasoning beyond formulas. [27]

Retirement

On January 2, 1970, Traynor announced his retirement in order to avoid losing eligibility for retirement benefits under a California law that stripped judges of most benefits if they chose to remain on the bench past the age of 70[28]. Events 366 - The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers invading the Roman Empire. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely He retired to Berkeley and subsequently died there in his home from cancer. Berkeley is a city on the east shore of San Francisco Bay in Northern California, in the United States. Cancer (medical term Malignant Neoplasm) is a class of Diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled

In July of 1983, the California Law Review gave over all its space in issue 4, volume 71 to publishing eloquent tributes to Justice Traynor from several esteemed judges, law professors, and politicians, including Warren Burger [29], Henry Friendly [30], and Edmund G. Brown [31]. A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person Warren Earl Burger ( September 17 1907 – June 25 1995) was Chief Justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986 Henry Jacob Friendly ( July 3 1903 in Elmira New York – March 11 1986, New York City) was a prominent Judge Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown Sr ( April 21, 1905 February 16, 1996) was the 32nd Governor of California, serving

Preceded by
Phil S. Gibson		 Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court
1964 –1970		 Succeeded by
Donald R. Wright

References

  1. ^ Michael Traynor | Professionals | Cooley Godward Kronish LLP
  2. ^ The American Law Institute - Officers & Council

^  Anonymous, "Chief Explains New Sales Law: Director Traynor Clears Up Disputed Points," Los Angeles Times, 4 August 1933, 11. Phil S Gibson ( November 28, 1888 – April 28, 1984) was the 22nd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of California. The Supreme Court of California is the State supreme court in California. Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. This article refers to the Chief Justice For the Minnesota Lt The Los Angeles Times (also known as the LA Times) is a daily Newspaper published in Los Angeles California and distributed

^  Anonymous, "Coast Chief Justice to Resign; Reagan Will Choose Successor," New York Times, 3 January 1970, 7.

^  Edmund G. Brown, "A judicial giant," California Law Review 71, no. 4 (July 1983): 1053-1054.

^  Warren Burger, "A tribute," California Law Review 71, no. 4 (July 1983): 1037-1038.

^  L. Gordon Crovitz and Stephen Bates, "How law destroys order," National Review, 11 February 1991, 28-33. National Review ( NR) is a biweekly Magazine and Web site, founded by the late author William F

^  Don J. DeBenedictis, "Traynor dies at 83: led state court in progressive era," Los Angeles Daily Journal, 17 May 1983, 1.

^  Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1985), 688.

^  Henry J. Friendly, "Ablest judge of his generation," California Law Review 71, no. 4 (July 1983): 1039-1044.

^  Stephen Hayward, "Golden Lawsuits in the Golden State," Regulation 17, no. 3 (Summer 1998). [32]

^  J. Edward Johnson, "Roger J. Traynor," in History of the Supreme Court Justices of California: Volume II, 1900-1950, ed. J. Edward Johnson, 182-196 (San Francisco: Bancroft-Whitney Company, 1966), 182-184.

^  Johnson, 184.

^  Johnson, 186.

^  Johnson, 187.

^  Johnson, 187-188.

^  Johnson, 189.

^  Johnson, 190.

^  Johnson, 191.

^  Johnson, 192.

^  Johnson, 193.

^  Les Ledbetter, "Roger J. Traynor, California Justice," New York Times, 17 May 1983, B6.

^  Roger J. Traynor, "The Supreme Court's Watch On The Law," in History of the Supreme Court Justices of California: Volume II, 1900-1950, ed. J. Edward Johnson, 206-211 (San Francisco: Bancroft-Whitney Company, 1966), 211.

^  G. Edward White, "Introduction," in The Traynor Reader: A Collection of Essays by the Honorable Roger J. Traynor, (San Francisco: The Hastings Law Journal, Hastings College of the Law, 1987) [33]

^  Jeffrey Robert White, "Top 10 in torts: evolution in the common law," Trial 32, no. 7 (July 1996): 50-53.

^  Irving Younger, "Legal Writing All-Stars," ABA Journal 72, no. 12 (December 1986): 94-95.

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