Moreno Retires from the Supreme Court, Leaving Behind a Legacy of Decency

• Jurisdiction: California,United States
• Citation: Vol. 02 No. 2011 Pg. 02
• Publication year: 2011
• Pages: 02
• Year: 2011

California Bar Journal 2011.

CBJ - February 2011 #02. Moreno retires from the Supreme Court, leaving behind a legacy of decency

The California Lawyer
February 2011

Moreno retires from the Supreme Court, leaving behind a legacy of decency

By Kristina Horton Flaherty
Staff Writer

California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno, who authored some of the state's key gay rights opinions and helped spark recent changes in the foster care system, will leave the bench this month after 24 years as a judge in state and federal courts. Moreno's upcoming departure, at age 62, after his recent election to a full 12-year term, came as a surprise to some, but citing a mix of career, family and financial reasons, he said recently: "The timing seemed right."

He plans to re-enter private practice at a law firm while he's still young enough to actively contribute, he says. His family - including an autistic daughter, a disabled brother-in-law and an aging mother-in-law who lives with him in Los Angeles - needs more of his time and support. He maxed out his retirement benefit last year. And he welcomes the chance to become more involved in political and civic activities. The recent election of Gov. Jerry Brown, too, helped ease his departure.

"I thought it only fair that a Democrat select my replacement," said Moreno, who was appointed to the court by Gov. Gray Davis in 2001. He currently is the only sitting justice appointed by a Democrat.

Moreno, the court's sole Latino, has been appointed to judgeships four times in his career, twice by Republicans and twice by Democrats. And in leaving the bench, he said he would simply like to be remembered as someone who was "open-minded, a good listener and a fair decider of important issues."

UC Irvine School of Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky said Moreno brought "great intellect and great decency" to the state's high court.

Santa Clara University School of Law Professor Gerald Uelmen, a longtime analyst of the court, said Moreno has been a moderate "and yet a very compassionate judge" who agreed with recently retired Chief Justice Ronald George roughly 95 percent of the time. He was "a real workhorse" who will be missed, Uelmen said. "I think he wrote some landmark opinions that will really stand the test of time."

From Uelmen's perspective, Moreno's greatest opinion was Fashion Valley Mall v. National Labor Relations Board, a 2007 ruling that upheld the rights of demonstrators to...