In Memoriam: Jake Dear, Chief Supervising Attorney of the California Supreme Court

Jake Dear, who served as chief supervising attorney of the California Supreme Court under three Chief Justices as part of his 40-year career at the court, died Friday, June 5 after a short illness. Dear, who was also widely known as a leading scholar regarding the court’s history and influence, was 69.

Dear joined the court in 1982 as an extern and then served as an annual law clerk for Justice Stanley Mosk. After a short time in private practice, he rejoined the court as a chambers attorney for Justice Joseph Grodin, then transitioned to a supervising attorney role within the chambers of Chief Justice Malcolm Lucas. Beginning in 2007, he served as chief supervising attorney under Chief Justices Ronald M. George and Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, a position he held until his retirement in January 2023. Even after retiring, he continued to volunteer his services to the court on a pro bono basis.

Shortly before his passing, Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero provided Dear with a formal commemoration honoring his service. The commemoration described Dear as “a historian of the court and a steward of its future,” and expressed “the profound gratitude of the California Supreme Court, the Judicial Council, and the entire judicial branch for his lifetime of dedication to the administration of justice, the enrichment and preservation of our judicial history, and the strengthening of California’s highest court.”

At the time of Dear’s retirement in 2023, Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye called his contributions to California jurisprudence “immeasurable and everlasting.”

"Jake Dear — his name, identity, and influence — is synonymous with the excellence and integrity of the California Supreme Court," she said.

Colleagues remembered Dear as much for his character as for his legal acumen. On his passing, Chief Justice Guerrero said that “Jake was more than just a brilliant attorney. He cared deeply about the court as an institution, including all of his coworkers. Through the connections he made, generations of attorneys benefited from his sincerity, curiosity, intelligence, and good humor.”

In addition to his work at the court, Dear served for many years as associate editor of the California Supreme Court Historical Society Review, and he wrote and spoke extensively regarding the court’s history and the influence its decisions have had on courts in other jurisdictions.

Dear was a graduate of UC Davis School of Law, where he also served as editor in chief of the UC Davis Law Review. He is survived by his wife, Maureen (Mo), and their son, Adam.

Read more remembrances from former Chief Justices and California Supreme Court staff in the California Supreme Court Historical Society Review feature “Portraits of Jake," and Chief Justice Guerrero's commemoration.