In Memoriam: Justice Joseph R. Grodin

California Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero began the court’s oral argument session Tuesday with a tribute to former Justice Joseph Grodin, who died in April at age 94.

“On behalf of the court, I want to express our appreciation for Justice Grodin’s service to the court and the people of this state,” Chief Justice Guerrero said. “He had a distinguished career serving as a labor lawyer, Supreme Court justice, and also a professor, and inspired others with his dedication to justice, integrity, and fairness.”

The in memoriam session—open to the public and livestreamed—served as a tribute to Justice Grodin’s service on the court from December 1982 to January 1987.

Speakers included Jake Dear, retired Supreme Court chief supervising attorney who worked under Justice Grodin; Professor Reuel Schiller of the UC College of the Law, San Francisco; and Michael Cohen, Justice Grodin’s grandson.

View photos of the session below. You can read Justice Grodin's oral history by the California Supreme Court Historical Society here.