Schwarzenegger Appoints State Supreme Court Justice; Rulings Include Abortion-Related Cases
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Friday nominated appellate Judge Carol Corrigan to the state Supreme Court, the Los Angeles Times reports (Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 12/10). According to the AP/North County Times, Corrigan is a "moderate" who has issued "several conservative decisions" on issues such as abortion.
As an associate justice on the 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco, Corrigan in a 1997 ruling reversed the convictions of antiabortion protesters who had been charged for demonstrating outside a Vallejo clinic. She said state attorneys did not prove that the protesters were part of a group that had been banned from protesting outside the clinic (Lawrence, AP/North County Times, 12/9).
However, Corrigan, who is active in the Roman Catholic Church and affiliated charities, has said she does not always share the church's views on abortion and other issues and she makes an effort to prevent those views from influencing her rulings (Los Angeles Times, 12/10).
If confirmed, Corrigan would replace former Justice Janice Rogers Brown, who resigned in June from the seat after the U.S. Senate confirmed her to the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C.
A three-member commission consisting of Chief Justice Ronald George, Attorney General Bill Lockyer (D) and senior appellate Judge Joan Dempsey Klein are scheduled to hold a confirmation hearing on Jan. 4, 2006 (Mintz, San Jose Mercury News, 12/10).