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ARCHIVED WEBSITE: No new data posted since Sept. 1986
| NOTICE: Input into this website was stopped in September 1986, and it is considered "archived." For a list of our active websites, please visit www.procon.org. |
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The booklet "Should Chief Justice Rose Bird Be Re-Confirmed In The Upcoming November 4, 1986 California Election?" was originally published in September 1986 by the non-profit organization Association of Media Accuracy. On Aug. 28, 2003 ProCon.org transferred that 73-page booklet into its standard web format to the site www.RoseBirdProCon.org.
In most cases, the format, wording, and terms used in the Sept. 1986 publication have been transferred, but, in some cases, the terms have been updated. For example, "Definitions" was replaced by "Glossary" in the site's header.
This site presents in a simple, nonpartisan pro-con format, responses to the core question "Should Chief Justice Rose Bird be Reconfirmed (In the Upcoming November 4, 1986 California Election)?" We have divided questions about the topic into the issues and sub-issues listed below. [Note: Rose Bird received less than 40% support in the Nov. 4, 1986 election and was not reconfirmed.]
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S I T E R E S O U R C E S | R O S E B I R D I S S U E S |
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R O S E B I R D N E W S A N D N O T I C E S | Summary:
Rose Bird was appointed Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court in 1977 by Governor Jerry Brown, and was a controversial justice.
Those for her said that under her leadership the court strengthened environmental laws, consumer rights, and the rights of women and minorities. Those against her claimed that she had no prior experience on the bench, and she was soft on crime, voting to overturn or remand (return) to the lower courts 58 of 58 death penalty cases. (She voted with the majority 94.83% of the time in 55 of the 58 cases.)
On November 4, 1986 her position became subject to a contentious state-wide election on whether or not to reconfirm her position, and that of several other justices, for another 12-year term.
For the sake of perspective, we have included two historical sections; one which details the evolution of California's system of judicial confirmation elections, and the other which gives a brief legal history of the death penalty. | |
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