Broussard to Leave State High Court at End of August

SAN FRANCISCO —  Justice Allen E. Broussard said Monday he will step down from the state Supreme Court Aug. 31, ending a decade on the high court as one of its most liberal members.

Broussard, the second black jurist to serve on the court, had announced in February he would retire this year, but had set no date. His departure will enable Republican Gov. Pete Wilson to make his first nomination to a court now led by a 5-2 conservative majority.

A spokeswoman for Terrance Flanigan, Wilson’s appointments secretary, said there was no timetable for naming Broussard’s successor.

The governor must send the name or names of prospective candidates to a special commission of the State Bar for a confidential evaluation--a procedure that can take up to 90 days, the spokeswoman noted. The governor would then announce a nominee, who within about 30 days would go before the state Judicial Appointments Commission for confirmation.

The departure of Broussard will leave the court with only one generally acknowledged liberal, Justice Stanley Mosk. But before Broussard leaves, he will be able to participate in several important cases pending before the court.

Among others, the court will decide in coming months whether news reporters must receive access to the daily appointment calendars of the governor and other public officials, the constitutionality of a provision of Proposition 115 giving prosecutors the names and statements of witnesses the defense intends to call at trial, and the legality of more than $400 million in cutbacks of state aid to counties for indigent health care.

Apparently, Broussard will leave the court before it rules on the validity of Proposition 140, the legislative term-limitation measure. The justices have agreed to hear a challenge by lawmakers but have not set the case for argument this month--their last scheduled public session until September.

In a letter to Wilson, the 62-year-old Broussard said he was leaving the court with “very mixed emotions,” adding that he had “thoroughly enjoyed my years of service on the court, especially the fellowship and collegiality of all my fellow justices.”

Broussard said he had not made retirement plans, but intended to “pursue other business and professional interests.” He said also he has informed Chief Justice Malcolm M. Lucas that he would continue to serve as co-chair of a state judicial council advisory committee on race and ethnic bias, along with retired Justice John A. Arguelles.

He noted in his letter that with more than 27 years in the judiciary, he is eligible to retire with maximum benefits. He will collect 75% of his current annual salary of $121,207.

Broussard was born in Lake Charles, La., came to California in 1945, and earned a degree from the UC Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law. His judicial career began in 1964 when Democratic Gov. Edmund G. (Pat) Brown Sr. named him to the Oakland-Piedmont Municipal Court in Alameda County. Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr. elevated Broussard to the Alameda Superior Court in 1975 and then to the state Supreme Court in 1981.

When Broussard joined the high court it was dominated by liberals under then-Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird. He wrote a far-reaching decision requiring state officials to consider environmental factors in apportioning water rights and issued the court’s lead opinion giving public employees the right to strike.

After Bird and two other liberals were defeated in the 1986 election, Broussard and Mosk found themselves in the minority on a court dominated by appointees of former Republican Gov. George Deukmejian. Broussard became a frequent dissenter, but did write the justices’ unanimous ruling on Proposition 103, upholding the bulk of the insurance reform initiative while giving insurers the right to a fair profit.