Marcus Kaufman

Marcus Maurice Kaufman (June 19, 1929 – March 26, 2003) served as the 103rd justice on the Supreme Court of California from March 18, 1987 until his retirement on January 31, 1990. Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court, Justice Kaufman served for 17 years as an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Second Division.[1]

Marcus Maurice Kaufman
From left to right: Kaufman, Justice David Eagleson, Justice Joyce Kennard, and Chief Justice Malcolm Lucas
Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court
In office
March 18, 1987 – January 31, 1990
Appointed byGovernor George Deukmejian
Preceded byCruz Reynoso
Succeeded byArmand Arabian
Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Second Division
In office
1970 – March 17, 1987
Appointed byGovernor Ronald Reagan
Personal details
Born(1929-06-19)June 19, 1929
Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.
DiedMarch 26, 2003(2003-03-26) (aged 73)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Spouse(s)Eileen Wilkin
Alma materUniversity of California, Los Angeles (BA)
USC Law School (LLB)

Early life

Born in Norfolk, Virginia, Kaufman moved with his family to Los Angeles, California, at a young age. He grew up in the Hollywood area, and developed an interest in law while in high school. He would later recall taking the bus to the L.A. Civic Center to watch federal court proceedings. After earning his bachelor's degree at UCLA, he served in the Korean War as an Army lieutenant.[2]

Law career

After returning home, Kaufman attended USC Law School where he was editor of the Southern California Law Review, and in 1956 graduated first in his class with Order of the Coif honors.[3][4] He graduated in 1956 and from 1956-1957 served as a law clerk to then Associate Justice Roger J. Traynor. Kaufman began his career clerking in the same court to which he would eventually return as Justice. After a year of clerking, Kaufman joined the faculty of the University of Southern California Law Center. Years later, he had a very distinguished career in private practice in San Bernardino.[1]

Judicial career

In 1970, Governor Ronald Reagan appointed Kaufman as an Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal of California's Fourth Appellate District, Division Two.[5][1] His opinion in Fletcher v. Western National Life Ins. Co. in 1970, while on the Fourth District Court of Appeal is regarded as an insightful view of what was to come from the California Supreme Court in Gruenberg v. Aetna Ins. Co. in 1973 and then Silberg v. California Life Ins. Co., in 1974, when the court embraced the essential concepts of insurance bad faith as a tort remedy in California.[1]

In 1987, Kaufman was one of three justices appointed by Republican Governor George Deukmejian to replace Chief Justice Rose Bird and two other liberal justices voted out of office in the previous November's elections.[6][7] He was expected to be among the most conservative members of the court. At times he lived up to this expectation: he joined the conservative majority in upholding the death penalty and wrote the majority opinion when the court allowed police to erect roadblocks in an effort to get drunk drivers off the road. Kaufman also wrote the majority opinion that allowed a corporate farm to restrict access of union organizers to worker camps on its property. But he sided with the liberal minority in dissenting on several important civil rulings: he restricted wrongful-termination suits against employers and barred the use of state antitrust laws against corporate mergers. In another case, he joined with liberal justices to uphold the right of criminal defendants to gain access to confidential police brutality complaints.[4]

Kaufman was viewed as a thoughtful and scholarly student of the law, always interested in carefully scrutinizing issues, precedent, and argument. He was especially notable for his kindness and concern for staff.[1] On January 31, 1990, Kaufman retired from the bench to spend more time with his family.[8] In 1995, he joined the newly formed Albert, Weiland & Golden in Costa Mesa, California, where he was of counsel and did consulting work on appeals.[9]

Declining health and death

Kaufman died of renal failure on March 26, 2003, at the age of 73 after several years of poor health.[1][9] Kaufman was survived by his wife of more than 50 years, Eileen, and two daughters, Sharon and Ellen.[10] A son, Joel, died in 1977.[11]

In facing death, Kaufman told his family that one can live on after death. To this end, he wrote the following: "Ideas, values and ideals do not perish with the mind that conceived them or the life that exemplified them. They live on and play a part in the lives of those to whom they have been transmitted. And so people live on after death in the ideas, values and ideals they transmitted during their lives, which often continue to grow and spread even after death."[1] Those ideas, he said, need not be monumental. They can be such worthwhile concepts as "an appreciation of beauty, love of family, a recognition or fulfillment of duty or loyalty, a love of excellence, or an admiration of and appreciation for achievement."[1]

Honors and awards

Two awards are named in Kaufman's honor:

Kaufman Campbell Award- Presented by the San Bernardino County Bar Association in honor of Marcus M. Kaufman and Joseph B. Campbell. This award is given to the judges who have demonstrated the highest standards of judicial excellence in the pursuit of justice while exemplifying courtesy, integrity, wisdom and impartiality.[12]

Marcus Kaufman Jurisprudence Award- Presented by the Anti-Defamation League of Orange County/Long Beach in memory of Kaufman for his exceptional work and commitment both to the legal community and to the Orange County Judiciary.[13]

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References
  1. California Supreme Court Historical Society, History of the California Courts www.cschs.org
  2. Register - University of California, Volume 2. University of California Press. 1952. pp. 79, 83. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  3. "100 Years of USC Law: You Be the Judge". Gould Law School, University of Southern California. May 1, 2000. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  4. "Marcus M. Kaufman, 73; State Supreme Court Justice". Los Angeles Times. March 28, 2003. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  5. "Kaufman v. Court of Appeal, 31 Cal.3d 933 (1982)". Robert Crown Library, Stanford Law School. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  6. Hager, Philip (February 19, 1987). "Deukmejian's Supreme Court Nominees: Marcus M. Kaufman : He's Scholarly and Controversial, and Has Criticized Recent Supreme Court Decisions". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  7. Blum, Bill (January 1991). "Toward a Radical Middle, Has a Great Court Become Mediocre?". ABA Journal: 52. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  8. "Calif. Justice Quits After 2 Yrs. : Kaufman Cites Host of Reasons". Los Angeles Times. November 17, 1989. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  9. Chiang, Harriet (March 29, 2003). "Marcus Kaufman -- retired justice of state's top court". San Francisco Gate. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  10. "Obituary: Eileen Wilkin Kaufman". Orange County Register. September 22, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  11. "Marcus Kaufman, Retired Justice of State Supreme Court, Dead at 73". Metropolitan News-Enterprise. March 28, 2003. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  12. "Awards: Kaufman-Campbell Award". San Bernardino County Bar Association. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  13. "OCBA Members to Be Honored by Anti-Defamation League". Orange County Bar Association. April 16, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2017. Since 1993, the Anti-Defamation League has bestowed the Marcus Kaufman Jurisprudence Award on attorneys who make outstanding contributions to the legal profession and to the community. The award is made in the memory of Supreme Court Justice Marcus M. Kaufman.

Selected publications

See also
Legal offices
Preceded by
Cruz Reynoso		 Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court
1987–1990		 Succeeded by
Armand Arabian
Preceded by
 Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Second Division
1970–1987		 Succeeded by
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