Free Republic

Hereditary, recurring governor Jerry Brown, 85, wants California’s supreme court to remove from the November ballot a measure that would give the people final say on tax hikes. That invites a look at Brown’s past dealings with the state’s high court. In 1977, Brown’s choice for chief justice was Rose Bird, 40 years old and without judicial experience. In 10 years as California’s chief justice, Bird heard 64 capital cases and never voted to uphold a death sentence. For staunch death-penalty opponents, even those on the court, it defied belief to think that every case was unfounded. Consider, for example,...

After barring Arkansas from executing eight inmates in rapid succession because of a dispute over how it obtained one of its execution drugs, Judge Wendell Griffen went to an anti-death penalty rally, where he made a stir by lying down on a cot and binding himself as though he were a condemned man on a gurney. Griffen's participation in Friday's protest outside the governor's mansion sparked outrage among death penalty supporters, including Republican lawmakers who described it as judicial misconduct and potential grounds for Griffen's removal from the bench.

WESTLAKE VILLAGE – Meg Whitman said Monday that if elected governor she would appoint only judges who support the death penalty. The Republican candidate's remarks preceded a rally outside Los Angeles at which she told hundreds of supporters that Democrat Jerry Brown is "soft on crime" and that she will end his political career. "One more week," Whitman told a cheering crowd at the Hyatt Westlake Plaza in Westlake Village. "One more week until we retire Jerry Brown permanently from politics." Whitman, joined by crime victim advocates, told The Bee she would treat the death penalty as a litmus test...

Capital punishment has been the bane of the Brown family. As Jerry Brown seeks another stint as governor, it could be decisive. When the issue arose during Brown's first debate with Republican foe Meg Whitman, he tried to massage it much as his sister, Kathleen, had done during her bid for the governorship in 1994. She acknowledged her opposition but pledged, "I will faithfully carry out our law on executions, and I'll do it with compassion, but I'll do it with great fidelity to the rule of law." Both Browns' opposition to capital punishment stems from their father, Pat Brown,...

A judge on Tuesday ruled that votes for Jerry Brown for attorney general should be counted, delivering a blow to a long-shot bid by Republican officials to have the Democratic Oakland mayor declared ineligible for the office. Brown, the front-runner in the race against state Sen. Chuck Poochigian, R-Fresno, hailed the decision as proof that the Republican lawsuit was a political stunt. It's an "incompetent effort to sabotage the democratic process and the judge summarily threw it out by saying come in after the election," he said in a phone interview. But the five Republican officials suing promised to press...

In the race for Attorney General of California, Democrat Jerry Brown boasts so much more name recognition than Chuck Poochigian, his Republican opponent, that by most accounts the race is no contest. Before his side job as mayor of Oakland, Brown was California’s secretary of state and governor. He comes from the state's star political dynasty and is heavily favored on November 7. There is, in fact, only one obstacle in his way to becoming attorney general: a major lawsuit alleges Brown should not even be on the ballot. "Brown has a serious problem, he's not eligible," says Tom Del...

Judging Jerry's judgment WILLIAM E. SARACINO The Republican nominee for California attor ney general, state Sen. Chuck Poochigian, is exceptionally well qualified for the office through both experience and temperament. That being said, his electoral success largely depends not so much on his ability to convince voters that he'd make a good attorney general, but to convince them that his opponent, Jerry Brown, would be a disaster. If Poochigian can focus Califor nian's attention on one straightforward point — that the A.G.'s job all comes down to judgment — the door will be open for him to show that, in...

When it comes to anti-crime plans, Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown has tried just about every trick in the book, offering no fewer than 11 crime-busting attacks since taking office in 1999. The latest, Operation Ceasefire -- the one he introduced this past week focusing on the city's toughest young criminals -- is supposed to help cut Oakland's out-of-control homicide rate. If it works, it will also help Brown's campaign to become state attorney general. Getting attention by getting tough has been a favorite tack in Brown's eight-year law-and-order crusade. Just two weeks after being sworn into office, Brown broke ground...

<p>The state Judicial Council's annual Distinguished Service Awards are usually routine affairs that attract little attention, even from ardent court- watchers. But one of this year's winners is an eyebrow-raiser: former Gov. George Deukmejian, the scourge of the once-liberal California Supreme Court.</p>