Kathryn M. Werdegar
| Kathryn Werdegar | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California | |
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Assumed office June 3, 1994 |
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| Nominated by | Pete Wilson |
| Preceded by | Edward Panelli |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
April 5, 1936 San Francisco |
| Alma mater |
UC Berkeley George Washington University |
Kathryn Mickle Werdegar (born April 5, 1936) is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California. She was appointed to the Supreme Court by Governor Pete Wilson in 1994. She was retained by the electorate in November 2002, with 74.1% percent of the vote. She earned her B.A. with honors at the University of California, Berkeley and then attended the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) before completing her law degree at the George Washington University Law School, where she graduated as valedictorian of her class. While at Boalt Hall, Werdegar served as editor-in-chief of the California Law Review.
The Center for Public Integrity reported that Werdegar ruled in a case involving Wells Fargo & Co., a corporation in which she owned "between $100,001 and $1 million in stock." The Center reported that Werdegar "denied an appeal to a couple who accused Wells Fargo of predatory lending and unlawful foreclosure."
The judge responded through California Supreme Court spokesman Cathal Conneely, the Center reported. "The justice regrets the error and thanks you for bringing it to her attention."
"The Supreme Court is reexamining its internal conflict of interest procedures to prevent similar errors in the future," Conneely said.
In 2008, Justice Werdegar joined the majority opinion in the consolidated California marriage cases known as In re Marriage Cases. The court's 4-3 ruling legalized same-sex marriage in California from June 19, 2008 – November 4, 2008. The majority ruled that sexual orientation is a protected class under the California constitution and that strict scrutiny is required to review any laws distinguishing based on such. The opinion was rooted in the Equal Protection Clause of the California constitution, one similar to the one found in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The court's ruling was superseded by Proposition 8 passed by California voters. Prop 8 was ultimately ruled unconstitutional in 2010, with the lengthy appeals process concluding in June 2013.
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