Bird, Rose Elizabeth

[Raised in New York, Rose Bird was a graduate of Long Island University and UC Berkeley School of Law. After passing the California bar exam in 1966, Rose joined the Santa Clara County Public Defender's Office, where she remained until 1974. During this time, she held the positions of deputy public defender (the first female to do so), senior trial deputy, and chief of the appellate division. Rose was appointed by then-Governor Jerry Brown to his cabinet as secretary of agriculture. After serving in this position for twenty-two months, Brown appointed her to succeed the retiring Donald Wright as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of California. Much controversy ensued while Rose was on the court. During her tenure, the court strengthened environmental laws, consumer rights, civil rights, and the rights of women and minorities. Rose was outspoken in her opposition to the death penalty. She voted to overturn every death sentence that came before the court. In 1986, Rose and two fellow justices became the first judges in state history ousted by the voters in a retention election. She was removed by a margin of sixty-seven to thirty-three percent. In retirement, Rose took care of her ailing mother until her death in 1991. After her mother died, she volunteered at an East Palo Alto community law center. Rose Bird died at Stanford University Medical Center after a long battle with breast cancer.]

found: Rose Bird papers, BANC MSS 2016/237, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley(Born in Arizona on November 2, 1936; died December 4, 1999; Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court from 1977 until 1987)

found: Find a Grave website, search October 8, 2018(Rose Elizabeth Bird; birth: November 2, 1936 in Tuscon, Pima County, Arizona; death: December 4, 1999 (at age 63) in Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, California) - https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/59740155

[Raised in New York, Rose Bird was a graduate of Long Island University and UC Berkeley School of Law. After passing the California bar exam in 1966, Rose joined the Santa Clara County Public Defender's Office, where she remained until 1974. During this time, she held the positions of deputy public defender (the first female to do so), senior trial deputy, and chief of the appellate division. Rose was appointed by then-Governor Jerry Brown to his cabinet as secretary of agriculture. After serving in this position for twenty-two months, Brown appointed her to succeed the retiring Donald Wright as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of California. Much controversy ensued while Rose was on the court. During her tenure, the court strengthened environmental laws, consumer rights, civil rights, and the rights of women and minorities. Rose was outspoken in her opposition to the death penalty. She voted to overturn every death sentence that came before the court. In 1986, Rose and two fellow justices became the first judges in state history ousted by the voters in a retention election. She was removed by a margin of sixty-seven to thirty-three percent. In retirement, Rose took care of her ailing mother until her death in 1991. After her mother died, she volunteered at an East Palo Alto community law center. Rose Bird died at Stanford University Medical Center after a long battle with breast cancer.]