Finding aid to the Joseph R. Grodin Papers, MSS 1001

Finding aid prepared by Martha Noble and Noah Pollaczek, California Judicial Center Library, Special Collections and Archives.
CJCL Special Collections and Archives
2013 April
455 Golden Gate Avenue
Room 4617
San Francisco, CA 94102-7013
archives@jud.ca.gov


Contributing Institution: CJCL Special Collections and Archives
Title: Joseph R. Grodin Papers
Creator: Grodin, Joseph R., 1930-
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 1001
Physical Description: 8 linear feet (10 archives boxes; 1 map case drawer)
Date (inclusive): 1979-1989
Language of Material: English

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research upon approval of written request. Requests should be submitted to: California Judicial Center Library, Special Collections and Archives, 455 Golden Gate Avenue, Room 4617, San Francisco, CA, 94102-7013, or by e-mail to archives@jud.ca.gov. All researchers must sign the California Judicial Center Library Special Collections Access Agreement form. This agreement can be sent electronically by request. Records in the collection may contain confidential information, as defined in the Access Agreement. Publication or disclosure of such information is strictly prohibited.

Restricted Materials

Confidential records, including internal communications between Supreme Court of California justices and between California Supreme Court justices and staff, attorney-client privileged communications, and communications between California Supreme Court justices or court employees and third parties that reveal details of the court's decision-making processes, are restricted and closed to research use.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Joseph R. Grodin to the California Judicial Center Library, Special Collections and Archives, May 2010.

Biographical Note

Joseph R. Grodin was born in Oakland, California, in 1930. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley (BA, 1951), Grodin continued his education at Yale University (JD, 1954) and the London School of Economics (PhD, 1960), with an academic focus on labor law and labor relations. Grodin joined the law firm of Tobriner and Lazarus in 1955. While in private practice, Grodin served as an adjunct professor at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, in San Francisco. From 1970 to 1971, he served as a visiting professor at the University of Oregon Law School and, in 1972, began teaching full-time at Hastings. In 1977, he was appointed visiting professor at Stanford Law School.
In May 1979, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. appointed Grodin to the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division One, where he began his service on July 20, 1979. In March 1982, he was appointed Presiding Justice of the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division Two. He was appointed to the California Supreme Court by Governor Brown in December 1982. In January 1987, following a controversial retention election in November 1986, Justice Grodin left the Supreme Court and rejoined the faculty at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item, date]; Joseph R. Grodin Papers, MSS 1001; [box number, folder number]; California Judicial Center Library.

Processing Information

The collection was processed between 2010 and 2013 by California Judicial Center Library staff. The extent to which original order was retained is unknown. A confidentiality review was conducted in 2021 by Marie Silva, and confidential records were identified and restricted. Boxes and folders were numbered by Vita Isyanova in 2021.

Scope and Contents

The Joseph R. Grodin Papers (1979-1989) comprise ten document boxes and one map drawer of materials documenting Justice Grodin's service on the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, and the California Supreme Court. The bulk of the collection consists of articles and newspaper clippings, correspondence, speeches, publications, and other materials documenting Justice Grodin's service on the California Supreme Court, including records created by the Committee to Retain Justice Grodin and other papers related to the 1986 retention election.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection, created by Joseph R. Grodin, was not transferred to the California Judicial Center Library. Permission for reproduction or publication of materials in this collection beyond that allowed by fair use must be secured from the copyright holder.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into four series: 1) Biographical Materials, 1981-1988; 2) First District Court of Appeal Papers, 1979-1982; 3) California Supreme Court Papers, 1980-1989; and 4) Photographs, circa 1980. The California Supreme Court Papers series is divided into five subseries: 1) Articles and Clippings, 1982-1989; 2) Correspondence, 1982-1986; 3) Advisory Committee to Implement Proposition 32 Papers, 1984-1985; and 5) Retention Election Papers, 1981-1986.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Judges -- California -- Election
Grodin, Joseph R., 1930-
California. Supreme Court
California. Court of Appeal (1st District)

 

Series 1 Biographical Materials 1981-1988

box 1, folder 1

Articles and clippings 1981

box 1, folder 2

Biographical sketch 1986

box 1, folder 3

American Law Institute membership 1988

 

Series 2 First District Court of Appeal Papers 1979-1982

box 1, folder 4-8

Correspondence 1979-1982

 

Restricted correspondence 1979-1982

Restricted Materials

Access to this folder is restricted. Materials include confidential personnel records.
box 1, folder 9

Letters of congratulation 1982

box 1, folder 10

Declaration of candidacy 1982

box 1, folder 11-16

Speeches 1979-1982

 

Series 3 California Supreme Court Papers 1980-1989

box 1, folder 17-34, box 2, folder 1-14, box 3, folder 1-11

Articles and Clippings 1982-1989

 

Correspondence 1982-1986

box 3, folder 12-13

Commission on Judicial Appointments 1982-1983

Restricted Materials

Confidential attorney-client privileged correspondence has been restricted and separated from the Commission of Judicial Appointments files.
box 3, folder 14

Letters in opposition to confirmation 1982

box 3, folder 15

Letters of congratulation 1982-1983

box 3, folder 16-21, box 4, folder 1-14

Chronological correspondence 1983-1986

Restricted Materials

Confidential personnel records and internal Supreme Court of California communications have been restricted and separated from chronological correspondence files.
box 4, folder 15

Advisory Committee to Implement Proposition 32 Papers 1984-1985

Conditions Governing Access

Five folders of confidential internal Supreme Court of California and Judicial Council of California communications have been restricted and separated from Advisory Committee to Implement Proposition 32 files.
 

Publications and Speeches 1980-1985

box 4, folder 16

Speech at the Tobriner Memorial Fund dinner 1983 April 6

box 4, folder 17

Speech to the San Francisco Legal Aid Society 1983 May 12

box 4, folder 18

Commencement speech 1983 May 21

box 4, folder 19

Remarks in memory of Matthew O. Tobriner before the California Supreme Court 1983 December 7

box 4, folder 20

"The role of courts in a democratic society," Rabbi William Stern Memorial Lecture 1984 January 29

box 4, folder 21

Speech and articles about litigation 1984

box 4, folder 22

San Diego Union interview with Justice Grodin 1984 June 1

box 4, folder 23

Speech by Justice Grodin, Wheeler Auditorium, Berkeley, California 1985 February 20

box 4, folder 24

"Queen's Bench," speech by Justice Grodin 1985 March 21

box 5, folder 1

Speech excerpt on Justice Tobriner 1985 May 25

box 5, folder 2

Speech to the Marin County Bar Association 1985 September 26

box 5, folder 3

Remarks, Tobriner lecture 1985 November 18

box 5, folder 4

Article on employment law [manuscript] 1980

box 5, folder 5

"Comment on topic II," speech by Benjamin Aaron, Conference on the Future of the U.S. Industrial Relations System undated

box 5, folder 6

"The labor movement and the current crisis," speech by David Brody, Conference on the Future of the U.S. Industrial Relations System undated

box 5, folder 7

"Wage moderation in 1982: Temporary or lasting?," speech by John T. Dunlop, Conference on the Future of the U.S. Industrial Relations System undated

box 5, folder 8

"Some thoughts on collective bargaining and the future," speech by Walter Fogel, Conference on the Future of the U.S. Industrial Relations System undated

box 5, folder 9

"Industrial relations at the crossroads? Some predictions," speech by George Strauss, Conference on the Future of the U.S. Industrial Relations System undated

 

Retention Election Papers 1981-1986

Restricted Materials

Confidential internal Supreme Court of California communications have been restricted and separated from retention election files.
box 5, folder 10-28, box 6, folder 1-2

Articles and newspaper clippings 1981-1986

box 6, folder 3-15, box 7, folder 1-13

Correspondence 1984-1986

box 7, folder 14

50th anniversary, ACLU of Northern California 1984

box 7, folder 15

Publications on the reconfirmation of Rose Bird 1985-1986

box 7, folder 16

California women lawyers information packet 1985 September 27

box 7, folder 17

The future (newsletter of the Hebrew Academy of San Francisco) 1985

box 8, folder 1

Judicature, vol. 70, no. 6 1987

box 8, folder 2

"The assignment of temporary justices in the California Supreme Court," articles by Stephen R. Barnett and Daniel L. Rubinfeld, Pacific law journal, vol. 17 1986

box 8, folder 3

"Prosecutor's report: Supreme court Justice Joseph Grodin," prepared by the Prosecutors' Working Group 1985-1987

box 8, folder 4

"The California Supreme Court: Firm but fair," by Dennis P. Riordan and Elizabeth Semel 1985-1987

box 8, folder 5

"Judicial independence, judicial accountability, judicial elections, and the California Supreme Court: Defining the terms of the debate," by Robert S. Thompson, Southern California law review, vol. 59, no. 4 1986

box 8, folder 6

"California Supreme Court 1986 retention election," USC law, Fall-Winter 1986

box 8, folder 7

"California death penalty laws and the California Supreme Court: A ten year perspective," by Gerald F. Uelmen 1976

box 8, folder 8

Supreme Court Project and the Foundation for Research in Economics and Education publications 1986

box 8, folder 9-10

Committee to Retain Justice Grodin, Justice Joseph R. Grodin calendar 1986

box 8, folder 11-16, box 9, folder 1-3

Committee to Retain Justice Grodin files 1986

box 9, folder 4-5, object 1

Series 4 Photographs circa 1980

Scope and Contents

Contains six photographic prints of various sizes, including one portrait of Justice Grodin, one group photo, three personal travel photos, and one oversized photo montage of Justice Grodin and his First District Court of Appeal staff.