SAN FRANCISCO — Justice Marcus Kaufman, a sharp-tongued conservative and self-proclaimed "redneck with a high IQ," announced his retirement today from the California Supreme Court after just two years on the panel.
Kaufman, 60, steps down officially Jan. 31 but said he will complete work on cases currently assigned to him.
In his resignation letter to Gov. George Deukmejian, Kaufman said his decision to step down was for a "myriad of personal reasons," including a desire to spend more time with his family and the demands of caring for an elderly mother.
Kaufman also referred to his surgery for colon cancer two years ago.
"Such an experience brings one face to face with the fact of our own mortality and argues persuasively against continuing in work so demanding that little time exists for family life or recreation," he wrote.
The justice said he plans to write, teach and practice law part time after his retirement.
Kaufman, who began his legal career as a research lawyer on the state's high court in the 1950s, spent 20 years on the bench, beginning in 1970 with an appointment by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan to the 4th District Court of Appeal in San Bernardino.