Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Court of Appeal Justice Carol A. Corrigan, a moderate Republican, to the California Supreme Court on Friday in a move that is likely to shift the conservative-leaning court toward the center.
Corrigan, 57, a former prosecutor and a judge for 18 years, will fill the vacancy created by last summer's departure of Justice Janice Rogers Brown, the court's only African American and one of its most conservative members. Legal analysts and other judges generally praised Corrigan's elevation. Many view her in the mold of Chief Justice Ronald M. George, who tends to vote with the court's conservatives on law and order issues and with the moderates on social issues. George is often a swing vote on the court, which has only one Democrat.
"Judge Corrigan is careful, thoughtful, quick-witted, and brings a deliberate, detailoriented approach to the law," Schwarzenegger said. "She will bring honor to California's high court and serve the people with dignity and integrity."
Corrigan is expected to win easy approval from a three-member judicial appointments commission headed by Chief Justice George. She will be one of three female justices on the seven-member court. Brown left to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Schwarzenegger's announcement came amid criticism from conservatives of his choice of a former Democratic activist, Susan Kennedy, as his new chief of staff. Corrigan's appointment generally reassured critics within the governor's party, although conservatives favored Court of Appeal Justice Vance Raye, an African American whom Schwarzenegger was also considering, and whom Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer had criticized as being too conservative for the state.
"At least she's a Republican," said Mike Spence, president of the California Republican Assembly, a grass-roots organization. "She's obviously well qualified."
Among the most controversial cases headed to the high court is a challenge to state laws that forbid same-sex marriage. Corrigan declined to discuss her views on gay rights, but other judges said she is likely to be more sympathetic to gay-rights issues than her predecessor. Corrigan said Schwarzenegger and his aides never questioned her about the issue.
In an interview before her appointment, Corrigan repeatedly described herself as a moderate and a centrist. She switched her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican in 1995 after then-Gov. Pete Wilson appointed her to the 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco.
