The Rise and Fall of Rose Elizabeth Bird
The Rise and Fall of
Rose Elizabeth Bird
Justice Rose Bird, in the sixty-one capital cases heard by the California Supreme Court while she served as its Chief Justice, never voted to uphold a death sentence. Chief Justice Rose Bird of the California Supreme Court was removed from office in 1986 by California voters because of the extremely high percentage rates of which she handed down rulings in favor of the defendant in cases both reviewed by the court and in criminal cases. Not only was her “soft on crime” stance the cause for her removal from office and a major source of political controversy in the 1980’s, it is still relevant in Los Angeles and California politics and still plays a major role in the perception of elected officials today such as former governor of California and now Attorney General Edmund Jerrold “Jerry” Brown, Jr.. Despite the fact that the appointment of Rose Bird to The Supreme Court Chief Justice was a major accomplishment for women, her actions while in office, which were viewed as “soft on crime”, were the cause of much political grievance and strife to Los Angeles residents in the 1980’s and can still be seen in the broad scope of California politics today, current officials, and court rulings. Bird was born on November 2, 1936 as Rose Elizabeth Bird in Tucson, Arizona. She spent her early childhood as the youngest of three children in Arizona with her parents who ran a chicken farm. In 1941 her parents separated and shortly after, her father died, leaving her mother a widow with three children to provide for. After the death of her father, Rose’s mother, Anne, moved Rose and her two older brothers to New York which was originally Anne’s home state. Despite her best efforts, the single mother struggled to make ends meet and the family lived in poverty. Even though the family struggled to make ends meet financially, Bird was always noted as a standout student and an ambitious scholar. Her hard work and
Rose Elizabeth Bird
Justice Rose Bird, in the sixty-one capital cases heard by the California Supreme Court while she served as its Chief Justice, never voted to uphold a death sentence. Chief Justice Rose Bird of the California Supreme Court was removed from office in 1986 by California voters because of the extremely high percentage rates of which she handed down rulings in favor of the defendant in cases both reviewed by the court and in criminal cases. Not only was her “soft on crime” stance the cause for her removal from office and a major source of political controversy in the 1980’s, it is still relevant in Los Angeles and California politics and still plays a major role in the perception of elected officials today such as former governor of California and now Attorney General Edmund Jerrold “Jerry” Brown, Jr.. Despite the fact that the appointment of Rose Bird to The Supreme Court Chief Justice was a major accomplishment for women, her actions while in office, which were viewed as “soft on crime”, were the cause of much political grievance and strife to Los Angeles residents in the 1980’s and can still be seen in the broad scope of California politics today, current officials, and court rulings. Bird was born on November 2, 1936 as Rose Elizabeth Bird in Tucson, Arizona. She spent her early childhood as the youngest of three children in Arizona with her parents who ran a chicken farm. In 1941 her parents separated and shortly after, her father died, leaving her mother a widow with three children to provide for. After the death of her father, Rose’s mother, Anne, moved Rose and her two older brothers to New York which was originally Anne’s home state. Despite her best efforts, the single mother struggled to make ends meet and the family lived in poverty. Even though the family struggled to make ends meet financially, Bird was always noted as a standout student and an ambitious scholar. Her hard work and
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