David Newton Eagleson (October 4, 1924 – May 23, 2003) was an American lawyer who served as an associate justice of the

Supreme Court of California The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...

from 1987 to 1991.

Biography

Eagleson was born in Los Angeles, California, and educated in the public schools. After serving in World War II, Eagleson earned his

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

from the USC Law School in 1950. On June 6, 1951, he was admitted to the

State Bar of California The State Bar of California is California's official attorney licensing agency. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, prescribing appropriate disciplin ...

. Eagleson then practiced law in Long Beach, California for 20 years. In December 1970, Governor

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

appointed Eagleson to the

Los Angeles County Superior Court The Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Los Angeles County, which includes the city of Los Angeles. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States. The ...

, where from 1980 to 1981 he served as presiding judge. From 1979 to 1980, he was president of the California Judges Association. In November 1981, Governor George Deukmejian named Eagleson as an associate justice to the Court of Appeal, Second District, Division Five. In March 1987, Governor Deukmejian appointed Eagleson as an associate justice to the Supreme Court. A conservative Republican, Eagleson was elevated to the high court after voters removed liberal Chief Justice Rose Bird and two of her allies from the Court in the 1986 general election as a result of the trio's opposition to capital punishment. Eagleson tended to uphold capital sentences. During his four years on the court, Eagleson wrote 54

majority opinion In law, a majority opinion is a judicial opinion agreed to by more than half of the members of a court. A majority opinion sets forth the decision of the court and an explanation of the rationale behind the court's decision. Not all cases have ...

s. Among Eagleson's notable opinions is ''

Thing v. La Chusa ''Thing v. La Chusa'', case citation, 48 Cal. 3d 644 (1989), was a legal case, case decided by the Supreme Court of California that limited the scope of the tort of negligent infliction of emotional distress. The majority opinion was authored by As ...

'' (1989), which sharply limited the availability of the cause of action for negligent infliction of emotional distress in California. After stepping down from the high court, Eagleson practiced as a mediator and arbitrator in Los Angeles.

Personal life

On May 16, 1953, Eagleson married Virginia Mae Brown, and they had two daughters, Elizabeth K. Eagleson, an attorney, and Victoria Eagleson, who both reside in Southern California. Beth, in her eulogy for her father delivered before the court on which he once served, cited ''Thing'' as the opinion most representative of her father's voice and philosophy:

References

External links

*
David N. Eagleson
California Supreme Court Historical Society.
Photo of David N. Eagleson
on the bench. Los Angeles, April 1987. California Supreme Court Historical Society Newsletter (Spring-Summer 2013), p. 20. *

California Court of Appeal, Second District.

Biography

Personal life

References

External links

See also