Roger John Traynor (February 12, 1900 – May 14, 1983) was the 23rd
Chief Justice 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 Sac ...
(1964-1970) and an associate justice of the
Supreme Court of California from 1940 to 1964. Previously, he had served as a
Deputy Attorney General of California under
Earl Warren, and an Acting Dean and Professor of
UC Berkeley School of Law
The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of 1 ...
.
He is widely considered to be one of the most creative and influential judges and legal scholars of his time.
A
jurist noted for
liberalism
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
and
activism, Traynor's 30-year career as California's 77th Justice coincided with tremendous demographic, social, and governmental growth in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
and in the
United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
.
Traynor believed (in the words of his biographer,
G. Edward White) that ''"the increased presence of
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
in American life was a necessary and beneficial phenomenon."'' After his retirement from the California Supreme Court, Traynor spent the last years of his life as a professor at the
UC Hastings College of Law
The University of California, Hastings College of the Law (UC Hastings) is a public law school in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings, UC Hastings was the first law school of the University of California as ...
.
Early life and education
Traynor was born and raised in
Park City, Utah
Park City is a city in Utah, United States. The vast majority is in Summit County, and it extends into Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake Cit ...
, then a hardscrabble
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...
town, at the turn of the century by Felix and Elizabeth Traynor. His parents were impoverished
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
immigrants from
Hilltown, County Down
Hilltown is a small village within the townland of Carcullion in County Down, Northern Ireland. Hilltown is the main village of the parish of Clonduff which contains the village and the rural areas around it at one end, and the rural enclave of ...
.
In 1919, upon the advice of a high school teacher, he entered the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
, though he had only $500 in savings to finance his college education.
Fortunately, he won a
scholarship
A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need.
Scholars ...
at the end of his first year due to his excellent grades, and went on to earn a
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
in 1923, an
M.A.
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in 1924, and a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in 1926; all these degrees were in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
. He also earned a
J.D. from
Boalt Hall
The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of ...
, UC Berkeley's law school, in 1927. He earned the two latter degrees at the same time, while also teaching undergraduates and serving as editor-in-chief of the ''
California Law Review
''California Law Review'' (also referred to as ''CLR'') is the journal of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. It was established in 1912. The application process consists of an anonymous write-on competition, with grades playing ...
''. He was subsequently admitted to the
State Bar of California that same year.
Academics and politics
UC Berkeley
At
Boalt Hall
The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of ...
of
UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...
, Traynor wrote groundbreaking articles on
taxation
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, o ...
, while serving as editor-in-chief of the ''California Law Review'', and became a full-time
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...
in 1936.
In 1939, he started serving as the Acting Dean of Boalt Hall at UC Berkeley, where he had earned his
J.D. degree.
Political positions
While he was a faculty member of the Berkeley Law School, Traynor also acted as a
consultant to the
California State Board of Equalization from 1932 to 1940, and to the
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
from 1937 to 1940. In particular, he took a leave of absence from Berkeley in 1933 to work full-time for the Board of Equalization, and another leave in 1937 to help the Treasury Department draft the Revenue Act of 1938.
Before the
Great Depression, nearly all California governmental functions were funded ''only'' through a general property tax on both real and personal property. This proved unworkable when property values collapsed. Through his work for the Board of Equalization, Traynor was responsible for creating much of California's modern tax regime, including the
vehicle registration fee (1933),
sales tax (1933),
income tax
An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
(1935),
use tax
A use tax is a type of tax levied in the United States by numerous state governments. It is essentially the same as a sales tax but is applied not where a product or service was sold but where a merchant bought a product or service and then conv ...
(1935),
corporate income tax
A corporate tax, also called corporation tax or company tax, is a direct tax imposed on the income or capital of corporations or analogous legal entities. Many countries impose such taxes at the national level, and a similar tax may be imposed at ...
(1937), and
fuel tax
A fuel tax (also known as a petrol, gasoline or gas tax, or as a fuel duty) is an excise tax imposed on the sale of fuel. In most countries the fuel tax is imposed on fuels which are intended for transportation. Fuels used to power agricultural v ...
(1937).
He also served as the first administrator of the California sales tax and supervised its deployment across 200,000
retail
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and ...
ers.
In January 1940, he started working part-time as a Deputy
Attorney General under California Attorney General
Earl Warren (who later became
Chief Justice of the United States).
UC Hastings and others
After retiring from the Supreme Court of California in 1970, Traynor became a professor at the
UC Hastings College of Law
The University of California, Hastings College of the Law (UC Hastings) is a public law school in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings, UC Hastings was the first law school of the University of California as ...
.
He also spent some time visiting and teaching at the law schools of
University of Utah
The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...
,
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
, and the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...
.
California Supreme Court
Appointment
On July 31, 1940, Traynor was nominated to the Supreme Court of California by
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Culbert Olson
Culbert Levy Olson (November 7, 1876 – April 13, 1962) was an American lawyer and politician. A Democratic Party member, Olson was involved in Utah and California politics and was elected as the 29th governor of California from 1939 to 1943 ...
. He was unanimously confirmed by the Qualifications Committee on August 13 and was sworn in the same day.
In December 1940, he was retained by the voters in the election. In August 1964, Chief Justice
Phil S. Gibson stepped down from the bench, and Governor
Pat Brown
Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown (April 21, 1905 – February 16, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 32nd governor of California from 1959 to 1967. His first elected office was as district attorney for San Francisco, and he w ...
appointed Traynor to the post.
Recognition and reputation
His
obituary in the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' noted that "Traynor was often called one of the greatest judicial talents never to sit on the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
."
[Les Ledbetter]
"Roger J. Traynor, California Justice"
''New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', 17 May 1983, B6. Retrieved October 3, 2017.[Lawrence M. Friedman]
''A History of American Law''
3rd ed. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005), pp. 551, 688. . Retrieved October 3, 2017.
Traynor authored more than 900 opinions, and he gained a reputation as the nation's leading
state court judge.
During his tenure, the decisions of the Supreme Court of California became the most frequently cited by all other state courts in the nation. Several of Traynor's decisions were majority opinions that transformed California from a conservative and somewhat repressive state into a progressive, innovative jurisdiction in the forefront of American law.
Traynor was also noted for the quality of his writing and reasoning, and was honored during his lifetime with membership in the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
(a rare honor for a judge).
Many of his opinions are still mandatory reading for American law students. Also, Traynor did not uniformly join all opinions that could be characterized as "liberal" or "progressive" during his time on the Court; for example, he filed a two-sentence dissent in the landmark case of ''
Dillon v. Legg'' (1968), which was a major step towards the modern tort of
negligent infliction of emotional distress
The tort of negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED) is a controversial cause of action, which is available in nearly all U.S. states but is severely constrained and limited in the majority of them. The underlying concept is that one has ...
.
His 1948 opinion in ''
Perez v. Sharp
''Perez v. Sharp'', also known as ''Perez v. Lippold'' or ''Perez v. Moroney'', is a 1948 case decided by the Supreme Court of California in which the court held by a 4–3 majority that the state's ban on interracial marriage violated the Fourteen ...
'' was the first instance of a
state supreme court
In the United States, a state supreme court (known by other names in some states) is the highest court in the state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of state law, the judgment of a state supreme court is considered final and binding in b ...
striking down a
statute prohibiting
miscegenation
Miscegenation ( ) is the interbreeding of people who are considered to be members of different races. The word, now usually considered pejorative, is derived from a combination of the Latin terms ''miscere'' ("to mix") and ''genus'' ("race") ...
. Traynor also wrote a 1952 opinion that abolished the defense of
recrimination
In law, recrimination is a defense in an action for divorce in which the accused party makes a similar accusation against the plaintiff. To put it simply, it is the defense of "you, too."
Recrimination was generally considered by family law exp ...
in the context of
divorce
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
and paved the way for the social revolution of
no-fault divorce
In a no-fault divorce the dissolution of a marriage does not require a showing of wrongdoing by either party. Laws providing for no-fault divorce allow a family court to grant a divorce in response to a petition by either party of the marriage ...
. But his most significant and well-known contribution to contemporary
American law
The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the nation's Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, as well as v ...
is probably his 1963 creation of true strict liability in product liability cases. An earlier generation of judges had cautiously experimented with
legal fictions like warranties to avoid leaving severely injured
plaintiff
A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of t ...
s without any recourse. Traynor simply threw those away and imposed strict liability as a matter of
public policy
Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...
.
To those skeptical of government's power to redress social wrongs, Traynor's extraordinary work is notable for the degree to which it asserted the judiciary's power to resolve difficult issues of public policy, and to redefine the boundaries of corporate and governmental liability. In his biography of Traynor, White wrote: "If California was a testing ground for governmental theories of modern liberalism, Traynor was an architect of a judicial role compatible with the activities of the modern liberal state."
In July 1983, the ''California Law Review'' gave over all its space in issue 4, volume 71 to publishing eloquent tributes to Justice Traynor from several esteemed judges, law professors, and
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
s, including
Warren Burger
Warren Earl Burger (September 17, 1907 – June 25, 1995) was an American attorney and jurist who served as the 15th chief justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Burger graduated from the St. Paul Colleg ...
,
Henry Friendly
Henry Jacob Friendly (July 3, 1903 – March 11, 1986) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as a circuit judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1959 until his death in 1986. Friendly was one of the most p ...
, and
Edmund G. Brown.
Criticism
The liberal tendencies of much of Traynor's work has since made him the subject of extensive criticism from American
libertarians
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's enc ...
and
conservatives
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
, and
tort reform
Tort reform refers to changes in the civil justice system in common law countries that aim to reduce the ability of plaintiffs to bring tort litigation (particularly actions for negligence) or to reduce damages they can receive. Such changes a ...
ers have often grouped Traynor together with Earl Warren as examples of
judicial activists. For example, the conservative magazine ''
National Review
''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief ...
'' attacked Traynor's reasoning in the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company case (''Pacific Gas & Elec. Co. v. G. W. Thomas Drayage Co.'', 69 Cal. 2d 33 (1968)) in a 1991 cover story.
In 1998, ''Regulation'' (the
Cato Institute
The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch Ind ...
's journal) published a harsh critique of the California tort law system by Stephen Hayward. He claimed that "rather than protecting life, liberty, and property,
thas ... become a threat to these." In blunt language, Hayward identified Roger Traynor's liberalizing influence on the Court's view of liability as "the first breach":
In a 1966 essay addressed to both the legal community of his time and future generations, Traynor defended his judicial philosophy:
Retirement
On January 2, 1970, Traynor announced his
retirement
Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload.
Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
in order to avoid losing eligibility for retirement benefits under a California law that stripped judges of most benefits if they chose to remain on the bench past age 70. He became chairman of the National News Council, concerned with
freedom of the press. Afterwards, he retired to
Berkeley and died there in his home from
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
.
List of cases
*''
Bernhard v. Bank of America''
19 Cal. 2d 807(1942) a litigant could be
collaterally estopped from relitigating an issue that had been previously decided in an earlier suit against a different party
*''
Escola v. Coca Cola Bottling Co. of Fresno,'
24 Cal. 2d 453(1944) Early suggestion (in concurrence) of true strict liability for defective products
*''
Perez v. Sharp
''Perez v. Sharp'', also known as ''Perez v. Lippold'' or ''Perez v. Moroney'', is a 1948 case decided by the Supreme Court of California in which the court held by a 4–3 majority that the state's ban on interracial marriage violated the Fourteen ...
''
32 Cal. 2d 711(1948) overturning a state law prohibiting miscegenation, Civil Code Section 69. The Supreme Court of California was the first state supreme court to abolish such laws.
*''
State Rubbish Collectors Ass'n v. Siliznoff''
38 Cal. 2d 330(1952) the cause of action for
intentional infliction of emotional distress
Intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED; sometimes called the tort of outrage) is a common law tort that allows individuals to recover for severe emotional distress caused by another individual who intentionally or recklessly inflicted ...
(IIED)
*''
De Burgh v. De Burgh''
39 Cal. 2d 858(1952) the defense of recrimination in the context of divorce
*''
People v. Cahan''
44 Cal. 2d 434(1955) the
exclusionary rule
In the United States, the exclusionary rule is a legal rule, based on constitutional law, that prevents evidence collected or analyzed in violation of the defendant's constitutional rights from being used in a court of law. This may be consider ...
barring admissibility of evidence obtained in violation of the
Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution (as suggested by the U.S. Supreme Court in ''
Wolf v. Colorado
''Wolf v. Colorado'', 338 U.S. 25 (1949), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held 6—3 that, while the Fourth Amendment was applicable to the states, the exclusionary rule was not a necessary ingredient of the Fourth Amend ...
'', ), though ''Cahan'' would be rendered moot by ''
Mapp v. Ohio'',
*''
Pencovic v. Pencovic''
45 Cal. 2d 67(1955) the rule that parents cannot evade their
child support
Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is paid d ...
obligations through the invocation of
freedom of religion
Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freed ...
by becoming ostensible religious gurus and founding religious communes.
* ''
Drennan v. Star Paving Co.'', 51 Cal.2d 409, 333 P.2d 757 (1958). A party who has detrimentally relied on an
offer
Offer or offers may refer to:
People
* Ofer Eshed or Offer Eshed (1942-2007), Israeli basketball player
* Offer Nissim (born 1964), Israeli house DJ
* Avner Offer, economic historian
* Dick Offer, English rower
* Jack Offer, English rower
* Steve ...
that is revoked prior to acceptance may assert
promissory estoppel
A promise is a commitment by someone to do or not do something. As a noun ''promise'' means a declaration assuring that one will or will not do something. As a verb it means to commit oneself by a promise to do or give. It can also mean a capacity ...
to recover damages. This doctrine was incorporated into the
Restatement (Second) of Contracts
The Restatement (Second) of the Law of Contracts is a legal treatise from the second series of the Restatements of the Law, and seeks to inform judges and lawyers about general principles of contract common law. It is one of the best-recognized an ...
, but most jurisdictions have been loath to apply it except in cases involving
general contractors relying on bids by
subcontractor
A subcontractor is an individual or (in many cases) a business that signs a contract to perform part or all of the obligations of another's contract.
Put simply the role of a subcontractor is to execute the job they are hired by the contractor f ...
s in competitive-bid contracts (similar to the facts in ''Drennan'').
*''
Muskopf v. Corning Hospital District''
55 Cal. 2d 211(1961) overturned the doctrine of
sovereign immunity
Sovereign immunity, or crown immunity, is a legal doctrine whereby a sovereign or state cannot commit a legal wrong and is immune from civil suit or criminal prosecution, strictly speaking in modern texts in its own courts. A similar, stronger ...
, although the Legislature promptly overrode ''Muskopf'' with the Tort Claims Act of 1963 as explained in ''
Biggers v. Sacramento City Unified School District''
25 Cal. App. 3d 269(1972)
*''
Bernkrant v. Fowler''
55 Cal. 2d 588(1961) the "moderate and restrained interpretation" doctrine for resolving
conflict-of-laws problems
*''
Greenman v. Yuba Power Products, Inc.
''Greenman v. Yuba Power Products, Inc'', was a California torts case in which the Supreme Court of California dealt with the torts regarding product liability and warranty breaches. The primary legal issue of the case was to determine whether a m ...
''
59 Cal. 2d 57(1963) true
strict liability in
tort
A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...
for defective products (see
product liability
Product liability is the area of law in which manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers, and others who make products available to the public are held responsible for the injuries those products cause. Although the word "product" has b ...
) which a 1996 panel of tort law experts subsequently ranked as the top development in tort law of the past 50 years.
*''
Vandermark v. Ford Motor Co.''
61 Cal. 2d 256(1964) extension of such strict liability from manufacturers to retailers and all others involved in the "overall producing and marketing enterprise that should bear the cost of injuries resulting from defective products,"
*''
Pacific Gas & Elec. Co. v. G. W. Thomas Drayage Co.''
69 Cal. 2d 33(1968) the rule that extrinsic evidence of trade usage or custom is admissible where relevant to prove a meaning to which the language of a
contract
A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...
is reasonably susceptible, undermining the
parol evidence rule
The parol evidence rule is a rule in the Anglo-American common law that governs what kinds of evidence parties to a contract dispute can introduce when trying to determine the specific terms of a contract. The rule also prevents parties who hav ...
*''
Jones v. H. F. Ahmanson & Co.''
1 Cal. 3d 93(1969) the rule that majority shareholders of closely held corporations have a duty to not destroy the value of the shares held by minority shareholders
Personal life
On August 23, 1933, Traynor married Madeleine Emilie Lackman, a woman who shared his love of learning: she already held a
M.A.
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in political science from UC Berkeley and would go on to earn a J.D. in 1956.
They had three sons: Michael, Joseph, and Stephen. Michael followed his father into law; he attended
Harvard Law School, became a partner with
Cooley Godward Kronish LLP, and has served as president of The
American Law Institute.
Michael Traynor profile
ali.org. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
See also
*US tort law
This article addresses torts in United States law. As such, it covers primarily common law. Moreover, it provides general rules, as individual states all have separate civil codes. There are three general categories of torts: intentional torts, neg ...
*US contract law
Contract law regulates the obligations established by agreement, whether express or implied, between private parties in the United States. The law of contracts varies from state to state; there is nationwide federal contract law in certain areas, s ...
* List of justices of the Supreme Court of California
The Supreme Court of California is the highest judicial body in the state and sits at the apex of the judiciary of California. Its membership consists of the Chief Justice of California and six associate justices who are nominated by the Govern ...
Notes
Photographs
High-resolution portrait from Bancroft Library archives
California Digital Library
The California Digital Library (CDL) was founded by the University of California in 1997. Under the leadership of then UC President Richard C. Atkinson, the CDL's original mission was to forge a better system for scholarly information management a ...
, Calisphere.
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
Roger J. Traynor
California Supreme Court Historical Society.
Opinions authored by Roger J. Traynor
Courtlistener.com.
California State Courts.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Traynor, Roger J.
1900 births
1983 deaths
Chief Justices of California
Justices of the Supreme Court of California
UC Berkeley School of Law alumni
20th-century American judges
UC Berkeley School of Law faculty
Philosophers of law
American scholars of constitutional law
American people of Irish descent
People from Park City, Utah
Lawyers from Berkeley, California
United States Department of the Treasury officials
Scholars of tax law