Joyce L. Kennard - Judicial Career

Judicial Career

Kennard's rise within the California court system is often described as "meteoric." Appointed to the Los Angeles Municipal Court in 1986, Kennard was elevated to the California Superior Court in 1987 and elevated again to the California Court of Appeal in 1988. Finally, in 1989, Governor George Deukmejian appointed her to the California Supreme Court. Upon taking her oath, Kennard became the second woman and the first Asian American to serve as a justice on the Court.

During her time on the bench, Kennard has authored numerous high-profile opinions, the best-known of which is Kasky v. Nike (2002) 27 Cal. 4th 939. In that case, the California Supreme Court held that Nike could not claim a First Amendment "commercial free speech" defense when charged with lying about sweatshop conditions in its overseas manufacturing plants. The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari, apparently at the urging of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who wanted to reverse. Harvard Professor Laurence Tribe, who had criticized the California Supreme Court's decision, represented Nike. But ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to render an opinion, instead letting the California Supreme Court's decision stand.

Kennard has a reputation for aggressive questioning during oral argument. She does not hesitate to ask long and complicated questions—often speaking for minutes at a time before prompting an attorney to respond. Like her retired counterpart from the Supreme Court of the United States, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Kennard often asks the first question in a given case.

Kennard walks with the help of a prosthesis, as her leg was amputated when she was a teenager.