Bob Egelko reports in the San Francisco Chronicle that the seven months that Justice Joyce Kennard’s seat has been vacant since her retirement is “an interval that may be unprecedented and is at least the longest in a half century.” (If you want a handy all-in-one-place guide to this history, see Frances Jones’s excellent “Succession in the California Supreme Court,” in the Spring/Summer 2014 newsletter, pages 19-21, of the California Supreme Court Historical Society.)
According to Egelko, when Brown was asked, the day after the election, about filling the vacancy, he responded, “Soon enough. I’ve not arrived at a pick yet.” I thought we’d see an appointment within two weeks of the election (see prediction buried here). Maybe before Thanksgiving?
