Evan Richard Youngstrom, a student at the University of San Diego School of Law, has posted this abstract for a paper to appear in California Legal History, the annual journal of the California Supreme Court Historical Society (disclosure: I serve on the Society’s board of directors):
For the past quarter century the California Supreme Court has been the most influential state supreme court in the nation. This paper explains this influence can be attributed to the court’s rejection of legal formalism and its embrace of a policy-based lawmaking role. After discussing examples of the court’s innovative decisions, this paper explains why this type of judicial lawmaking is appropriate for a state supreme court.
If the Supreme Court is influential because of its rejection of legal formalism, likely new Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar might just fit right in.
