California Supreme Court Watch: Judge Corrigan Confirmed and Sworn Onto California Supreme Court

Carol A. Corrigan, left, smiles while being sworn in by Supreme Court of California Chief Justice Ronald M. George, right, as an associate justice to the Supreme Court of California in San Francisco, Wednesday Jan. 4, 2006. Corrigan was selected by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to succeed Janice Rogers Brown, the seven-member court’s most conservative judge, and only black member. Brown resigned June 30 after the U.S. Senate confirmed her to a federal appeals court in the District of Columbia.

San Francisco Chronicle: Corrigan sworn in to California Supreme Court

Appellate Judge Carol A. Corrigan, a former prosecutor, was sworn in Wednesday to the California Supreme Court after being confirmed to replace the most conservative justice on the state’s highest court.

Corrigan, 57, who until her confirmation was on the 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco, is a former trial judge and Alameda County prosecutor and was elevated to the appeals court in 1994 by former Republican Gov. Pete Wilson after changing her voter registration from Democrat to Republican.

Immediately after her confirmation, she told reporters she was a “centrist,” that she could not discuss upcoming cases and said judges “do not own the law.”

“Generally, Americans think everybody should be equal before the law,” she said, noting she changed her party affiliation to Republican because it was a more “accurate” designation of her political beliefs.

Congratulations to Justice Corrigan.

By the way, she stands for confirmation by California voters in November.