Diane Watson: “today I stand before this august body to pay tribute to a superb colleague, friend, and fighter for justice, the late…”

“today I stand before this august body to pay tribute to a superb colleague, friend, and fighter for justice, the late Honorable California State Supreme Court Justice Stanley Mosk. As a State Supreme Court Justice, Stanley Mosk fought repeatedly for civil rights and individual liberties. He constantly strove for fairness for all Californians. Judge Mosk did not view his judicial task as a job, but as a mission for humanity. Judge Mosk understood the pain of racism. It was during his election to statewide office that his faith was made an issue. Judge Mosk, as a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, threw out a restrictive real estate covenant that prevented a black family from moving into a white neighborhood. A year later, the U.S. Supreme Court voided such covenants. It was Judge Mosk's ability to relate to the pain caused by racism that allowed him to approach legal decisions with a touch of humanity and fairness. Even before his career as a judge, Mosk had the ability to tell the difference between right and wrong. As a State Attorney General in the late 1950s and early 1960s, he established the office's civil rights division, and helped to persuade the Professional Golfer's Association to drop its whites-only rule. Judge Mosk, a longtime Democrat and self-described liberal, was appointed to the State's highest court in 1964 and served until his death, a 37-year tenure that made him the State's longest-serving Justice. During that time, he wrote 1,500 opinions.”