Political Quotes

“I speak today to honor a man who was a tribute to his court, his state, and his nation. Justice Stanley Mosk of the California State Supreme Court leaves behind a legacy of his strong belief in civil rights and free speech. It is my hope that Governor Gray Davis will seek out another advocate for the people to step into Justice Mosk's shoes. Justice Mosk will be remembered for many things. He was often on the forefront of legal issues. Back in 1947, when he was a judge on the Los Angeles Superior Court, Justice Mosk threw out a racially restrictive covenant that prevented a black family from moving into a white neighborhood. That case, Wright v. Drye, came out a year before the United States Supreme Court made its own similar decision in Shelley v. Kramer. In 1978, Justice Mosk again led the U.S. Supreme Court in ground-breaking decisions. In that year, he ruled for a ban on racial discrimination in jury selection. The U.S. Supreme Court waited eight years before making the same ruling. Justice Mosk promoted civil rights from an early stage in his career. While serving as the California State Attorney General in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Justice Mosk established the office's civil rights division. He also successfully fought against the Professionals Golfers' Association bylaws that denied access to minority golfers.”