Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye recently spoke with the Sacramento Bee editorial board. A condensed version of the interview was published this weekend.
The wide-ranging discussion included the Chief Justice’s explanation why most Supreme Court opinions are unanimous, the disclosure that 25 percent of the court’s resources are spent on automatic death penalty appeals and related habeas corpus petitions, and her identification of emerging areas of the law (“whether arbitration is delaying the development of the law,” the Elder Abuse Act as a potential way around MICRA, and CEQA litigation concerning, “importantly, the emerging area of greenhouse emissions”). The Chief Justice said, “We’re seeing a mix of science and humanity at the Supreme Court.”
When the interview turned to the impending live streaming of Supreme Court oral arguments and the Chief Justice mentioned that the Judicial Council already live streams its meetings, she was asked whether she knew how many people watch the Judicial Council proceedings. She responded, “No. (Laughs.) We’re not like Bruno Mars, who gets 1.4 million hits.”
[Note: why the semi-frivolous title for the post when the interview covered much more significant topics? See Frankie Valli.]