Bird Rose

American jurist who served for 10 years as the 25th Chief Justice of California. She was the first female Justice, and first female Chief Justice, on that court, appointed by then Governor Jerry Brown. In the November 1986 state election she also became the only Chief Justice in California history to be removed from office by the voters. Her tenure on the Supreme Court was controversial. She was vigorously publicly attacked by her critics as an ideologue who substituted her personal views over the law and the state constitution. Her widely perceived personal opposition to the death penalty was a particular sore point for her critics. Bird died on 4 December 1999, at Stanford University Medical Center from complications of breast cancer (which she had fought on and off since 1976) at the age of 63. Link to Wikipedia biography Read less