Allen Broussard

Allen Edgar Broussard (April 13, 1929 – November 5, 1996) was an American attorney who rose to become an Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court from July 22, 1981, to August 31, 1991.

Allen Edgar Broussard
Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court
In office
July 22, 1981 – August 31, 1991
Preceded byWilliam P. Clark, Jr.
Succeeded byRonald M. George
Personal details
Born(1929-04-13)April 13, 1929
Lake Charles, Louisiana, U.S.
DiedNovember 5, 1996(1996-11-05) (aged 67)
Oakland, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Spouse(s)
Odessa Monroe
​
(m. 1959)​
Alma materSan Francisco City College
University of California, Berkeley (B.A., J.D)
OccupationLawyer, judge, civic leader

Biography

Broussard was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, the son of Clemire and Eugenia Broussard.[1] At the age of sixteen, he moved with his family to California, where his father was a longshoreman, and his mother worked as a seamstress.[2]

As a young man, Broussard held various part-time jobs, including selling shoes and working in a canning plant. He financed his own education, first at San Francisco City College, then the University of California at Berkeley, and the Boalt Hall School of Law at Berkeley.[1][3] At Boalt, he was vice-president of the Boalt Hall Law Students Association and a contributor to the California Law Review. After graduating in 1953, he served in the United States Army for two years.[4] After leaving the Army, he became the research attorney for Raymond E. Peters, Presiding Justice of the California Court of Appeal, First District, Division One. In 1959, Broussard entered private practice with Wilson, Metoyer & Sweeny.[5][6]

Broussard was one of a group of influential African American leaders in East Bay politics, including Norvel Smith, and state Court of Appeal Justice Clinton White.[7] He was part of a coterie that used to meet at the pharmacy of William Byron Rumford, along with Lionel Wilson. In 1972, Broussard was the first African American to be elected President of the California Judges Association.[8] He also became Chairman of the Board of the Center for Judicial Education and Research.[9]

After retiring from the judiciary, Broussard served on the Oakland Port Commission, which involved visiting ports around the world, especially Asia. In 1987, he led a group of 72 lawyers, port officials including: port commissioner Carole Ward Allen, and city officials on a 3-week long trip to China meeting the Mayor of Shanghai, Jiang Zemin. Shanghai is a "twin city" of San Francisco.

Judicial career

Broussard was one of the first African-Americans to become a judge in California. In 1964, California Governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown appointed Broussard as a judge of the Municipal Court for the Oakland-Piedmont (later Oakland-Piedmont-Emeryville) Judicial District.[10] His record caught the attention of Democratic Governor Jerry Brown, who, in 1975, appointed Broussard as a judge of the Superior Court of Alameda County.[11] He went on to serve as Presiding Judge of the Superior Court. In 1981 Governor Jerry Brown elevated Broussard to the California Supreme Court, where he served as Associate Justice until 1991.[12] His term followed Wiley Manuel, who was on the bench 1977-1981.

On the court, Broussard was a leading liberal in the court's majority, along with Chief Justice Rose Bird.[1][13] He wrote the majority of opinions for the court at that time.[14] By 1982, five of the seven justices on the court were Brown appointees, who were widely criticized as allegedly soft on crime and overly political. Even though the judges had different individual philosophies, they were lumped together by conservative politicians who derisively labeled them as "Jerry's Judges" and "Rosie & The Supremes." Critics repeatedly claimed that Broussard and other Brown appointees ruled on the basis of personal opinion and political bias rather than the law and the state Constitution.[8]

In 1982, Broussard was up for election reconfirmation.[15] A campaign was waged against him and the other Brown appointees on the ballot that year (Cruz Reynoso and Otto Kaus), something that was unprecedented in California history.[16] Broussard was reconfirmed to a 12-year term, as expected, with 56% of the vote, but that was below the typical confirmation vote.[17] In 1986, three of his colleagues (Bird, Cruz Reynoso, and Joseph Grodin) were resoundingly voted off the court, and they were replaced by conservative justices.[18] Broussard was disturbed by this development and expressed fear that the judiciary would become politicized.

On August 31, 1991, Broussard retired from the court and Governor Pete Wilson appointed Ronald M. George to the seat.[1][19]

Personal life

As chairman of a civic organization called Men of Tomorrow, he contacted Odessa Monroe, the program director of the radio station KSAN, seeking free air time. He went on to marry her in 1959, and they had two sons, Keith and Craig.[8]

References
  1. "OBITUARY -- Allen Broussard -- Former California Supreme Court Judge". SF Gate. November 6, 1996. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  2. "Allen Broussard – Husband, Father, Judge and Gumbo Master Chef". Kreol Magazine. November 19, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  3. Grodin, Joseph R. (1991). In Pursuit of Justice: Reflections of a State Supreme Court Justice. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ISBN 0520076478. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  4. "Broussard, Allen E. (1929-1996)". BlackPast.org. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  5. Lee, Henry K. (April 29, 1999). "Wilmont Sweeney". SF Gate. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  6. Newhouse, Dave (October 1, 2011). "Metoyer a black law pioneer". Mercury News. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  7. Vigil, Delfin (December 7, 2004). "Norvel Smith -- pioneer African American educator, leader". SF Gate. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  8. Oliver, Myrna (November 6, 1996). "Allen E. Broussard; Ex-State High Court Justice Wrote Key Death Penalty Opinion". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  9. "Judicial Council Member Roster 1926–2015" (PDF). California State Courts. Retrieved August 27, 2017. Hon. Allen E. Broussard, 1981-87
  10. "Justice Broussard, 'talented jurist'". California Bar Journal. December 1996. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  11. Jenkins, Jr., Everett (2001). Pan-African Chronology III: A Comprehensive Reference to the Black Quest for Freedom in Africa, the Americas, Europe and Asia, 1914–1929. McFarland. p. 491. ISBN 078645038X. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  12. Hyink, Bernard; Provost, David (2016). Politics and Government in California. Routledge. ISBN 978-1317345435. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  13. Cairns, Kathleen A. (2016). The Case of Rose Bird: Gender, Politics, and the California Courts. Lincoln, NE: U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0803295421. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  14. California Supreme Court Justice Looks at Law and Society, 1964-1996: Allen E. Broussard. Calisphere. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  15. Overbea, Luix (November 9, 1982). "The black vote -- a significant element in '82 election". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved August 3, 2017. Two black judges were elected to state supreme courts: Oscar Adams in Alabama and Allen Broussard in California.
  16. Kritzer, Herbert M. (2015). Justices on the Ballot: Continuity and Change in State Supreme Court Elections. Cambridge University Press. p. 209. ISBN 978-1316300268. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  17. Barnett, Stephen R. (April 1997). "Otto and the Court: Memorial Dedication to Otto Kaus". Loy. L.A. L. Rev. 30 (3): 943–960, at 947, fn 19. Retrieved August 3, 2017. 1982 judicial election...Allen Broussard with 56.2%
  18. Chambers, Marcia (January 2, 1987). "'63 Murder Figure Wins Legal Round". New York Times. Retrieved August 3, 2017. The court...ruled in the final week of office for Chief Justice Rose Bird and Associate Justices Cruz Reynoso and Joseph Grodin, who suffered a resounding defeat in last month's confirmation election and will leave office Sunday.
  19. Chiang, Harriet (November 24, 1996). "HOLDING COURT -- The Death of a Friend, Colleague and Guiding Light / Justice Allen Broussard was the second black to serve on the state's highest court -- and worked all his life to help minorities advance within the legal system". SF Gate. Retrieved August 3, 2017.

Selected publications
  • Broussard, Allen (1995). Working for equality in the California courts. Berkeley, CA: Black Alumni Club, University of California, Berkeley. OCLC 32233676.
  • Broussard, Allen E. (Winter 1952–1953). "Contracts: Forfeiture Clauses: Relief to Vendee in Default in California". California Law Review. 40 (4): 593–599. doi:10.2307/3477908. JSTOR 3477908.

Papers and oral history

See also
Legal offices
Preceded by
William P. Clark, Jr.		 Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court
1981–1991		 Succeeded by
Ronald M. George
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