David Newton Eagleson (October 4, 1924 – May 23, 2003) was an American lawyer who served as an associate justice of the

Supreme Court of California The Supreme Court of California is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the judiciary of California, courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly ...

from 1987 to 1991.

Biography

Eagleson was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and educated in the public schools. After serving in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Eagleson earned his

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Some law degrees are professional degrees that are prerequisites or serve as preparation for legal careers. These generally include the Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Laws, an ...

from the USC Law School in 1950. On June 6, 1951, he was admitted to the

State Bar of California The State Bar of California is an administrative division of the Supreme Court of California which licenses attorneys and regulates the practice of law in California. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law ...

. Eagleson then practiced law in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

for 20 years. In December 1970, Governor

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

appointed Eagleson to the

Los Angeles County Superior Court The Superior Court of Los Angeles County is the California Superior Courts of California, Superior Court located in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States. The Sup ...

, where from 1980 to 1981 he served as presiding judge. From 1979 to 1980, he was president of the California Judges Association. In November 1981, Governor

George Deukmejian Courken George Deukmejian Jr. ( ; June 6, 1928May 8, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of California from 1983 to 1991. A member of the Republican Party, he was the state's first governor of Armenian descent. B ...

named Eagleson as an associate justice to the Court of Appeal, Second District, Division Five. In March 1987, Governor Deukmejian appointed Eagleson as an associate justice to the Supreme Court. A conservative Republican, Eagleson was elevated to the high court after voters removed liberal Chief Justice

Rose Bird Rose Elizabeth Bird (November 2, 1936 – December 4, 1999) was the 25th Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court. She was the first female law clerk of the Nevada Supreme Court, the first female deputy public defender in Santa Clara Cou ...

and two of her allies from the Court in the 1986 general election as a result of the trio's opposition to

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

. Eagleson tended to uphold capital sentences. During his four years on the court, Eagleson wrote 54

majority opinion In law, a majority opinion is a judicial opinion agreed to by more than half of the members of a court. A majority opinion sets forth the decision of the court and an explanation of the rationale behind the court's decision. Not all cases hav ...

s. Among Eagleson's notable opinions is '' Thing v. La Chusa'' (1989), which sharply limited the availability of the cause of action for

negligent infliction of emotional distress The tort of negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED) is a controversial cause of action, which is available in nearly all U.S. states but is severely constrained and limited in the majority of them. The underlying concept is that one ...

in California. After stepping down from the high court, Eagleson practiced as a mediator and arbitrator in Los Angeles.

Personal life

On May 16, 1953, Eagleson married Virginia Mae Brown, and they had two daughters, Elizabeth K. Eagleson, an attorney, and Victoria Eagleson, who both reside in Southern California. Beth, in her eulogy for her father delivered before the court on which he once served, cited ''Thing'' as the opinion most representative of her father's voice and philosophy:

References

External links

*
David N. Eagleson
California Supreme Court Historical Society.
Photo of David N. Eagleson
on the bench. Los Angeles, April 1987. California Supreme Court Historical Society Newsletter (Spring-Summer 2013), p. 20. *
Former Justices
California Court of Appeal, Second District.

Biography

Personal life

References

External links

See also