University of Virginia Library

Retired Judge Praises Law School

Mark Pirrung
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Recently Chief Justice of the
California Supreme Court Roger J.
Traynor commented yesterday that he
was very impressed with the "alert
students and capable faculty" of the Law
School. Mr. Traynor is teaching a one
semester course at the Law School
entitled Conflict of Laws.

Mr. Traynor spoke of the glowing
impressions which he gleaned when giving
a lecture at the Law School Two years
ago. He stated that it was these
impressions which influenced him to
begin his series of teaching positions
across the nation at Virginia Law School.

Beyond accepting an invitation to
teach in the summer session at the
University of Colorado, Mr. Traynor has
not made any further definitive plans for
the future. He expects to carry a light
suitcase and become a peripatetic professor.

Mr. Traynor, who is well used to living
in University towns, has said that he is
very pleased with his new surroundings, and
that he can understand why many people
choose to retire in Virginia.

Former California Justice Roger J. Traynor

One Of The Most Respected Judges In His Field, Led Modern Decisions

Throughout his career in criminal court, Mr.
Traynor has kept up a close connection with
University campuses across the nation.

He carries the Marshall-Wythe School of
Law Medallion from the College of William and
Mary, and a special citation for outstanding
service to the University of California in
Berkeley.

Mr. Traynor was also a Professor at Law in
Berkeley from 1929 until appointed to the
state Supreme Court in 1940.

At the same time as teaching here at the
Law School, Mr. Traynor is also a
committee of the American Bar Association
drafting a new code of judicial ethics for
out-of-court activities which found its insemination
after the Fortas scandal.

Commenting on the Chicago 7 trial, Mr.
Traynor said that his move from Berkeley had
disenabled him to keep a close track of the
proceedings. He made the observation, however
that this case brings to the fore the essential
need for lawyers and judges alike to maintain
"order in the courtroom and the dignity of the
court" to insure the administration of justice.

When elected to the Supreme Court of
California, Mr. Traynor was, at 40, one of the
youngest justices ever to sit on that bench. In
1961 the Stanford Law Review published a
symposium in commemoration of his twenty
years on the court and wrote of him as "uist,
Scholar, Teacher."

Three years later he became the 23rd Chief
Justice of the California Supreme Court. In a
recent issue of Time magazine covering Mr.
Traynor's retirement, the comment was made
that his decisions on cases of national interest
seemed to proceed the U.S. Supreme Court
decisions by eight to ten years.

Mr. Traynor will teach here for only the
spring semester but plans to maintain an active
interest in the activities of the courts through
his post in the American Bar Association during
his travels through the campuses of the nation's
top law schools.