Mathew Tobriner

American judge

Mathew Oscar Tobriner (April 2, 1904 – April 7, 1982) was an American lawyer and law professor who served as an associate justice of the California Supreme Court from 1962 to 1982.

Early life and education

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A native of San Francisco, Tobriner was educated at Lowell High School and was a member of its famed Lowell Forensic Society , the nation's oldest high school debate team. He attended Stanford University , and in 1924 received his A.B. degree with _Phi Beta Kappa _ honors, and the next year his M.A.

In 1927, he graduated from Harvard Law School _magna cum laude _ and Order of the Coif with a LL.B.

In April 1928, he was admitted before the California Bar . He continued his graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley , where he was awarded a Doctor of Juridical Science in 1932.

Legal and judicial career

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After law school, Tobriner entered private practice and specialized in labor law. In 1928, he founded the firm of Tobriner, Lazarus, Brundage & Neyhart, in San Francisco and Los Angeles where he represented the American Federation of Labor and various unions for over 25 years, except for stints working at public agencies.

Tobriner was active in Democratic Party politics. From 1932 to 1936, during the New Deal administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt , Tobriner served as chief attorney in the solicitor's office of the United States Department of Agriculture . In 1948, he was state vice-chair of President Harry Truman 's re-election campaign. In May 1950, he was northern California chair of the campaign of Congresswoman Helen Gahagan Douglas for the United States Senate .

From 1958 to 1959, Tobriner taught as an associate professor at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law . In 1959, Governor Pat Brown appointed Tobriner as an associate justice of the California Court of Appeal for the First District.

In June 1962, Governor Brown elevated Tobriner to Associate Justice of the state Supreme Court to fill the unexpired term of Maurice T. Dooling Jr. , who had resigned. In November 1974, Tobriner stood for re-election and was retained. In the 1960s, Tobriner was part of the liberal majority on the court that included Chief Justice Roger Traynor , Raymond L. Sullivan , Raymond E. Peters , and Stanley Mosk .

In 1976, as one of the three members on the California Commission on Judicial Appointments, Tobriner cast the deciding vote in approving the nomination of Rose Bird as the first female Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court.

Notable opinions

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Tobriner's tenure on the state's high court is notable for several decisions he authored in the areas of constitutional law and civil rights, property, contracts and torts.

In 1963, Tobriner's opinion in _Tunkl v. Regents of the University of California _ established a six-factor test to determine whether a contract relates to the "public interest ," such that a contract or provision therein may be found invalid as contrary to public policy.

Tobriner's 1965 opinion in People v. Dorado, ruling that a person accused of a crime must be advised by the police of a right to remain silent and to obtain counsel, presaged the U.S. Supreme Court 's _Miranda v. Arizona _ (1966).

In 1966, Tobriner explained in Morrison v. State Board of Education that gay teachers are entitled to employment in public schools absent a "showing that an individual's homosexuality renders him unfit for the job from which he has been excluded."

In April 1975, Tobriner addressed a case arising out of a labor action. Under California law it was illegal for public employees to strike. Despite the statute, San Francisco city employees picketed city hall and shut down municipal services. After a week, Mayor Joseph Alioto and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors agreed to the strikers' demands. The city controller, however, refused to payout what he believed were illegal salaries. The California Supreme Court ordered the city controller to pay the salaries, with Tobriner's majority opinion finding that contracts secured through illegal strikes are still legally enforceable.

In 1974, Tobriner wrote the decision of Green v. Superior Court, 517 P.2d 1168, that established the doctrine of implied warranty of habitability in residential leases in California, which requires landlords to maintain leased dwellings in a habitable condition.

In 1976, Tobriner wrote the decision of _Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California _, 17 Cal. 3d 425, 551 P.2d 334, 131 Cal. Rptr. 14 (Cal. 197

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Tobriner's tenure on the state's high court is notable for several decisions he authored in the areas of constitutional law and civil rights, property, contracts and torts.

In 1963, Tobriner's opinion in _Tunkl v. Regents of the University of California _ established a six-factor test to determine whether a contract relates to the "public interest ," such that a contract or provision therein may be found invalid as contrary to public policy.

Tobriner's 1965 opinion in People v. Dorado, ruling that a person accused of a crime must be advised by the police of a right to remain silent and to obtain counsel, presaged the U.S. Supreme Court 's _[Miranda v. …