Bio
Professor Joseph Grodin, a native Californian, received his B.A. with honors from UC Berkeley in 1951 and his J.D. cum laude from Yale Law School in 1954. Upon graduation from law school he traveled to England on a Fulbright grant and earned a Ph.D. in labor law and labor relations from the London School of Economics.
Professor Grodin practiced law in San Francisco from 1955 to 1971, specializing in labor law and serving pro bono in a variety of civil rights and civil liberties matters. During portions of that period he taught as an adjunct professor at UC Law SF and a visiting professor at the University of Oregon Law School. Active in bar affairs, he served as chairman of the labor law section of the San Francisco Bar Association and as a member of the State Bar Committee on Legal Services.
From 1972 to 1979 Professor Grodin was a full-time professor at UC Law SF, teaching courses in labor law, employment discrimination, arbitration, and contracts. During portions of that period he served as a member of the first Agricultural Labor Relations Board, as foreman of the Alameda County Grand Jury, and as a visiting professor at Stanford Law School.
In 1979, Professor Grodin was appointed Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal; in 1981, he was elevated to presiding justice of that court, and in 1982 was appointed Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court, a position he held until January 1987. Upon leaving the court, Professor Grodin returned to the UC Law SF faculty. He retired from full-time teaching in May 2005. He continues to teach part-time and to do arbitration and mediation work.
Professor Grodin is the author of numerous scholarly books and articles. He is particularly proud, however, of a book on hiking trails in the Silver Lake area of the Sierra, which he coauthored with his daughter, Sharon.
Scholarship
Books
The California State Constitution (Oxford Univ. Press 2d ed., 2016) (with Michael B. Salerno & Darien Shanske).
The California State Constitution (Oxford Univ. Press 2011) (with Calvin R. Massey & Richard B. Cunningham).
Public Sector Employment: Cases and Materials (Thomson/West 2004) (with Martin Malin & June M. Weisberger).
Collective Bargaining in Public Employment (West Group 5th ed. 2003).
Collective Bargaining in Public Employment (West Pub. Co. 4th ed. 1993) (with Donald H. Wollett & June M. Weisberger).
The California State Constitution: A Reference Guide (Greenwood Press 1993) (with Richard Cunningham & Calvin Massey).
Silver Lake: The High Sierra Between Carson Pass and Ebbetts Pass (Wilderness Press 1976, 1978, 1983, 1992) (with Sharon Grodin).
In Pursuit of Justice: Reflections of a State Supreme Court Justice (University of California Press 1989) (reprinted in part at 9 Calif. Law. 61 (May 1989)).
Collective Bargaining in Public Employment (BNA 3d ed. 1979) (with Donald H. Wollett & Reginald H. Alleyne).
Public–Sector Bargaining (BNA 1979) (with Benjamin Aaron & James L. Stern).
Collective Bargaining in Public Employment (BNA 2d ed. 1975) (with Donald H. Wollett).
Union Government and the Law: British and American Experiences (Institute of Industrial Relations, University of California 1961).
Journal Articles
Tribute to Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar, 12 Cal. Legal Hist. 25 (2017). FULLTEXT
A Response to Professor Brian Leiter, 66 Hastings L.J. 1617 (2015). FULLTEXT
The Honoree Speaks, 10 Cal. Legal Hist. 3 (2015).
Liberty and Equality Under the California Constitution, 7 Cal. Legal Hist. 167 (2012). FULLTEXT
Freedom of Expression under the California Constitution, 6 Cal. Legal Hist. 187 (2011). FULLTEXT
Popular Sovereignty and Its Limits: Lessons for a Constitutional Convention in California, 44 Loy. L.A. L. Rev. 623 (2011). FULLTEXT
Oral History of Chief Justice Phil S. Gibson: Introduction, 5 Cal. Legal Hist. 3 (2010). FULLTEXT
On Amending and Revising the Constitution: The Issues Behind the Challenge to Proposition 8, 1 Cal. J. Pol. & Pol’y Art. 13 (2009). URL
Oral History of Justice Jesse W. Carter: Introduction, 4 Cal. Legal Hist. 181 (2009).
Working Group on Chapter 4 of the Proposed Restatement of Employment Law: The Tort of Wrongful Discipline in Violation of Public Policy, 13 Emp. Rts. & Emp. Pol’y J. 159 (2009) (with Paul M. Secunda, Pauline T. Kim, Catherine Fisk, Roberto L. Corrada & Richard A. Bales). WL SSRN
Same-Sex Relationships and State Constitutional Analysis, 43 Willamette L. Rev. 235 (2007). FULLTEXT
The California Supreme Court and State Constitutional Rights: The Early Years, 31 Hastings Const. L.Q. 141 (2004). FULLTEXT
California’s Supreme Court and Constitution: The Early Years, 29 S.F. Att’y 20 (2003). FULLTEXT
In Memoriam: David Feller, 24 Berkeley J. Emp. & Lab. L. 233 (2003). FULLTEXT
Some Observations on Circuit City v. Adams, 5 Cal. Emp. L. Rep. ___ (May 2001).
Author’s Comments to Public Employee Bargaining in California: The Meyers-Milias-Brown Act in the Courts, 50 Hastings L.J. 761 (1999). FULLTEXT
Some Thoughts on the American Model, 20 Comp. Lab. L. & Pol’y J. 29 (1999). FULLTEXT
On the Interface Between Labor and Employment Law, 19 Berkeley J. Emp. & Lab. L. 307 (1998). FULLTEXT
Rediscovering the State Constitutional Right to Happiness and Safety, 25 Hastings Const. L.Q. 1 (1997). FULLTEXT
Travels with Otto, 30 Loy. L.A. L. Rev. 931 (1997). FULLTEXT
A Tale of Two Opinions, 59 Alb. L. Rev. 1731 (1996). FULLTEXT
Arbitration of Employment Discrimination Claims: Doctrine and Policy in the Wake of Gilmer, 14 Hofstra Lab. L.J. 1 (1996). FULLTEXT
Are Rules Really Better than Standards?, 45 Hastings L.J. 569 (1994). FULLTEXT
Introduction, 45 Hastings L.J. 707 (1994). FULLTEXT
Report on the 1993-1994 Supreme Court Labor and Employment Law Term, 10 Lab. Law. 693 (1994). FULLTEXT
Some Reflections About Justice Sullivan, 46 Hastings L.J. 11 (1994). FULLTEXT
When Greatness Dawned: In Praise of the State High Court’s Opinion in Marinship, about Discriminatory Union Practices, Decided 50 Years Ago, 14 Cal. Law. 36 (1994).
Contract, Tort, and Individual Responsibility: An Analytic Framework, 77 Cornell L. Rev. 1040 (1992). FULLTEXT
Constitutional Values in the Private Sector Workplace, 13 Indus. Rel. L.J. 1 (1991). FULLTEXT
A Tribute to the Other Bart, 24 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 11 (1990).
Past, Present and Future in Wrongful Termination Law, 6 Lab. Law. 97 (1990). FULLTEXT
Toward a Wrongful Termination Statute for California, 42 Hastings L.J. 135 (1990). FULLTEXT
Developing a Consensus of Constraint: A Judge’s Perspective on Judicial Retention Elections, 61 S. Cal. L. Rev. 1969 (1988). FULLTEXT
Judging Judges: How We Choose Our Federal and State Judges, 1 J. Contemp. Legal Issues 147 (1988) (with Frank K. Richardson). FULLTEXT
Some Reflections on State Constitutions, 15 Hastings Const. L.Q. 391 (1988). FULLTEXT
Judicial Elections: The California Experience, 70 Judicature 365 (1987). FULLTEXT
The Tunnel Vision of Legal Training, 10 Nova L. Rev. 547 (1986). FULLTEXT
The Depublication Practice of the California Supreme Court, 72 Cal. L. Rev. 514 (1984) (reprinted at L.A. Daily J., Nov. 30, 1984, at S3). FULLTEXT
In Memoriam: Mathew O. Tobriner, 33 Hastings L.J. at xxv (1982). FULLTEXT
California Public Employee Bargaining: The MMB Act in Relation to Local Charters and Ordinances, 36 Cal. Pub. Emp. Rel. 2 (1978).
Introduction to Farm Labor Law, 11 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 201 (1978). FULLTEXT
Justice Tobriner: Portrait of the Judge as an Artist, 29 Hastings L.J. 7 (1977). FULLTEXT
California Agricultural Labor Act: Early Experience, 15 Indus. Rel. 275 (1976).
Political Aspects of Public Sector Interest Arbitration, 64 Cal. L. Rev. 678 (1976). FULLTEXT
Arbitration of Public Sector Labor Disputes: The Nevada Experiment, 28 Indus. & Lab. Rel. Rev. 89 (1974). FULLTEXT
California Public Employee Bargaining Revisited: The MMB Act in the Appellate Courts, 21 Cal. Pub. Emp. Rel. 2 (1974).
Either–Or Arbitration for Public Employee Disputes, 11 Indus. Rel. 260 (1972).
Public Employee Bargaining in California: The Meyers-Milias-Brown Act in the Courts, 23 Hastings L.J. 719 (1972) (reprinted at 50 Hastings L.J. 717 (1999)). FULLTEXT
Public Employee Bargaining in Oregon, 51 Or. L. Rev. 7 (1971) (with Mark A. Hardin). FULLTEXT
The Individual and the Public Service Enterprise in the New Industrial State, 55 Cal. L. Rev. 1247 (1967) (with Mathew O. Tobriner). FULLTEXT
State Right–to–Work Laws and Federal Labor Policy, 52 Cal. L. Rev. 95 (1964) (with Duane B. Beeson) (reprinted at 16 Lab. L.J. 147 (1965)). FULLTEXT
The Kennedy Labor Board, 3 Indus. Rel. 33 (Feb. 1964).
Taft-Hartley Pre-emption in the Area of NLRB Inaction, 44 Cal. L. Rev. 663 (1956) (with Mathew O. Tobriner). FULLTEXT
Chapters In Books
Foreword to The Great Dissents of the “Lone Dissenter”: Justice Jesse W. Carter’s Twenty Tumultuous Years on the California Supreme Court, at xix (David B. Oppenheimer & Allan Brotsky eds., Carolina Acad. Press 2010). CATALOG
The Story of Pugh v. See’s Candies, Inc.: “Implied in Fact” Promises in Employment Contracts, in Employment Law Stories 9 (Samuel Estreicher & Gillian Lester eds., Foundation Press 2007). CATALOG
Arbitration Decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court 2000–2001: Review and Appraisal Arbitration 2001: Arbitrating in an Evolving Legal Environment (Proceedings of the 54th Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Arbitrators) 13 (BNA 2002).
The Role of State Constitutions in a Federal System, in Constitutional Reform in California: Making State Government More Effective and Responsive 31 (Bruce E. Cain & Roger G. Noll eds., Inst. of Governmental Studies Press 1995). CATALOG
Book Reviews
State Constitutionalism in Practice, 30 Val. U. L. Rev. 601 (1996) (reviewing Robert F. Nagel ed., Intellect and Craft: The Contributions of Justice Hans Linde to American Constitutionalism (1995)).
Book Review, 41 Hastings L.J. 1457 (1990) (reviewing Melvin Eisenberg, The Nature of the Common Law (1988)).
Book Review, Nat’l L.J. 67 (Aug. 4, 1980) (reviewing John Hart Ely, Democracy and Distrust (1980)).
Newspaper & Magazine Articles
Is Same–Sex Marriage Conducive to Happiness?, L.A. Daily J., Feb. 2, 2005, at 6. CATALOG
Ripped–Up Rights; New Laws to Combat Terrorism Will, as Before Prove Excessive, L.A. Daily J., June 5, 2002, at 6. CATALOG
In Memoriam: Honorable Stanley Mosk, 26 Cal.4th 1249, 2001. URL
Campaigning With at Least One Hand Tied Behind My Back, L.A. Daily J., June 16, 1987, at 4. CATALOG
Looking Homeward: State Constitutionalism Brings the Law Closer to the People, L.A. Daily J., Aug. 13, 1987, at 4. CATALOG
Notes on a Rainy Sunday: A Tribute to Justice Norman Elkington, L.A. Daily J., Dec. 10, 1982, at 4. CATALOG
Changes in Judicial Attitudes: The Future of Arbitration, L.A. Daily J., Dec. 1, 1980, at 2. CATALOG
Student Notes/Comments
Note, The Right of Publicity: A Doctrinal Innovation, 62 Yale L.J. 1123 (1953). WL
Dissertations & Theses
Comparison of British and American Law Relating to Internal Trade Union Affairs (1959) (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, London School of Economics) (on file with the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Library, University of London).
Education
-
London School of Economics
Ph.D., Labor Law and Labor Relations -
Yale Law School
J.D., Law -
UC Berkeley
B.A., Undergraduate Studies
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