Marshall F. McComb
Encyclopedia
Marshall F. McComb was an American jurist
who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California
from 1955 to 1977.
, McComb earned his Bachelor of Arts
degree from Stanford University
in 1917, Bachelor of Laws
degree from Yale Law School
in 1919, and Doctor of Laws degree from Loyola Law School
in 1936. He was admitted to the California bar in February 1920, then from 1920 to 1927 was a professor of political science
at the University of California, Los Angeles
.
In 1927, Governor C. C. Young
appointed McComb a Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge, where he served until 1937 when Governor Frank Merriam
elevated him to an Associate Justiceship on the California Second District Court of Appeal, Division Two, where he served from 1937 to 1955.
named McComb an Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court
, where McComb served from 1956 to 1977. For much of his career on the state high court, McComb formed the core of its conservative wing and often dissented from the liberal majority's opinions. In 1967, McComb swore in Ronald Reagan
to the latter's first term as Governor of California
.
In 1968, McComb joined the dissenting opinion
of Justice Louis H. Burke in Dillon v. Legg
, in which the Court's majority established the tort
of negligent infliction of emotional distress
; Burke and McComb argued that the majority ruling opened up defendants to "potentially infinite liability beyond any rational relationship to their culpability."
In the 1972 case California v. Anderson
, in which the majority ruled 6–1 that the death penalty
was unconstitutional, McComb was the lone dissenter
, arguing that the death penalty deterred
crime, noting numerous Supreme precedents upholding the death penalty's constitutionality (including 11 in the prior three and a half years), and stating that the legislative and initiative
processes were the only appropriate avenues to determine whether the death penalty should be allowed. The majority's decision spared the lives of 105 death row
inmates, including Sirhan Sirhan
, assassin of Robert F. Kennedy, and serial killer
Charles Manson
. McComb was so upset about the Anderson decision that he walked out of the courtroom. Nine months later, the people of California would pass Proposition 17
by a 2–1 margin, reinstating the death penalty as an option for all prosecutions that took place after the adoption of Proposition 17.
In 1976, McComb joined Justice William P. Clark, Jr.
's dissenting opinion in Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California
, as McComb and Clark argued that doctor-patient confidentiality was "essential to effectively treat the mentally ill, and that imposing a duty on doctors to disclose patient threats to potential victims would greatly impair treatment" while the majority held that mental health professionals have a duty to protect individuals who are being threatened with bodily harm by a patient.
McComb did join the 1976 court majority in Marvin v. Marvin, in which the court ruled that although California does not recognize common-law marriage
, people who cohabitate
for long periods of time and commingle
their assets are allowed to plead and prove marriage-like contracts for support and division of property.
McComb's distinguished judicial career had a rather ignominious end. On May 2, 1977, a panel of Court of Appeal justices, sitting as an acting Supreme Court, forced McComb into retirement by affirming a state Commission on Judicial Performance decision that McComb had senile dementia
and was no longer able to carry out his judicial duties.
. His widow, Margaret G. McComb, would live for another 22 years, dying on November 4, 2003. In 2005, the McComb Foundation established the Justice Marshall F. McComb Professorship at Southwestern Law School.
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California
Supreme Court of California
The Supreme Court of California is the highest state court in California. It is headquartered in San Francisco and regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Its decisions are binding on all other California state courts.-Composition:...
from 1955 to 1977.
Education and early career
Born in Denver, ColoradoDenver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, McComb earned his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1917, Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
degree from Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
in 1919, and Doctor of Laws degree from Loyola Law School
Loyola Law School
Loyola Law School is the law school of Loyola Marymount University, a private Catholic university in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions, in Los Angeles, California. Loyola was established in 1920. Like Loyola University Chicago School of Law and Loyola University New Orleans College of Law , it...
in 1936. He was admitted to the California bar in February 1920, then from 1920 to 1927 was a professor of political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
.
In 1927, Governor C. C. Young
C. C. Young
Clement Calhoun Young was an American teacher and politician who was affiliated with the original Progressive Party and later the Republican Party. He was elected to five consecutive terms in the California State Assembly, serving from 1909 to 1919, then as the 28th lieutenant governor of...
appointed McComb a Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge, where he served until 1937 when Governor Frank Merriam
Frank Merriam
Frank Finley Merriam was an American politician who served as the 28th governor of California from June 2, 1934 until January 2, 1939...
elevated him to an Associate Justiceship on the California Second District Court of Appeal, Division Two, where he served from 1937 to 1955.
California Supreme Court
Governor Goodwin KnightGoodwin Knight
Goodwin Jess Knight , known as "Goodie Knight", was a U.S. politician who was the 31st Governor of California from 1953 until 1959.-Early life:...
named McComb an Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court
Supreme Court of California
The Supreme Court of California is the highest state court in California. It is headquartered in San Francisco and regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Its decisions are binding on all other California state courts.-Composition:...
, where McComb served from 1956 to 1977. For much of his career on the state high court, McComb formed the core of its conservative wing and often dissented from the liberal majority's opinions. In 1967, McComb swore in Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
to the latter's first term as Governor of California
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
.
In 1968, McComb joined the dissenting opinion
Dissenting opinion
A dissenting opinion is an opinion in a legal case written by one or more judges expressing disagreement with the majority opinion of the court which gives rise to its judgment....
of Justice Louis H. Burke in Dillon v. Legg
Dillon v. Legg
Dillon v. Legg, 68 Cal. 2d 728 , was a case decided by the Supreme Court of California that established the tort of negligent infliction of emotional distress...
, in which the Court's majority established the tort
Tort
A tort, in common law jurisdictions, is a wrong that involves a breach of a civil duty owed to someone else. It is differentiated from a crime, which involves a breach of a duty owed to society in general...
of negligent infliction of emotional distress
Negligent infliction of emotional distress
The tort of negligent infliction of emotional distress 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 has a legal duty to use reasonable care to avoid causing...
; Burke and McComb argued that the majority ruling opened up defendants to "potentially infinite liability beyond any rational relationship to their culpability."
In the 1972 case California v. Anderson
California v. Anderson
The People of the State of California v. Robert Page Anderson, 493 P.2d 880, 6 Cal. 3d 628 , was a landmark case in the state of California that outlawed the use of capital punishment...
, in which the majority ruled 6–1 that the death penalty
Capital punishment in California
Capital punishment is a legal form of punishment in the U.S. state of California. The first recorded execution in the area that is now California took place on April 11, 1878 when four Native Americans were shot in San Diego County for conspiracy to commit murder. These were the first of 709...
was unconstitutional, McComb was the lone dissenter
Dissenting opinion
A dissenting opinion is an opinion in a legal case written by one or more judges expressing disagreement with the majority opinion of the court which gives rise to its judgment....
, arguing that the death penalty deterred
Deterrence (legal)
Deterrence is the use of punishment as a threat to deter people from committing a crime. Deterrence is often contrasted with retributivism, which holds that punishment is a necessary consequence of a crime and should be calculated based on the gravity of the wrong done.- Categories :Deterrence can...
crime, noting numerous Supreme precedents upholding the death penalty's constitutionality (including 11 in the prior three and a half years), and stating that the legislative and initiative
Initiative
In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote...
processes were the only appropriate avenues to determine whether the death penalty should be allowed. The majority's decision spared the lives of 105 death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
inmates, including Sirhan Sirhan
Sirhan Sirhan
Sirhan Bishara Sirhan is a Jordanian citizen who was convicted for the assassination of United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy. He is serving a life sentence at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga, California.Sirhan was a Christian Arab born in Jerusalem who strongly opposed Israel...
, assassin of Robert F. Kennedy, and serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
Charles Manson
Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
. McComb was so upset about the Anderson decision that he walked out of the courtroom. Nine months later, the people of California would pass Proposition 17
California Proposition 17 (1972)
Proposition 17 of 1972 was a measure enacted by California voters to reintroduce the death penalty in that state. The California Supreme Court had ruled on February 17, 1972 that capital punishment was contrary to the state constitution. Proposition 17 amended the Constitution of California in...
by a 2–1 margin, reinstating the death penalty as an option for all prosecutions that took place after the adoption of Proposition 17.
In 1976, McComb joined Justice William P. Clark, Jr.
William P. Clark, Jr.
William Patrick Clark, Jr. , American politician, served under President Ronald Reagan as the Deputy Secretary of State from 1981 to 1982, United States National Security Advisor from 1982 to 1983, and the Secretary of the Interior from 1983 until 1985.- Life and career :A devout Catholic, former...
's dissenting opinion in Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California
Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California
Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, 17 Cal. 3d 425, 551 P.2d 334, 131 Cal. Rptr. 14 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of California held that mental health professionals have a duty to protect individuals who are being threatened with bodily harm by a patient...
, as McComb and Clark argued that doctor-patient confidentiality was "essential to effectively treat the mentally ill, and that imposing a duty on doctors to disclose patient threats to potential victims would greatly impair treatment" while the majority held that mental health professionals have a duty to protect individuals who are being threatened with bodily harm by a patient.
McComb did join the 1976 court majority in Marvin v. Marvin, in which the court ruled that although California does not recognize common-law marriage
Common-law marriage
Common-law marriage, sometimes called sui juris marriage, informal marriage or marriage by habit and repute, is a form of interpersonal status that is legally recognized in limited jurisdictions as a marriage even though no legally recognized marriage ceremony is performed or civil marriage...
, people who cohabitate
Cohabitation
Cohabitation usually refers to an arrangement whereby two people decide to live together on a long-term or permanent basis in an emotionally and/or sexually intimate relationship. The term is most frequently applied to couples who are not married...
for long periods of time and commingle
Commingling
Commingling literally means "mixing together". Used in a legal context it is a breach of trust in which a fiduciary mixes funds that he holds in the care of a client with his own funds, making it difficult to determine which funds belong to the fiduciary and which belong to the client...
their assets are allowed to plead and prove marriage-like contracts for support and division of property.
McComb's distinguished judicial career had a rather ignominious end. On May 2, 1977, a panel of Court of Appeal justices, sitting as an acting Supreme Court, forced McComb into retirement by affirming a state Commission on Judicial Performance decision that McComb had senile dementia
Dementia
Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
and was no longer able to carry out his judicial duties.
Personal
In 1981, McComb died in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. His widow, Margaret G. McComb, would live for another 22 years, dying on November 4, 2003. In 2005, the McComb Foundation established the Justice Marshall F. McComb Professorship at Southwestern Law School.