Friends and colleagues at San Jose’s Sixth District Court of Appeal spoke out today about Sunday’s death of longtime research attorney Rosemary Morrison from complications of ALS.
“She had a brilliant mind, a compassionate heart and a dedication to justice that will always be an inspiration to me,” said Justice Franklin Elia, who had known the 59-year-old woman since their law school days at Santa Clara University in 1972. “I, along with all of the justices and staff of our court, have suffered a great loss.” Morrison had served as one of Elia’s appellate research attorneys since 1988.
Presiding Justice Conrad Rushing recalled Morrison from her days as a deputy public defender. “She was a spectacular PD,” he said, “and was just a brilliant lawyer who handled a good bit of the motions practice of that office in the early '80s.”
ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive disease of the nervous system also known as "Lou Gehrig's disease.
A memorial mass will be held Friday at 10 a.m. at St. Albert the Great Church in Palo Alto, according to an obituary in today's San Jose Mercury News.
Comments