[Kate Moser]
Chief Justice Ronald George was surprised by two honors at Friday's Judicial Council meeting.
The first was Supreme Court Justice Marvin Baxter's report that the state legislature is working on a bill to rename the state office building in San Francisco where the Supreme Court resides. Its new name: the Ronald M. George Justice Center.
"Since assuming office as California's 27th Chief Justice in 1996, Ronald M. George has provided visionary, inspirational, and collaborative leadership that has been pivotal in the transformation of California's court system into a truly statewide system with the unifying goal of equal access to fair and consistent justice for all in every venue in the state," the bill reads, in part.
"Needless to say, I feel deeply moved and grateful," George said at the council meeting.
Then he joked, "it does in a way seem like a sneak preview of one's obit."
And finally, he deflected the attention toward the chief justice nominee, Third District Court of Appeal Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye: "We could not be in better hands," he said.
Cantil-Sakauye didn't miss a beat. "I really note the way you turned this accolade of you into me," she said, prompting another round of applause for George.
Later in the meeting, departing council member Anthony Capozzi, a Fresno attorney, presented George with a bobblehead in his likeness.
Being memorialized with a building was surely an honor on par with being "bobbled," George joked.
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