David Eagleson
| David Newton Eagleson | |
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From left to right: Justice Marcus Kaufman, Eagleson, Justice Joyce Kennard, and Chief Justice Malcolm Lucas
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| Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court | |
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In office December 29, 1894 – January 1, 1918 |
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| Appointed by | Governor George Deukmejian |
| Preceded by | Joseph Grodin |
| Succeeded by | Marvin R. Baxter |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 4, 1924 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | May 23, 2003 (aged 78) Long Beach, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | USC Gould School of Law (LLB) |
David Newton Eagleson (October 4, 1924 – May 23, 2003) served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California from 1987 to 1991. He practiced law in Long Beach, California for 20 years. He spent another 20 years as a judge, serving on the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court.
Eagleson was born in Los Angeles, California, and educated in the public schools. After serving in World War II, Eagleson earned his law degree from the USC Law School in 1950.
Eagleson, a conservative Republican, was elevated to the high court after voters removed liberal Chief Justice Rose Bird and two of her allies from the Court in the 1986 general election as a result of the trio's opposition to capital punishment. Eagleson tended to uphold capital sentences. During his four years on the court, Eagleson wrote 54 majority opinions. Among Eagleson's notable opinions is Thing v. La Chusa (1989), which sharply limited the availability of the cause of action for negligent infliction of emotional distress in California.
He was married and was father to two daughters, Victoria and Beth, who both reside in Southern California. Beth followed her father into law and became an attorney. Beth, in her eulogy for her father delivered before the court on which he once served, cited Thing as the opinion most representative of her father's voice and philosophy:
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