Leondra Kruger facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Leondra Kruger
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| Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California | |
| Assumed office January 5, 2015 |
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| Appointed by | Jerry Brown |
| Preceded by | Joyce L. Kennard |
| Acting Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States | |
| In office May 17, 2010 – June 9, 2011 |
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| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Neal Katyal |
| Succeeded by | Neal Katyal |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Leondra Reid Kruger
July 28, 1976 Glendale, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Brian Hauck |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) Yale University (JD) |
Leondra Reid Kruger (born July 28, 1976) is an American judge. She serves as an associate justice on the Supreme Court of California. This is the highest court in the state of California.
Born in Southern California, Kruger was a top student at Harvard College and Yale Law School. After graduating, she worked as a law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. She also worked as a lawyer and a professor.
From 2010 to 2011, she served as a top lawyer for the U.S. government. In 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown chose her to join the Supreme Court of California. She officially began her role on January 5, 2015.
In 2022, many people thought she might be chosen for the Supreme Court of the United States after Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement.
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Early Life and Schooling
Leondra Kruger was born in Glendale, California, and she grew up in the nearby city of South Pasadena. Her mother, Audrey Reid, moved to the United States from Jamaica. Her father, Leon Kruger, was an American Jew whose parents had moved to the U.S. from Europe. Both of her parents were pediatricians, doctors who care for children.
Kruger went to the Polytechnic School in Pasadena, California, where she was a National Merit Scholar for her excellent academic skills.
She later went to Harvard University and graduated with high honors (magna cum laude). At Harvard, she wrote for the student newspaper, The Harvard Crimson. After Harvard, she attended Yale Law School, one of the best law schools in the country. She graduated in 2001 and was the editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal. She was the first Black woman to ever have this important job.
Career as a Lawyer
After finishing law school, Kruger started her career at a law firm called Jenner & Block. She then worked as a law clerk, which is an assistant to a judge. She clerked for Judge David Tatel on a federal appeals court and later for Justice John Paul Stevens of the U.S. Supreme Court.
She returned to working at a private law firm before becoming a visiting professor at the University of Chicago Law School in 2007.
From 2007 to 2013, Kruger worked for the U.S. government as an assistant to the United States Solicitor General. This office represents the government in cases before the Supreme Court. During this time, she argued 12 cases in front of the Supreme Court. One famous case she worked on was about the Affordable Care Act.
In 2013, she took on another important role in the United States Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel.
Becoming a Judge
On November 24, 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown appointed Kruger to the Supreme Court of California. Even though she had never been a judge before, many important lawyers praised her selection. These included the U.S. Attorney General at the time, Eric Holder, and several former Solicitors General.
She was officially confirmed on December 29, 2014, and took her oath of office on January 5, 2015. Kruger became the second African-American woman to serve on the court. At 38 years old, she was one of the youngest justices ever appointed to the court.
On the court, Justice Kruger is known for making careful and steady decisions. She believes her job is to make the law predictable and stable. This helps people trust the courts. She is often seen as a moderate voice on the seven-member court.
Important Court Decisions
As a justice, Kruger has written many important opinions for the court. Here are a few examples:
- Public Records: In a 2020 case, she wrote an opinion that made it easier for the public to see videos from police body cameras. The court decided that government agencies could not charge high fees to edit the videos. This was seen as a big win for government transparency.
- Vehicle Searches: In 2019, she wrote an opinion that limited when police can search a car without a warrant during a traffic stop just to find someone's ID.
- DNA Collection: In a 2018 case, her opinion dealt with a California law that requires police to collect DNA from anyone arrested for a serious crime (a felony). The court followed the U.S. Supreme Court's previous rulings on this topic.
- Local Taxes: In a 2017 case, she disagreed with the majority of the court. She argued that tax increases proposed by citizens should have the same strict voting rules as those proposed by the government.
U.S. Supreme Court Consideration
When President Joe Biden promised to appoint the first African-American woman to the United States Supreme Court, many people thought he might choose Kruger. If she had been chosen to replace Justice Stephen Breyer, she would have continued a tradition of having a Jewish justice in that specific seat on the court.
In the end, President Biden nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson. Reports also said that Kruger was offered the job of Solicitor General of the United States but decided to remain on the California Supreme Court.
Personal Life
Kruger is married to Brian Hauck, who is also a lawyer. They have two children, a son and a daughter. When her daughter was born, Kruger became the first justice to have a baby while serving on the California Supreme Court.
See also
In Spanish: Leondra Kruger para niños
- Joe Biden Supreme Court candidates
- List of African-American jurists
- List of Jewish American jurists
- List of justices of the Supreme Court of California
- List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 4)
- Vaino Spencer
