Headshot of Joseph Grodin

Joseph Grodin

Emeritus Professor of Law

Bio

Professor Joseph Grodin, a native Californian, received his B.A. with honors from UC Berkeley in 1951 and his J.D. cum laude from Yale Law School in 1954. Upon graduation from law school he traveled to England on a Fulbright grant and earned a Ph.D. in labor law and labor relations from the London School of Economics.

Professor Grodin practiced law in San Francisco from 1955 to 1971, specializing in labor law and serving pro bono in a variety of civil rights and civil liberties matters. During portions of that period he taught as an adjunct professor at UC Law SF and a visiting professor at the University of Oregon Law School. Active in bar affairs, he served as chairman of the labor law section of the San Francisco Bar Association and as a member of the State Bar Committee on Legal Services.

From 1972 to 1979 Professor Grodin was a full-time professor at UC Law SF, teaching courses in labor law, employment discrimination, arbitration, and contracts. During portions of that period he served as a member of the first Agricultural Labor Relations Board, as foreman of the Alameda County Grand Jury, and as a visiting professor at Stanford Law School.

In 1979, Professor Grodin was appointed Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal; in 1981, he was elevated to presiding justice of that court, and in 1982 was appointed Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court, a position he held until January 1987. Upon leaving the court, Professor Grodin returned to the UC Law SF faculty. He retired from full-time teaching in May 2005. He continues to teach part-time and to do arbitration and mediation work.

Professor Grodin is the author of numerous scholarly books and articles. He is particularly proud, however, of a book on hiking trails in the Silver Lake area of the Sierra, which he coauthored with his daughter, Sharon.

Scholarship

Books


The California State Constitution (Oxford Univ. Press 2d ed., 2016) (with Michael B. Salerno & Darien Shanske).

The California State Constitution (Oxford Univ. Press 2011) (with Calvin R. Massey & Richard B. Cunningham).

Public Sector Employment: Cases and Materials (Thomson/West 2004) (with Martin Malin & June M. Weisberger).

Collective Bargaining in Public Employment (West Group 5th ed. 2003).

Collective Bargaining in Public Employment (West Pub. Co. 4th ed. 1993) (with Donald H. Wollett & June M. Weisberger).

The California State Constitution: A Reference Guide (Greenwood Press 1993) (with Richard Cunningham & Calvin Massey).

Silver Lake: The High Sierra Between Carson Pass and Ebbetts Pass (Wilderness Press 1976, 1978, 1983, 1992) (with Sharon Grodin).

In Pursuit of Justice: Reflections of a State Supreme Court Justice (University of California Press 1989) (reprinted in part at 9 Calif. Law. 61 (May 1989)).

Collective Bargaining in Public Employment (BNA 3d ed. 1979) (with Donald H. Wollett & Reginald H. Alleyne).

Public–Sector Bargaining (BNA 1979) (with Benjamin Aaron & James L. Stern).

Collective Bargaining in Public Employment (BNA 2d ed. 1975) (with Donald H. Wollett).

Union Government and the Law: British and American Experiences (Institute of Industrial Relations, University of California 1961).

Journal Articles


Tribute to Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar, 12 Cal. Legal Hist. 25 (2017). FULLTEXT

A Response to Professor Brian Leiter, 66 Hastings L.J. 1617 (2015). FULLTEXT

The Honoree Speaks, 10 Cal. Legal Hist. 3 (2015).

Liberty and Equality Under the California Constitution, 7 Cal. Legal Hist. 167 (2012). FULLTEXT

Freedom of Expression under the California Constitution, 6 Cal. Legal Hist. 187 (2011). FULLTEXT

Popular Sovereignty and Its Limits: Lessons for a Constitutional Convention in California, 44 Loy. L.A. L. Rev. 623 (2011). FULLTEXT

Oral History of Chief Justice Phil S. Gibson: Introduction, 5 Cal. Legal Hist. 3 (2010). FULLTEXT

On Amending and Revising the Constitution: The Issues Behind the Challenge to Proposition 8, 1 Cal. J. Pol. & Pol’y Art. 13 (2009). URL

Oral History of Justice Jesse W. Carter: Introduction, 4 Cal. Legal Hist. 181 (2009).

Working Group on Chapter 4 of the Proposed Restatement of Employment Law: The Tort of Wrongful Discipline in Violation of Public Policy, 13 Emp. Rts. & Emp. Pol’y J. 159 (2009) (with Paul M. Secunda, Pauline T. Kim, Catherine Fisk, Roberto L. Corrada & Richard A. Bales). WL SSRN

Same-Sex Relationships and State Constitutional Analysis, 43 Willamette L. Rev. 235 (2007). FULLTEXT

The California Supreme Court and State Constitutional Rights: The Early Years, 31 Hastings Const. L.Q. 141 (2004). FULLTEXT

California’s Supreme Court and Constitution: The Early Years, 29 S.F. Att’y 20 (2003). FULLTEXT

In Memoriam: David Feller, 24 Berkeley J. Emp. & Lab. L. 233 (2003). FULLTEXT

Some Observations on Circuit City v. Adams, 5 Cal. Emp. L. Rep. ___ (May 2001).

Author’s Comments to Public Employee Bargaining in California: The Meyers-Milias-Brown Act in the Courts, 50 Hastings L.J. 761 (1999). FULLTEXT

Some Thoughts on the American Model, 20 Comp. Lab. L. & Pol’y J. 29 (1999). FULLTEXT

On the Interface Between Labor and Employment Law, 19 Berkeley J. Emp. & Lab. L. 307 (1998). FULLTEXT

Rediscovering the State Constitutional Right to Happiness and Safety, 25 Hastings Const. L.Q. 1 (1997). FULLTEXT

Travels with Otto, 30 Loy. L.A. L. Rev. 931 (1997). FULLTEXT

A Tale of Two Opinions, 59 Alb. L. Rev. 1731 (1996). FULLTEXT

Arbitration of Employment Discrimination Claims: Doctrine and Policy in the Wake of Gilmer, 14 Hofstra Lab. L.J. 1 (1996). FULLTEXT

Are Rules Really Better than Standards?, 45 Hastings L.J. 569 (1994). FULLTEXT

Introduction, 45 Hastings L.J. 707 (1994). FULLTEXT

Report on the 1993-1994 Supreme Court Labor and Employment Law Term, 10 Lab. Law. 693 (1994). FULLTEXT

Some Reflections About Justice Sullivan, 46 Hastings L.J. 11 (1994). FULLTEXT

When Greatness Dawned: In Praise of the State High Court’s Opinion in Marinship, about Discriminatory Union Practices, Decided 50 Years Ago, 14 Cal. Law. 36 (1994).

Contract, Tort, and Individual Responsibility: An Analytic Framework, 77 Cornell L. Rev. 1040 (1992). FULLTEXT

Constitutional Values in the Private Sector Workplace, 13 Indus. Rel. L.J. 1 (1991). FULLTEXT

A Tribute to the Other Bart, 24 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 11 (1990).

Past, Present and Future in Wrongful Termination Law, 6 Lab. Law. 97 (1990). FULLTEXT

Toward a Wrongful Termination Statute for California, 42 Hastings L.J. 135 (1990). FULLTEXT

Developing a Consensus of Constraint: A Judge’s Perspective on Judicial Retention Elections, 61 S. Cal. L. Rev. 1969 (1988). FULLTEXT

Judging Judges: How We Choose Our Federal and State Judges, 1 J. Contemp. Legal Issues 147 (1988) (with Frank K. Richardson). FULLTEXT

Some Reflections on State Constitutions, 15 Hastings Const. L.Q. 391 (1988). FULLTEXT

Judicial Elections: The California Experience, 70 Judicature 365 (1987). FULLTEXT

The Tunnel Vision of Legal Training, 10 Nova L. Rev. 547 (1986). FULLTEXT

The Depublication Practice of the California Supreme Court, 72 Cal. L. Rev. 514 (1984) (reprinted at L.A. Daily J., Nov. 30, 1984, at S3). FULLTEXT

In Memoriam: Mathew O. Tobriner, 33 Hastings L.J. at xxv (1982). FULLTEXT

California Public Employee Bargaining: The MMB Act in Relation to Local Charters and Ordinances, 36 Cal. Pub. Emp. Rel. 2 (1978).

Introduction to Farm Labor Law, 11 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 201 (1978). FULLTEXT

Justice Tobriner: Portrait of the Judge as an Artist, 29 Hastings L.J. 7 (1977). FULLTEXT

California Agricultural Labor Act: Early Experience, 15 Indus. Rel. 275 (1976).

Political Aspects of Public Sector Interest Arbitration, 64 Cal. L. Rev. 678 (1976). FULLTEXT

Arbitration of Public Sector Labor Disputes: The Nevada Experiment, 28 Indus. & Lab. Rel. Rev. 89 (1974). FULLTEXT

California Public Employee Bargaining Revisited: The MMB Act in the Appellate Courts, 21 Cal. Pub. Emp. Rel. 2 (1974).

Either–Or Arbitration for Public Employee Disputes, 11 Indus. Rel. 260 (1972).

Public Employee Bargaining in California: The Meyers-Milias-Brown Act in the Courts, 23 Hastings L.J. 719 (1972) (reprinted at 50 Hastings L.J. 717 (1999)). FULLTEXT

Public Employee Bargaining in Oregon, 51 Or. L. Rev. 7 (1971) (with Mark A. Hardin). FULLTEXT

The Individual and the Public Service Enterprise in the New Industrial State, 55 Cal. L. Rev. 1247 (1967) (with Mathew O. Tobriner). FULLTEXT

State Right–to–Work Laws and Federal Labor Policy, 52 Cal. L. Rev. 95 (1964) (with Duane B. Beeson) (reprinted at 16 Lab. L.J. 147 (1965)). FULLTEXT

The Kennedy Labor Board, 3 Indus. Rel. 33 (Feb. 1964).

Taft-Hartley Pre-emption in the Area of NLRB Inaction, 44 Cal. L. Rev. 663 (1956) (with Mathew O. Tobriner). FULLTEXT

Chapters In Books


Foreword to The Great Dissents of the “Lone Dissenter”: Justice Jesse W. Carter’s Twenty Tumultuous Years on the California Supreme Court, at xix (David B. Oppenheimer & Allan Brotsky eds., Carolina Acad. Press 2010). CATALOG

The Story of Pugh v. See’s Candies, Inc.: “Implied in Fact” Promises in Employment Contracts, in Employment Law Stories 9 (Samuel Estreicher & Gillian Lester eds., Foundation Press 2007). CATALOG

Arbitration Decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court 2000–2001: Review and Appraisal Arbitration 2001: Arbitrating in an Evolving Legal Environment (Proceedings of the 54th Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Arbitrators) 13 (BNA 2002).

The Role of State Constitutions in a Federal System, in Constitutional Reform in California: Making State Government More Effective and Responsive 31 (Bruce E. Cain & Roger G. Noll eds., Inst. of Governmental Studies Press 1995). CATALOG

Book Reviews


State Constitutionalism in Practice, 30 Val. U. L. Rev. 601 (1996) (reviewing Robert F. Nagel ed., Intellect and Craft: The Contributions of Justice Hans Linde to American Constitutionalism (1995)).

Book Review, 41 Hastings L.J. 1457 (1990) (reviewing Melvin Eisenberg, The Nature of the Common Law (1988)).

Book Review, Nat’l L.J. 67 (Aug. 4, 1980) (reviewing John Hart Ely, Democracy and Distrust (1980)).

Newspaper & Magazine Articles


Is Same–Sex Marriage Conducive to Happiness?L.A. Daily J., Feb. 2, 2005, at 6. CATALOG

Ripped–Up Rights; New Laws to Combat Terrorism Will, as Before Prove ExcessiveL.A. Daily J., June 5, 2002, at 6. CATALOG

In Memoriam: Honorable Stanley Mosk26 Cal.4th 1249, 2001. URL

Campaigning With at Least One Hand Tied Behind My BackL.A. Daily J., June 16, 1987, at 4. CATALOG

Looking Homeward: State Constitutionalism Brings the Law Closer to the PeopleL.A. Daily J., Aug. 13, 1987, at 4. CATALOG

Notes on a Rainy Sunday: A Tribute to Justice Norman ElkingtonL.A. Daily J., Dec. 10, 1982, at 4. CATALOG

Changes in Judicial Attitudes: The Future of ArbitrationL.A. Daily J., Dec. 1, 1980, at 2. CATALOG

Student Notes/Comments


Note, The Right of Publicity: A Doctrinal Innovation, 62 Yale L.J. 1123 (1953).  WL

Dissertations & Theses


Comparison of British and American Law Relating to Internal Trade Union Affairs (1959) (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, London School of Economics) (on file with the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Library, University of London).

Education

  • London School of Economics
    Ph.D., Labor Law and Labor Relations

  • Yale Law School
    J.D., Law

  • UC Berkeley
    B.A., Undergraduate Studies

Courses

  • Current Constitutional Cases

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