Diane Alexis Whipple was an American lacrosse player and college coach. She was killed in a dog attack in San Francisco on January 26,2001. The dogs involved were two Presa Canarios. Paul Schneider,the dogs' owner,is a high-ranking member of the Aryan Brotherhood and is serving three life sentences in state prison. The dogs were looked after by Schneider's attorneys,Robert Noel and Marjorie Knoller,a husband and wife who lived in the same apartment building as Whipple. After the fatal attack,the state brought criminal charges against the attorneys. Noel,who was not present during the attack,was convicted of manslaughter. Knoller,who was present,was charged with implied-malice second-degree murder and convicted by the jury. Knoller's murder conviction,an unusual result for an unintended dog attack,was rejected by the trial judge but ultimately upheld. The case clarified the meaning of implied malice murder.
Fabian Núñez is an American politician and labor union adviser. A member of the Democratic Party,he served three two-year terms as a member of the California State Assembly,leaving office in late 2008. During his last two terms,Núñez served as the 66th Speaker of the California State Assembly.
Carole Migden is an American politician from San Francisco who represented the third district of the California State Senate from 2004 to 2008 and the 13th district of the California State Assembly from 1996 to 2002. She is the state's second openly lesbian legislator.
Lori R. Saldaña is an American politician from San Diego,California. She is a former member of the California State Assembly from the 76th Assembly district. She served from 2004 to 2010,when term limits prevented her from seeking re-election. She served as a Democrat.
Peter Hardeman Burnett was an American politician who served as the first elected Governor of California from December 20,1849,to January 9,1851. Burnett was elected Governor almost one year before California's admission to the Union as the 31st state in September 1850.
Joel Anderson is an American politician serving as a member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. A Republican,he is a former California state senator,assemblyperson,and board member of a municipal water district. During his time in the Legislature,Anderson served on the board of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) as California state chair.
Proposition 8,known informally as Prop 8,was a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage;it passed in the November 2008 California state elections and was later overturned in court. The proposition was created by opponents of same-sex marriage in advance of the California Supreme Court's May 2008 appeal ruling,In re Marriage Cases,which followed the short-lived 2004 same-sex weddings controversy and found the previous ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. Proposition 8 was ultimately ruled unconstitutional by a federal court in 2010,although the court decision did not go into effect until June 26,2013,following the conclusion of proponents' appeals.
James Marshall Carter was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.
Michael Joseph Roche was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Edward Milton Chen is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and former United States magistrate judge of the same court.
Goodwin Hon Liu is an American lawyer who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California. Before his appointment by California Governor Jerry Brown,Liu was Associate Dean and Professor of Law at the University of California,Berkeley School of Law. Liu has been recognized for his writing on constitutional law,education policy,civil rights,and the Supreme Court.
Scott Wiener is an American politician and a member of the California State Senate. A Democrat,he represents the 11th Senatorial District,encompassing San Francisco and parts of San Mateo County.
The Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) is a conservative legal defense organization based in California. The group,founded by attorney Brad W. Dacus,describes itself as focusing on representation relating to "...religious freedom,parental rights,and other civil liberties." PJI was declared an anti-LGBT hate group in 2014 by the Southern Poverty Law Center due to the group's long history of anti-LGBT rhetoric through its founder. The group also represents workers opposed to their employers' vaccine mandates.
Paul Jeffrey Watford is an American lawyer who served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 2012 to 2023. In 2016,The New York Times identified Watford as a potential Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia. Watford resigned his judgeship in 2023 and became a partner at the law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich &Rosati.
John William Beard was a judge and served in the California legislature.
Cynthia Ann Bashant is a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of California and former judge of the San Diego County Superior Court.
Greg Cox is an American politician and businessman from San Diego,California. He served as a member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors for District 1 from 1995-2020. He is a member of the Republican Party,but has also been endorsed by prominent local Democratic politicians. He was not eligible to run in the 2020 election due to term limits. He was succeeded by Democrat Nora Vargas.
David Myers is a former commander and 33-year veteran of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. He ran in the 2018 primary election to become the San Diego County Sheriff against his boss and 9-year-incumbent,Bill Gore. He is currently the highest-ranking openly gay employee in the department,and would have been the first openly gay San Diego County Sheriff if elected. He lost on June 5,2018,with 43.4% of the vote. He retired from the department after his defeat. Following Gore's retirement,Myers announced he would run again for the Sheriff's position.
Proposition 7 was a California ballot proposition in that state's general election on November 6,2018. The measure passed,by a vote of about 60% Yes to 40% No.
