Justice Brown to Step Down June 30. According to a Cal. Judicial Council press release issued yesterday, Janice Rogers Brown "informed Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in a letter last Friday, June 17, that her final day on the state’s high court will be Thursday, June 30, 2005." June 30 would be the last day of the state's fiscal year.

And here's the official word on what happens in her absence:

Following Justice Brown’s departure from the state Supreme Court, the high court will continue to perform its work with its remaining six regular members until a new justice is appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments.

The Supreme Court may act in any case with the concurrence of four justices. In cases in which oral argument has already been heard, an opinion may be filed with less than a seven-member court so long as four justices concur in the result.

Any written opinions filed by the Supreme Court before June 30, 2005, will bear the name of Justice Brown as a participant. Any opinions filed after that date will not bear her name as a participant.

If additional oral arguments are heard before a new Supreme Court justice is appointed and confirmed, a Court of Appeal justice will be assigned temporarily to participate in each case, pursuant to the court’s established rotational assignment policy.

I wonder if we will see more than the typical two opinions issued on each of the  three opinion days remaining while Justice Brown is still on the Court: June 23, June 27, June 30.

By the way, the Court does not hear argument in July or August, so it won't be until the September calendar that we will see Chief Judge George assigning Court of Appeal justices to sit on cases.