2/3's Justice Aldrich to retire

Today's DJ presents Justice Richard Aldrich to retire from 2nd District Court of Appeal in June -- just shy of 23 years on the court. "He said he hasn't made any retirement plans. At 79, Aldrich is retiring much later than most people, but there's a reason why he kept at it for so long."

"I tell people, opening a new set of briefs is like opening the daily newspaper," Aldrich said. "The nature of the work and the variety of the work has really kept me going." "

"One thing about being on the court of ... appeal, the job of the attorneys for the appellant and respondent is to fully brief the issues, so my learning curve exploded."

 Aldrich said he was often asked about his most important cases over the years and his answer was always the same: all of them. "It's satisfying to be able to know that when we file an opinion, chances are that's finally going to resolve disputes that have been ongoing for many years," he said.

For fans keeping score at home, there are already vacancies in Divisions 2, 3, 5 and 7. So this would be vacancy number five, and the second vacancy in Division 3.

[3/31 update: the MetNews offers Justice Richard Aldrich to Retire from C.A., which enumerates many of Justice Aldrich's accomplishments and awards, and also notes "His retirement will complete a wholesale replacement of the division over less than three years."]