Chin retired from the high court on his 78th birthday, Aug. 31, 2020, having served 24 years on the bench. He was first appointed in 1988 as a judge of the Alameda County Superior Court. In August 1990, Gov. George Deukmejian elevated Chin to the 1st District Court of Appeal. ....
Chin reflected on how, during a lunch in San Francisco with the now-retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, they compared the processes of the two courts. “We had a very eye-opening lunch,” Chin said. “At the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Breyer said that they don’t talk to each other about the cases before oral argument. Our process is just the opposite.” “Everyone turns in preliminary responses,” Chin added. “‘I concur,’ ‘I concur with reservations,’ or, ‘If this becomes an opinion of the court, I will dissent.’ So, everyone checks in early on where they stand on that case.” ... “The chambers are talking about that case and by the time it gets to oral argument, everyone knows what the positions are from each of the justices. So, we know where the weaknesses are, and we know where the strengths are. This is long before the case is set for oral argument,” Chin said. “I think that’s one of the major reasons why we have unanimity. We were all trained very well: we could disagree, but not be disagreeable.”
Bloomberg Law has Newman Sanction Renews Debate Over Aging Judges’ Lifetime Tenure
And in this unpub here, 4/1 declines (in a "close call" situation) to award sanctions for a frivolous appeal, even though the appeal "stretches the bounds of zealous advocacy at times" and "also uses unnecessarily derogative language."
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