SAN FRANCISCO — If you’re a criminal defense lawyer arguing to the California Supreme Court, it’s a bad sign when Justice Carol Corrigan isn’t asking questions. If the court’s going out on a limb to make favorable new law for defendants, the accomplished former prosecutor will be part of the conversation, whether for or against.
Philosophical arguments about crime and punishment tend to engage Corrigan, but it’s a risky play. An ill-considered thought experiment will get blown up in an instant, sometimes with good humor, sometimes not so much.
