B. Rey Schauer

Benjamin Rey Schauer (May 9, 1891 – March 5, 1977) was an American attorney and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California from December 18, 1942, to September 15, 1965.

Benjamin Rey Schauer
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California
In office
December 18, 1942 – September 15, 1964
Appointed byGovernor Culbert Olson
Preceded byFrederick W. Houser
Succeeded byLouis H. Burke
Presiding Justice of the Second District, Division Three, California Court of Appeal
In office
October 22, 1941 – December 17, 1942
Personal details
Born(1891-05-09)May 9, 1891
Santa Maria, California, U.S.
DiedMarch 5, 1977(1977-03-05) (aged 85)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Spouse
Eva Elizabeth Summers
​
​
(m. 1915; died 1969)​

Jean Marion Dewsbury
Alma materOccidental College (BA)
University of Southern California Law School
Southwestern University School of Law (JD)

Biography

Born in Santa Maria, California, Schauer received an A.B. from Occidental College in 1912, and read law to be admitted to the California State Bar in July 1913.[1] He attended the University of Southern California Law School in 1916, and received a J.D. from Southwestern University School of Law, 1916.[1] He was in private practice from 1913 to 1927, also serving in the U.S. Naval Reserve, where he achieved the rank of Lieutenant Commander.[1]

Schauer was appointed by Governor C.C. Young as a judge on the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where he served from August 4, 1927, to November 12, 1941.[2][3] In November 1938, he overturned a contempt conviction against a 24-year-old woman who appeared in slacks in Los Angeles Municipal Court to testify in a robbery case, and declined the trial judge's request to change into a skirt.[4] On appeal to the Superior Court, Schauer held the slacks were in "good taste" and not a violation of court protocol.

Schauer was then a Presiding Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Three, from October 22, 1941, to December 17, 1942.[5][3]

In December 1942, Governor Culbert Olson appointed Schauer as an associate justice of the California Supreme Court, where he remained for 23 years.[6][7][1] On the Supreme Court, Schauer was one of three Justices to dissent from the holding in Perez v. Sharp (1948),[8] in which the court held by a vote of 4 to 3 that interracial bans on marriage violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and therefore were illegal in California.[9] One month later, Schauer wrote the majority opinion in Hughes v. Superior Court,[10] holding that protesters were making an illegal demand when they sought to have businesses hire employees based on race, solely to achieve a racial balance proportional to that of the patronage of the business.[11]

In August 1964, Schauer announced his retirement from the court effective September 15, 1964.[12]

Personal life

On October 21, 1915, Schauer married Eva Elizabeth Summers, a graduate of the University of Southern California.[13] After her death on January 22, 1969, he remarried to Jean Marion Dewsbury in Los Angeles.

Schauer was a competitive sailor.[14]

See also

References
  1. California Courts, Benjamin Rey Schauer.
  2. "Governor Names Twelve Judges". Healdsburg Tribune. No. 228. California Digital Newspaper Collection. United Press. 3 August 1927. p. 1. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  3. Johnson, J. Edward (1966). History of the California Supreme Court: The Justices 1900-1950, vol 2 (PDF). San Francisco, CA: Bancroft-Whitney. pp. 197–201. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 25, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  4. "Girl in Pants Wins Her Case". San Bernardino Sun. No. 45. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 19 November 1938. p. 3. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  5. "Officers State Council to be Installed". San Bernardino Sun. No. 48. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 5 December 1941. p. 18. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  6. "News Bulletin, Named Justice San Francisco". Madera Tribune. No. 245. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 17 December 1942. p. 1. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  7. "Approval Given to Naming of Schauer". San Bernardino Sun. No. 49. California Digital Newspaper Collection. United Press. 19 December 1942. p. 4. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  8. Perez v. Sharp, 198 P.2d 17 (Cal. 1948) (en banc).
  9. Villazor, Rose Cuison; Maillard, Kevin Noble (2012). Loving v. Virginia in a Post-Racial World: Rethinking Race, Sex, and Marriage. Cambridge University Press. p. 78. ISBN 1107375924. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  10. Hughes v. Superior Court, 32 Cal. 2d 850 (Cal. 1948).
  11. Brilliant, Mark (2010). The Color of America Has Changed: How Racial Diversity Shaped Civil Rights Reform in California, 1941-1978. Oxford University Press. p. 121. ISBN 019972198X. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  12. "Justice Schauer Retires". Desert Sun. No. 19. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 26 August 1964. p. 1. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  13. "Son and Daughter of Clergymen Wed". Los Angeles Herald. No. 98. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 23 February 1915. p. 9. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  14. "Eastern Star Boats Again Triumphant". San Bernardino Sun. Vol. 63, no. 2. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 2 September 1928. p. 17. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
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