Richard Kramer

The Honorable Richard A. Kramer was born in Brookline, Massachusetts on July 22, 1947 and graduated from the University of Southern California Law School in 1972 as a Doctor of Jurisprudence, following a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude degree in political science in 1969. He was appointed to the San Francisco superior court by Governor Pete Wilson in 1996. Prior to this appointment, he was a civil litigator representing the banking industry. Kramer has been recognized for his ability to handle many complex cases, leading to California's Judicial Council to appoint him as the same-sex "Marriage Cases" coordinator.

Marriage Case and Response

Kramer made headlines in March 2005 when he struck down Proposition 22, a California ballot initiative defining marriage as between a man and a woman on the grounds that it denies the "basic human right to marry a person of one's choice." In his decision, he pointed out the "obvious natural and social reality that one does not have to be married in order to procreate, nor does one have to procreate in order to be married” and that "California's enactment of rights for same-sex couples belies any argument that the State would have a legitimate interest in denying marriage," concluding that "there is no rational state interest in denying them the rites of marriage as well."

According to a San Francisco Chronicle news article, "A crucial point of the ruling was the judge's conclusion...
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