When former California Supreme Court Judge Cruz Reynoso got a
call from University of California President Mark Yudof asking if
he would like to spearhead a task force to review the investigation
into the UC Davis pepper-spraying incident, Reynoso said just three
words: “Are you sure?”
The Herald resident said he had theories as to why Yudof
selected him, but he said he was honestly surprised to get the
call.
“I am sure they knew somewhat of my background with litigation
involving police departments, but all through my career my stance
has been pretty clear,” the 80-year-old Reynoso said. “I have not
just assumed that everything a police department does is
constitutional.”
The professor emeritus at the UC Davis School of Law was almost
spot-on as to why he was chosen.
According to Dianne Klein, a spokesperson for the University of
California, Yudof was absolutely positive that he wanted Reynoso
for the leader of the task force.
Klein said Yudof believes Reynoso, who is not being paid for his
work on the task force, will provide a fair and uncompromising look
at what exactly happened on Nov. 18, 2011 when UC Davis Police Lt.
John Pike pepper-sprayed a group of students who sat quietly in
protest at UC Davis.
She added that Yudof personally selected Reynoso for the
position based on his history in dealing with matters involving
police department and civil rights investigations.
In his role, Reynoso will lead a team of UC faculty, staff and
student representatives as well as a representative from the UC
Office of the President to review a report submitted by private
security contractor Kroll, headed by former Los Angeles Police
Chief William J. Bratton.
Bratton will lead a team of investigators to conduct the probe
of the notorious pepper spray attack on UC Davis students.
It is then up to Reynoso and the rest of the task force to look
over the report and ultimately recommend proper courses of action
UC Davis police and administrators can take in the future to ensure
that civil rights are not violated.
Reynoso’s involvement with addressing civil rights began at an
early age — shortly after he and his 10 siblings moved with their
mother and father from La Brea to a barrio in La Habra.
In his new neighborhood, Reynoso realized the United States
Postal Service would not provide mail delivery service within the
barrio, even though non-minority families living nearby received
the service.
Reynoso circulated a petition demanding that the service be
provided.
The Postal Service responded to his petition, and began
providing mail delivery to Reynoso’s neighborhood.
“He has always been dedicated to help society and help people
better their position in life,” his son Len Reynoso said. “Those
values were great learning experiences for us kids when we were
growing up.”
In addition to his 50-plus years working as an attorney and a
judge, Reynoso has also been a professor at UCLA School of Law,
where he taught from 1991 to 2001.
In July 2001, Reynoso joined the faculty at the UC Davis School
of Law as the first Boochever Bird Chair for the Study and
Teaching of Freedom and Equality.
He retired in December 2006, but still teaches one class a
quarter as part of his duties as a professor emeritus of the
school.
“He is at that age where he could just sit back and rest on his
laurels, but he is never going to do that,” said Lisa Ikemoto, a
professor at UC Davis School of Law. “He doesn’t impose his views
on you, but when you listen to him talk, you learn that he is
right.”
Len Reynoso, a Galt attorney who shares property with his father
at his father’s ranch in Herald, said his father was the ideal
candidate for the job because of his wide experience both state and
federal litigation.
Growing up, Len Reynoso said his father had a long history of
working with government officials, from working with the United
Nations to President Jimmy Carter.
He added that some of his father’s work even got him teased by
other judges, who nicknamed him “the professor” because he would
try to teach others about the law, rather than sitting behind a
gavel to just enforce it.
“All while I was growing up, my father was doing tremendous
amounts of work to help others all over the country,” he said.
“This job is no different. … And when the UC President calls, you
can’t exactly say no.”
Reynoso’s newest challenge will add to his already busy schedule
— he will teach a course at the UC Davis law school for the spring
quarter, and he also works as special counsel at his son’s law firm
in Galt.
But busy is the way Reynoso likes to be, even if his other
activities are equally time-consuming.
The fact that he was chosen to head the task force is an honor,
he said, and this position is clearly a priority to him.
“This is not long-term, with the report (from Kroll) coming in
late January or early February,” Reynoso said. “The president wants
to address this matter swiftly, and each and every one of us on the
board has made it clear that this is of the utmost importance. …
We want this resolved, and we want it resolved fairly.”
REYNOSO’S BACKGROUND AT A GLANCE
- He served as a legislative assistant in the California State
Senate (1959–60). He was an Associate General Counsel for the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission in 1967 and 1968. - He served as deputy director of California Rural Legal
Assistance in 1968, and shortly thereafter assumed the
directorship; he was the first Latino to hold the position. - In 1976, Reynoso was appointed to the California Court of
Appeal as an associate justice. He was the first Latino appointed
to the Court. - In 1981, he was appointed to the California Supreme Court by
outgoing Governor Jerry Brown, succeeding the retiring Mathew O.
Tobriner. He left when he failed to seek re-election in 1986. - The United States Senate appointed Reynoso to the U.S.
Commission on Civil Rights in April 1993. - President Barack Obama appointed Reynoso to his White House
transition team in early 2009, as part of a justice and civil
rights sub-team.
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