Legal History / Judicial History,
Judges and Judiciary
Jan. 5, 2026
It happened
Retired but not retreating, I reflect on titles, time, and a judicial legacy that--like the law itself--sometimes loops back centuries with clarity and context.
Arthur Gilbert
Justice (ret.)
UC Berkeley School of Law, 1963
Arthur's previous columns are available on gilbertsubmits.blogspot.com.
This is my first column as a civilian. Feels odd, discomforting, that "Ret." after one's name. Notice the period after "ret"? Look up "ret" in any dictionary without the period and the definition is unsettling. For example, The New Collegiate Dictionary defines "ret" as "to soak (something such as flax of hemp) to loosen t...
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