John Van de Kamp
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John Van de Kamp | |
---|---|
28th Attorney General of California | |
In office January 3, 1983 – January 7, 1991 | |
Governor | George Deukmejian |
Preceded by | George Deukmejian |
Succeeded by | Dan Lungren |
37th Los Angeles County District Attorney | |
In office July 1, 1975 – July 1, 1981 | |
Preceded by | Joseph P. Busch |
Succeeded by | Robert Philibosian |
Personal details | |
Born | John Kalar Van de Kamp February 7, 1936 Pasadena, California, U.S. |
Died | March 14, 2017 Pasadena, California, U.S. | (aged 81)
Political party | Democratic |
Alma mater | Dartmouth College (A.B.) Stanford Law School (J.D.) |
John Kalar Van de Kamp (February 7, 1936 – March 14, 2017) was an American
Early life
A member of the Van de Kamp family, John Kalar Van de Kamp was born on February 7, 1936.[3][4] He graduated from Dartmouth College and from Stanford Law School in 1959. He served as assistant U.S. Attorney and later became the first Federal Public Defender in Los Angeles. He was appointed U.S. Attorney for Los Angeles by President Lyndon Johnson in 1966.[5] He was appointed district attorney after the previous incumbent died in office.[citation needed]
Los Angeles County District Attorney
During his tenure as Los Angeles County District Attorney, Van de Kamp dramatically increased the number of female deputy district attorneys in the office. He also created special units to focus on gangs, sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, and career criminals, and a unit to monitor crime in the entertainment industry. He set in place programs to help victims and witnesses, as well as quick response teams in cases of police officer-involved shootings.
Van de Kamp was criticized for his office's handling of the
The judge in the case,
The trial had been so lengthy that before it ended, Deukmejian had left office (having been elected as
California Attorney General
Van de Kamp won the 1982 Democratic primary for Attorney General, defeating California State Sen. Omer Rains, a Democrat from Santa Barbara. Rains was chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and former Senate Majority Leader. Van de Kamp would go on to beat the Republican candidate, Senior Assistant Attorney General George Nicholson, a Deukmejian lieutenant, in the November general election.[8]
During Van de Kamp's administration as California Attorney General, he helped to create the Public Rights Division, which focuses on the enforcement of
Van de Kamp was easily re-elected in 1986, winning 65 percent of the vote.[9] The Republican nominee was San Fernando Valley attorney Bruce Gleason.
In 1987, Van de Kamp unsuccessfully led the State's charge against pornography by defending the pandering conviction of adult filmmaker Harold Freeman. Ultimately, the California State Supreme Court overturned Freeman's conviction. Van de Kamp appealed to the
In 1989, George Deukmejian announced that he would not seek a third term as Governor of California. Van de Kamp ran for the office in 1990, hoping to succeed Deukmejian a second time, but he lost the Democratic primary election to former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein.[citation needed] Feinstein lost the general election to U. S. Sen. Pete Wilson, R-Calif. Feinstein would win a 1992 special election to fill Wilson's US Senate seat.
Post-politics
After his loss to Feinstein, Van de Kamp retired from politics and with his wife returned to his hometown of Pasadena, California, where they lived until his death in March 2017. After leaving public office, Van de Kamp entered a private law practice and remained active in environmental causes.[11]
In 1977, Van de Kamp was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degree from Whittier College.[12]
Van de Kamp was elected the 80th president of the State Bar of California for 2004–2005.[13] He also served as president of the board of directors for the Planning and Conservation League.[14]
In 2016, along with Ron Briggs, Van de Kamp sued to overturn Proposition 66, a state constitutional amendment that sped up the death penalty process. He lost his lawsuit 5–2 in the California Supreme Court.
At the age of 81, Van de Kamp died at his Pasadena home on March 14, 2017.[15]
Personal life
Van de Kamp graduated from
References
- ^ California Attorney General - 1850 to Present - California Dept. of Justice - Office of the Attorney General Archived 2008-02-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ISSN 0886-4934.
- ^ "Van de Kamp, Collins Draw Praise, Gather Scrolls". Metropolitan News Enterprise. 2005-02-01.
- ^ California Births, 1905 - 1995, John Kalar Van de Kamp Archived 2012-01-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Coleman, Andre (2017-03-16). "John Van de Kamp 1936-2017". Pasadena Weekly. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
- ^ Decker, Cathleen (June 1, 1990). "California Elections: The Ad Campaign". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Reinhold, Robert (June 1, 1990). "Democrats Take Off Gloves In Major California Contest". The New York Times.
- ^ "Van de Kamp Runs for Democratic AG Nod, AG, Reelection as AG, Nomination for Governor". www.metnews.com. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
- ^ "1986 Attorney General General Election".
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
- ^ a b "John Van de Kamp, former California attorney general and L.A. County district attorney, dies at 81". Los Angeles Times. 2017-03-16. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
- ^ "Honorary Degrees | Whittier College". www.whittier.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
- ^ "Former California Attorney General John Van de Kamp sworn in as State Bar President". 2004-10-09. Archived from the original on 2006-09-24. Retrieved 2006-08-12.
- ^ "Board of Directors of the Planning and Conservation League". Archived from the original on 2006-08-27. Retrieved 2006-08-12.
- ^ Stevens, Matt (March 15, 2017). "John Van de Kamp, former California attorney general and L.A. County district attorney, dies at 81". Los Angeles Times.
External links
- Office of the Attorney General Archived 2002-04-04 at the Wayback Machine