Carlos R. Moreno

Drawing on his own experience as a foster parent, he chairs the California Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care, which recommended sweeping improvements this year to the state's overburdened juvenile court system. The changes are aimed at making sure foster children don't fall through the cracks. The high court's only Democratic appointee also had a productive year on the court. He joined the majority in the landmark same-sex marriage decision and authored the majority opinion in another 4-3 decision that preserved California's strong First Amendment rights for protesters at shopping malls.