From issuing historic rulings on gay marriage, affirmative action and abortion rights to ushering in a new era of legal and political clout for California's highest court, Chief Justice Ronald George has cast a long shadow of influence across the state since the mid-1990s. On Wednesday, California's 27th chief justice decided it was time to step aside, unexpectedly announcing he will not seek a new 12-year term in November and will put an official end to the "George Court" on Jan. 2. The 70-year-old George said he will retreat from his notoriously frenetic life to read, run and travel —...