In 1966, she became the first woman hired as a deputy public defender in Santa Clara County, and practiced criminal law in that office for eight years. From 1972 to 1974, she taught criminal and consumer law at Stanford Law School. In 1975, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. appointed her as the first woman to serve as a cabinet member in California. As Secretary of the Agriculture and Services Agency, she had administrative responsibility over 12 different state agencies. The Supreme Court will hold a memorial session for Chief Justice Bird at a date later to be announced.
Funeral services are pending.