Court of Appeal Turns 100 Striving for Justice, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

As 2005 draws to a close, so too on does the year-long Centennial Celebration of California Court of Appeal. In order to commemorate the anniversary, the Chief Justice of California, Ron George, appointed a broad-based Centennial Committee, and named Justice Judy Haller of the Fourth Appellate District in San Diego to chair it. Working with representatives from the six appellate districts (including Justice George Nicholson and Librarian Linda Wallihan of the Third District) and local bar associations, the committee orchestrated events in each district, highlighted by the Centennial Dinner at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. The dinner, held in April, was attended by virtually every justice of the Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal, as well as Robert Grey, Jr., President of the American Bar Association, and John Van de Kamp, President of the California State Bar.²

The Centennial Committee also published and widely distributed a 72-page book, Striving for Justice, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, so that the bench, bar, and public might learn about the Court of Appeal and its history in more detail. Wallihan and former State Law Librarian Fran Jones were significant contributors to this volume, which is available online.³

The Third Appellate District, led by Presiding Justice Art Scotland, made a unique contribution to the Centennial. Taking an old approach to a new idea, the court cosponsored a special Centennial Exhibit at the most-recent California State Fair (initially held in 1854), both to highlight the Centennial and to fulfill its duty to participate in community outreach activities, which was designated "an official judicial function" in 1999.⁴

The invitation to Cal Expo came from its board of directors, upon the suggestion of prominent local attorney Jerry Chong, who, as Chair of the Cal Expo Asian-American Advisory Council, had worked with court in 2004 when it presented its inaugural State Fair exhibit, which paid tribute to the 50th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision desegregating public schools, Brown v. Board of Education (1954) 347 U.S. 483.

Working with the Centennial Committee and the Judicial Council, this year the court constructed an exhibit designed to intrigue and educate the tens of thousands of visitors to the State Fair. Housed in the centrally-located California Building, the Centennial Exhibit was a multisided structure, with its most prominent feature being 14 large poster boards with photographs and text depicting and describing the history of the Courts of Appeal.⁵

The posters were mounted upon an angled wall facing the food court, naturally drawing the attention of all visitors to that area. Its design was such that one's vision was led to a second wall that featured 10 enlargements from the U.S. Postal Service's "To Form a More Perfect Union" series, which depicts 10 pivotal events in the Civil Rights movement. Along with other locations throughout the country, Sacramento was designated as the site for the "First Day of Issue" of one of the stamps, which, as any stamp collector will attest, is a coveted honor.

On the reverse side of the walls, opposite the exhibit at which prominent California authors autographed their works, a large plasma TV continuously repeated the highlights of the Centennial Dinner, as well as the Centennial Session of the Supreme Court held the following morning, and an informative video prepared for the Centennial.

On the wall adjacent to the television were several artifacts from the California State Library, including an ornate copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, an engraving of President Lincoln signing the Proclamation, and an etching of the Senate of the United States debating whether California should be admitted as a slave or free State. Also included in the exhibit was the desk that Norton Parker Chipman used during his tenure in the House of Representatives of the United States.

Chipman was the common link to the disparate elements of the Centennial Exhibit. The first Presiding Justice the Third District Court of Appeal, Chipman rose to prominence as the confidant of General Ulysses S. Grant, and then as Lincoln's personal emissary to his field generals. He accompanied Lincoln to Gettysburg, and later acted as the chief prosecutor in the Andersonville war crimes trial. After serving in the House, Chipman moved to California, where he led the trade organization now known as the California Chamber of Commerce, and later served as one of the five commissioners of Supreme Court of California.

The commissioners were appointed by the Supreme Court in the 1880's, upon authorization by the Legislature, in order to alleviate a large backlog of cases then pending before the high court. By that time, a movement to create an intermediate appellate court already was underway, having been raised by a resolution at the 1879 State Constitutional Convention. The movement gained momentum over time, culminating with the electorate's approval in 1904 of a constitutional amendment to create the Court of Appeal.

The initial Court of Appeal, established in 1905, consisted of three districts, based in San Francisco, Los Angeles in Sacramento. As population and caseloads grew, so did the Courts of Appeal. In 1919, the Legislature added divisions to the First and Second Districts, a practice approved by constitutional amendment in 1928. The Fourth District, based in San Diego, was created one year later. In 1961, the Fifth District, based in Fresno, held its inaugural session, and San Jose's Sixth District followed in 1981. At present there are 105 authorized appellate justices, who disposed of over 22,000 cases (including over 12,000 by a written opinion)in the most recent year for which statistics are available. Thus, on average, every justice files more than 100 written opinions per year.

The highlight of the Centennial Exhibit at Cal Expo occurred on Saturday, August 27, in conjunction with the State Fair's tribute to First Responders, the men and women first on the scene as a natural or man-made disaster unfolds. The event commenced with a parade led by a joint Color Guard of the Sacramento Sheriff's Department and the National Guard. As it wound through the fairgrounds, the parade attracted a throng of followers to the Centennial Exhibit, where Justice Fred Morrison, attired in his uniform as a Brigadier General of the California Army National Guard, led a program that included Presiding Justice Jim Ardaiz of the Fifth District (a former sergeant, who noted that "it's always nice to have a general introduce a sergeant"), Justice Harry Hull (a former Captain in the U.S. Air Force JAG Corps), Justice Nicholson, Judge Bill Murray of San Joaquin County, and McGeorge Professor Clark Kelso, who portrayed Chipman, while wearing an authentic Union Army general's uniform, Justices Ardaiz, Morrison and Hull spoke of their service as first responders, how that service has strengthened their respect for the rule of law as well as their appreciation of the critical role that an impartial judiciary plays to ensure the rule of law does not devolve to the rule of individuals. At the conclusion of the formal ceremony, several of the panel members retired to tables to answer questions and distribute autographed copies of the Centennial book. The line of interested fairgoers, which stretched through the food court, did not dissipate until the last person reached the tables over three hours later. The accompanying photos capture the genuine interest and interaction the event inspired.

Norb Bartosik, the general manager of the State Fair, was close by for most of the event, and conveyed his delight with the turnout that day and in general for the Centennial Exhibit, which he enjoyed touting when meeting with the leaders of other fairs. Bartosik felt a special connection to Lincoln's place in the exhibit, whom he noted was an early supporter of fairs, having said, during a speech at the Wisconsin State Fair in 1859, that fairs are "becoming an institution of the country; they are useful in more ways than one; they bring us together, and thereby make us better acquainted, and better friends than we otherwise would be." ⁶

With respect to the Centennial Exhibit, Bartosik felt honored by the support of Chief Justice George and Bill Vickery, the Administrative Director of the Courts. As a result of the successful 2004 Brown Anniversary and 2005 Centennial Exhibits, Bartosik said that the Cal Expo Board of Directors is considering plans to incorporate into the Fair an annual exhibit, modeled on the first two, that will focus on legal issues of public interest.

¹ Mark Shusted is a former editor of this magazine, and served as SCBA President in 2002.

² Grey's remarks are available online at http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov /courts/courtsofappeal/speech-cent.htm

³ See http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=cache:gPltn 47GFek:http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/courtsofappeal/documents/ coa100booklet.pdf++centennial++

⁴ In 1999, the Judicial Council approved Section 39 of the Standards of Judicial Administration, which states in part: "Judicial participation in community outreach activities should be considered an official judicial function to promote public understanding of and confidence in the administration of justice. . . ."

⁵ The panels are online at http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/courtsofappeal/3rdDistrict/ centennial.htm

⁶ Fairs continue to prosper in California. There are approximately 80 fairs held annually in California, and they draw a combined attendance in excess of 15 million each year.

November / December 2005