Court Legacy Project Preserves History of the Bench

Prior to his service on the bench, Justice Lynn D. Compton was a well-known district attorney who successfully led the prosecution of Sirhan Sirhan for Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination; an accomplished police officer and detective in Los Angeles; a World War II soldier; and a collegiate baseball athlete who played with Jackie Robinson.

Justice Compton’s career is just one of many histories recounted by justices in videos produced for the California Appellate Court Legacy Project.

Preserving judicial history by going directly to the source is what the project is all about. Through in-depth recorded video interviews, state appellate court justices recount their childhoods, career pathways, public service experience, notable opinions, and other events that have helped shape their perspectives.

Developed in 2006 as part of the previous year’s Centennial of the California Courts of Appeal commemoration, the project features more than 150 interviews posted on the California Appellate Court Legacy Project’s webpage.

Justices Interview Other Justices
Retired justices are usually interviewed by a justice who currently serves in the retired justice’s former court. In addition to already-retired justices, active justices who may be nearing retirement may be selected to be interviewed.

The California Appellate Court Legacy Project is a collaboration between the Judicial Council, the California Judicial Center Library, and active justices. Two sitting justices serve as co-chairs indefinitely to help steer the project. Currently, the California Appellate Court Legacy Project is co-chaired by Justice Martin Buchanan of the Fourth Appellate District, Division One and Justice Shama Mesiwala of the Third Appellate District.

“The Legacy Project is a valuable historical archive with loads of fascinating insider insights into the appellate process and the life stories of California’s appellate justices,”  said Justice Buchanan. “We are honored to be a part of this history.”.

“The videos are full of inspiring and uplifting interviews from our predecessors on the bench,” added Justice Mesiwala.

A compilation video on the Legacy Project site features an introduction by Chief Justice Guerrero and snippets of Legacy Project interviews from trailblazers such as Justice Nathan Mihara, Justice Manuel Ramirez, Justice Elwood Lui, Justice Candace Cooper, and Justice Eileen Moore on topics including early life experiences, gender discrimination, diversity in the courts, and judicial philosophy.

Interviews Preserve Voices of Trailblazers in California Judicial History
The project features trailblazers such as Justice Arleigh Maddox Woods of the Second Appellate District, who was the first female African American justice in the state Court of Appeal. She broke other barriers prior to her service in the appellate court, such as becoming the youngest woman at the time to be admitted to the state bar at the age of 22, the first Black woman senior partner in a law firm, and the first female supervising judge in the Los Angeles Superior Court, where she served from 1976 to 1980.

“Part of the consequence of being first is simply the fact that other people hadn’t been given the opportunity,” Justice Woods said in her 2009 interview. “It’s more of a sense of responsibility than pride. You feel that you must excel to not embarrass anyone and to make it less difficult for the next person who comes along.  And so being given the opportunity to do that – and as far as I know, not having really fouled it up – gave me great pride, because I do feel that I opened some doors for other people.”

Latest Videos Include Recently Retired and Active Justices
Published last week, the most recent interview for the project features retired Justice Sandra Margulies of the First Appellate District, Division One. Other recent interviews published in July 2026 include retired justices Justice William J. Bedsworth of the Fourth Appellate District; Justice Thomas M. Goethals of the Fourth Appellate District; Justice Nora M. Manella of the Second Appellate District; and Justice M. Bruce Smith of the Fifth Appellate District.

These latest justices interviewed for the project also include Justice Harry E. Hull, Jr., who is currently serving in the Third Appellate District.

In his interview with former California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye (Ret.), Justice Hull talks about his time as a military child that taught him adaptability, dating his high school sweetheart-turned-wife decades later, and authoring one of his favorite opinions about Pooky the Dog (in Auburn Woods I Homeowners Association v. Fair Employment and Housing Com.), setting precedent that “the innate qualities of a dog, in particular a dog’s friendliness and ability to interact with humans” make it therapeutic.

The California Appellate Court Legacy Project will continue to upload new video interviews as they are completed. Visit the California Appellate Court Legacy Project page on the California Courts website for more information, compilation videos, available video interviews and transcripts, and judicial profiles.