Douglas Lyman Edmonds (November 20, 1887 – May 10, 1962) was an American jurist, serving on the

Supreme Court of California The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...

and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

International Law Commission The International Law Commission (ILC) is a body of experts responsible for helping develop and codify international law. It is composed of 34 individuals recognized for their expertise and qualifications in international law, who are elected by t ...

Early life

Edmonds was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and educated in the public schools of Chicago,

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. He later moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and attended the

University of Southern California School of Law The USC Gould School of Law, located in Los Angeles, California, is the law school of the University of Southern California. The oldest law school in the Southwestern United States, USC Law traces its beginnings to 1896 and became affiliated with ...

. After graduation, he joined the California Bar in 1910. After entering the bar, Edmonds practiced law in Southern California. In 1916, he ran for Assemblyman from the 63rd assembly district on the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

ticket.

Judicial tenure

In 1926, he became a Los Angeles Municipal Court judge. He was later appointed to the

Los Angeles County Superior Court The Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Los Angeles County, which includes the city of Los Angeles. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States. The ...

bench, where in 1936 he was presiding judge. In June 1936, Edmonds signed the order changing the name of Hollywood star

Jean Harlow Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...

from Harlean Carpenter Rossen. On August 6, 1936, associate justice Nathaniel P. Conrey announced that he would resign from the Supreme Court of California, and would not stand for election that November. On September 14, Governor

Frank Merriam Frank Finley Merriam (December 22, 1865 – April 25, 1955) was an American Republican politician who served as the 28th governor of California from June 2, 1934 until January 2, 1939. Assuming the governorship at the height of the Great Depress ...

selected Edmonds to stand in Conrey's place on the November ballot, and, two days later, he was seated as an associate justice ''

pro tempore ''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a ''locum tenens'' (placeholder) in the absence of ...

'' on the court. Conrey, who concluded his active service on the court in August, intended to officially resign once Edmonds was elected, but he died on November 2, the day before the election. On November 19, Merriam formally appointed Edmonds, who had won the election, to the supreme court to fill the remainder of Conrey's term. Edmonds moved from Los Angeles to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

as a result of his bench appointment. In November 1942, he was retained in the election, along with John W. Shenk. After another reelection in November 1954, Edmonds served on the Supreme Court until his retirement in December 1955. While serving on the court, Edmonds chaired the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

Section on Judicial Administration. In 1954, President

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

appointed Edmonds to the United Nation's International Law Commission, where he served until 1961.

Later career

After stepping down from the bench, he moved to

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

and practiced law at Guthrie, Darling & Shattuck. In 1957, Edmonds represented the cities of

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...

, Colton, and Redlands in the

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

Water Suit. In 1961, he was the state chair of the unsuccessful election campaign of Tom Coakley for

California Attorney General The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the Government of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section ...

Personal life

In 1910, he married Laura C. Leinbach and they had a daughter, Dorothy. His wife died December 22, 1946, in San Francisco, and he remarried in February 1948 to Gertrude S. Forsyth."Justice Weds Second Time," ''Los Angeles Times'' (via Associated Press), February 6, 1948. On May 10, 1962, Edmonds was killed in an automobile accident near

San Juan Capistrano, California San Juan Capistrano (Spanish for "St. John of Capistrano") is a city in Orange County, California, located along the Orange Coast. The population was 34,593 at the 2010 census. San Juan Capistrano was founded by the Spanish in 1776, when St. ...

. His wife, Gertrude, survived the car accident. He was a member of the

Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes informally know ...

church.

Organizations/Affiliations

Phi Alpha Delta Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International ( or P.A.D.) is the largest professional law fraternity in the United States. Founded in 1902, P.A.D. has since grown to 717 established pre-law, law, and alumni chapters and over 330,000 initiated m ...

Law Fraternity “The Reporter”, October, 1950. (Quarterly Publication of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, 1950.) ** Member, Erskine M. Ross Chapter ** Los Angeles Alumni Chapter, Justice 1935 ** District Justice, 1938–1957 ** Supreme Vice Justice, 1946–1948 ** Supreme Justice, 1948–1950 and 1950–1952

References

External links

Douglas L. Edmonds
California Supreme Court Historical Society.
Opinions written by Douglas L. Edmonds
Courtlistener.com.

California State Courts.