Harold Joseph Haley (November 14, 1904 – August 7, 1970) was an American judge. He was a

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

judge in

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. He was taken hostage in his courtroom, along with several others, during the course of a trial, and was killed during the attempted escape of his captors with their hostages.

Background

Haley was born in

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), ...

, and graduated from

San Rafael High School San Rafael High School is a public high school located at 150 Third St. in San Rafael, California, United States. The school is part of the San Rafael City Schools school district. Its official nickname is the Bulldog; however, its athletic team ...

. After receiving his

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

from the St. Ignatius College (later known as the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

) in 1928, he served as a San Rafael

city attorney A city attorney is a position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the municipality. Unlike a district attorney or public defender, who usually handles criminal cases, a city at ...

and as a Marin County

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

. In 1956, Haley was appointed as a municipal court judge by

California Governor The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...

Goodwin Knight Goodwin Jess "Goodie" Knight (December 9, 1896 – May 22, 1970) was an American politician who served as the 31st governor of California from 1953 until 1959. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the 35th lieutenant governor ...

; he was named to the

superior court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

by Governor

Pat Brown Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown (April 21, 1905 – February 16, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 32nd governor of California from 1959 to 1967. His first elected office was as district attorney for San Francisco, and he w ...

in 1965. While an assistant district attorney, Haley married his high school classmate, Gertrude Ahern (1904–2002), at

Mission San Rafael Arcángel Mission San Rafael Arcángel is a Spanish mission in San Rafael, California. It was founded in 1817 as a medical '' asistencia'' ("sub-mission") of Mission San Francisco de Asís. It was a hospital to treat sick Native Americans, making it Alta ...

on May 24, 1933. The couple had three daughters. Haley's niece, Maureen, is married to former Marin County assistant district attorney and Superior Court judge Gary Thomas, who was left paralyzed in the shooting spree in which Haley was killed.

Marin County courthouse incident

On August 7, 1970, Jonathan Jackson brought guns into Judge Haley's courtroom, where

San Quentin San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County. Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is the o ...

inmate

James McClain The Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, California, United States was the target of two related domestic terrorist attacks in 1970, tied to escalating racial tensions in the state's criminal justice system. On August 7, 17-year-old Jonathan ...

was on trial. McClain was freed along with two other San Quentin inmates, Ruchell Magee and William Christmas, who were present at the trial as witnesses. Jackson and the prisoners took Haley, Thomas, and three female jurors hostage and attempted to escape. Haley, Jackson, McClain and Christmas were killed as the abductors attempted to drive away from the courthouse. Haley was apparently hit by fire from a

sawed-off shotgun A sawed-off shotgun (also called a sawn-off shotgun, short-barreled shotgun, shorty or a boom stick) is a type of shotgun with a shorter gun barrel—typically under —and often a shortened or absent stock. Despite the colloquial term, ...

that had been fastened to his neck with adhesive tape by the abductors. Magee was severely wounded, Thomas was shot in the spine and left paralyzed, and one of the female hostages was also wounded. A ballistics expert would later testify that Haley was hit in the face by a shotgun blast fired within the van, as well as in the chest by a bullet from a .357 magnum that one of the gunmen had taken from a deputy. On August 5, 1970, Dr. Angela Davis bought the shotgun that murdered Judge Harold Haley on August 7, 1970.

Legacy

At the Marin County Civic Center, Judge Haley Drive and a memorial near the lagoon are named in his honor. The faculty of the

University of San Francisco School of Law The University of San Francisco School of Law (USF Law) is the law school of the private University of San Francisco. Established in 1912, it received American Bar Association accreditation in 1935 and joined the Association of American Law Sc ...

also awards the "Judge Harold J. Haley Award for exceptional distinction in scholarship, character, and activities". Notable alumni of the USF law school who have won the award include author

Cupcake Brown ''A Piece of Cake: A Memoir'' is an autobiography by Cupcake Brown, published by Crown in 2006. The book describes Brown's descent into teenage prostitution and drug addiction. Although doubt has been cast as to the veracity of events describ ...

, former

United States federal judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. Cou ...

Martin Jenkins Martin Joseph Jenkins (born November 12, 1953) is an American attorney and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California. He was previously a justice of the California Court of Appeal for the First District, located ...

, and a former mayor of

Daly City, California Daly City () is the second most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with population of 104,901 according to the 2020 census. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and immediately south of San Francisco (sharing its ...

, Sal Torres.

References

External links

San Quentin Trials
(Accessed October 17, 2005)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haley, Harold 1904 births 1970 deaths People from San Rafael, California University of San Francisco alumni California state court judges People murdered in California Deaths by firearm in California Assassinated American judges Superior court judges in the United States 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American judges

Background

Marin County courthouse incident

Legacy

Further reading

References

External links