John Arthur Arguelles (August 22, 1927 – April 10, 2022) was an American attorney who was an associate justice of 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 ...

from March 18, 1987, to March 1, 1989.

Early life and education

Born in

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' ...

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 ...

, Arguelles attended Garfield High School in East Los Angeles, graduating in 1945. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, from 1945 to 1946. After his discharge, he received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in economics from the

University of California at Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

in 1950, and a J.D. from the

UCLA School of Law The UCLA School of Law is one of 12 professional schools at the University of California, Los Angeles. UCLA Law has been consistently ranked by '' U.S. News & World Report'' as one of the top 20 law schools in the United States since the inception ...

in 1954.John A. Arguelles biography at California Courts

Legal and judicial career

Arguelles was admitted to the

California State Bar The State Bar of California is California's official attorney licensing agency. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, prescribing appropriate disciplin ...

on January 5, 1955, he was in private practice with the firm of Munnell, Mullendore, Peetris & Arguelles in Los Angeles from 1955 to 1963. He then held a series of judicial offices. He was appointed 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 ...

as a Judge of the East Los Angeles Municipal Court, serving December 4, 1963 – September 19, 1969. In 1969, Governor

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

appointed Arguelles as a Judge of the

Los Angeles 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 ...

, where he presided for nearly 15 years from September 19, 1969 to May 14, 1984. In 1984, Governor

George Deukmejian Courken George Deukmejian Jr. (; June 6, 1928 – May 8, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of California from 1983 to 1991. Of Armenian descent, Deukmejian was a member of the Republican Party and he also serve ...

elevated Arguelles to Associate Justice of the

California Court of Appeal The California Courts of Appeal are the state intermediate appellate courts in the U.S. state of California. The state is geographically divided along county lines into six appellate districts.

, Second Appellate District, Division 4, where he served May 14, 1984 – March 18, 1987. Finally, Arguelles was appointed by Governor Deukmejian as an associate justice of the California Supreme Court, March 18, 1987 – March 1, 1989. Though a Democrat, Arguelles was part of the conservative majority on the previously liberal-minded court. Following his court service, he became counsel to the law firm of

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1890, the firm includes approximately 1,400 attorneys and 1,000 staff located in 20 offices around the world, including North ...

, and also served as an arbitrator and mediator. In 1992, he was a special consultant to the

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (LACBOS) is the five-member governing body of Los Angeles County, California, United States. History On April 1, 1850 the citizens of Los Angeles elected a three-man Court of Sessions as their first ...

to study how to cut litigation costs. Arguelles was vice-chair of the

Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department The Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department, informally known as the Christopher Commission, was formed by then-mayor of Los Angeles Tom Bradley in April 1991, in the wake of the Rodney King beating. It was chaired by attorne ...

, chaired by

Warren Christopher Warren Minor Christopher (October 27, 1925March 18, 2011) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician. During Bill Clinton's first term as president, he served as the 63rd United States Secretary of State. Born in Scranton, North Dakota, ...

, which was created following the videotaped beating of

Rodney King Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965June 17, 2012) was an African American man who was a victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was beaten by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers during his arrest after a pursuit for driving whi ...

by police.

Honors and awards

In 1987, Arguelles was lauded by UCLA Law School as Alumni of the Year and, in 1989, he received the UCLA Professional Achievement Award. In 2003, Arguelles was honored as Judge of the Year by the Orange County Hispanic Bar Association. Arguelles was a member of the California branch of the

Sons of the American Revolution The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR or NSSAR) is an American Congressional charter, congressionally chartered organization, founded in 1889 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky. A non-prof ...

References

External links