John Gordon Gabbert (June 20, 1909 – December 9, 2013) was an associate justice of the

California Courts 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.

appointed by Governor Ronald Reagan in May 1970. Before that, 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 for

Riverside County, California Riverside County is a County (United States), county located in the southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most ...

Biography

Early life

Gabbert was born in

Oxnard Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...

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 ...

on June 20, 1909. In 1912, when he was three years old, he moved with his parents to

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

. His father, J. R. Gabbert, purchased the Riverside Enterprise newspaper and worked as both editor and publisher. Gabbert grew up working with the metal type in his father's print shop at the press.

Education

Gabbert attended public grade schools and Poly High School in Riverside. After graduating from

South Pasadena High School South Pasadena High School (SPHS or "South Pas") is the one public high school serving grades 9-12 in the city of South Pasadena, California. With the South Pasadena Middle School and three elementary schools (Arroyo Vista, Marengo, and Monterey ...

in 1927, he attended

Riverside Junior College Riverside City College (RCC) is a public community college in Riverside, California. The college is part of the Riverside Community College District, as well as the larger California Community Colleges System. History RCC first opened in 1916 at ...

, where he was the Student Body President in 1929, and then

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...

where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1931. He then attended

Duke University School of Law Duke University School of Law (Duke Law School or Duke Law) is the law school of Duke University, a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law is a constituent academic unit th ...

from 1931 to 1932, but transferred to Boalt School of Law at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1933. He completed his LL.B. at Boalt in 1934. It was during his time at Riverside Junior College that Gabbert met fellow student

Rupert Costo Rupert Costo (1906 – October 20, 1989) was a Cahuilla writer, activist, publisher, and philanthropist. He was a co-founder of the American Indian Historical Society (AIHS) and the Indian Historian Press publishing company. Costo had many ca ...

, a Native American activist, who became a lifelong friend and fellow advocate for the establishment of a campus of the University of California in Riverside. During World War II, he enlisted in the United States Army and in 1944 served with the Criminal Investigation Division in New Guinea and the Philippines.

Legal career

Following his graduation from Boalt Law School, Gabbert was admitted to the California Bar on October 16, 1934 and to the Philippine Islands Bar in 1945. Gabbert served as Deputy District Attorney for Riverside County from 1935 to 1938. He next went into private practice with the father and son legal team of Best & Best in Riverside, thus forming the new firm of Best, Best & Gabbert in 1938, where he practiced law until 1943 and then from 1945 to 1949. He also served as a City Court Judge for Riverside County from 1941 to 1943. In 1949, he was appointed by Governor

Earl Warren Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presided over a major shift in American constitution ...

as a Judge in the Superior Court of Riverside County, a position he held from 1949 to 1970. (It was at this time that his name was removed from the law firm that eventually became known as Best, Best, & Krieger.) In May 1970, 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 him as a Presiding Justice of the California Appellate Court, Fourth Appellate District, Division Two, a position which he held until his retirement on June 1, 1974.

Civic involvement

Gabbert served as a school board member for the

Riverside Unified School District Riverside Unified School District (a.k.a. RUSD) is a school district headquartered in Riverside, California, United States. The district serves a large portion of Riverside as well as unincorporated areas of Highgrove and Woodcrest in Riversid ...

from 1946 to 1949. He is a former president of the Riverside County Bar Association as well as the

Lions Club The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , ...

, the Present Day Club, and the Citizens University Committee. He also served on a variety of civic and charitable organizations both in a membership as well as a leadership capacity and was a member of the Executive Committee of

University of La Verne College of Law The University of La Verne College of Law is the law school of the University of La Verne, a private university in Ontario, California. It was founded in 1970 and is approved by the State Bar of California, but is not accredited by the American ...

University of California, Riverside advocacy

In his role as President of the Citizens University Committee, Gabbert worked with Rupert Costo and other civic leaders to lobby the University of California system to establish a campus in Riverside.

Marriage and children

Gabbert married Katherine Jeanette Fuller in

Tulare, California Tulare ( ) is a city in Tulare County, California. The population was 68,875 at the 2020 census. It is located in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley, eight miles south of Visalia and sixty miles north of Bakersfield. The city is named for th ...

on June 11, 1938. The couple had three children: * Sarah Gabbert (June 29, 1940 – present) * Katherine Gabbert (December 24, 1942 – present) * Scott Gabbert (January 28, 1946 – present)

Political views

Gabbert was registered as a Republican.

Bibliography

Books

* Boyce, A.M. (1987) ''Odyssey of an entomologist: adventures on the farm, at sea, and in the university'' / by Alfred M. Boyce; based on taped conversations with John G. Gabbert; edited by Elizabeth Lang and Robert Lang. Riverside, CA: UC Riverside Foundation. * Fitch, Robert J. and John G. Gabbert. (1998) ''Roman Warren: cowboy aviator.'' Riverside, CA: Riverside County Historical Commission Press.

Audiovisual materials

* Gabbert, John G. (2008) ''Riverside, my Riverside John G. Gabbert remembers, 1915–1925''. Riverside, CA: LIFE Society, UC Riverside Extension. DVD * Gabbert, John G. (2009) ''When all the world was young: John G. Gabbert in his 20s''. Riverside, CA: LIFE Society, UC Riverside Extension. DVD