California Appellate Court Legacy Project
click here to play promo video 
In 2006, the California Appellate Court Legacy Project was developed as part of statewide efforts undertaken to commemorate the Centennial of the California Courts of Appeal in 2005. The resulting archive is a historical record of the personal experiences of individual justices and the changes that have emerged over the years in the California judicial system and the legal profession.
The Legacy Project oral history archive comprises more than 70 videotaped interviews of retired justices of the Courts of Appeal, as well as active justices who may be nearing retirement. Interviewers were selected from within the state's appellate branch, and in most instances the interviews were conducted by a justice who currently serves in the retired justice's former court. Staff of the California Administrative Office of the Courts continue to schedule interviews with justices as they retire from the bench.
The interviews touched upon a host of personal and professional recollections, including childhood and youth, education, law school years, judicial careers and other government service, judicial philosophies, notable opinions, concurrences and dissents, significant historical events, and the attitudes, events, and experiences that have shaped the justices' perspectives.
The videotapes, which average 90 minutes in length, have been transferred onto DVDs, which are stored at the California Judicial Center Library in San Francisco along with computer-generated transcripts and binders of biographical, bibliographical, and decisional materials prepared as background for each interview. Online indexing of topics covered in the interviews is provided through the library's California Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal database. Further information about the collection is available at http://library.courtinfo.ca.gov.
The Legacy Project recounts the stories and preserves the rich judicial history of California judges, courts, and law through the voices of the justices who helped shape the development of California law in the 20th century.
Contact: Paula R. Bocciardi, Lead Management and Program Analyst, at LegacyProject@jud.ca.gov.
Video Compilation:
"The Backbone of the Justice System" (14-minute video compilation of Legacy interview clips)
Need help viewing the video?
Appellate Court Legacy Project Committee
Hon. Judith L. Haller (Chair), Hon. Richard J. McAdams, Hon. George W. Nicholson, Hon. Timothy A. Reardon, Hon. Laurence D. Rubin, Hon. Steven M. Vartabedian, Ms. Fran Jones.
