4th Appellate District History
The California Court of Appeal recently celebrated its centennial year.
The Fourth District was established in 1929, and includes six Southern California counties. The Fourth District, Division Three (frequently abbreviated "4DCA3"), is headquartered in Santa Ana, and has jurisdiction over appeals and writs from Orange County.
The following justices have served at Division Three since its creation in December 1982, with the court's eight current justices listed in boldface:
- Presiding Justice John K. Trotter, Jr. (April 1982 to August 1987)
- Presiding Justice Harmon G. Scoville (January 1988 to April 1990)
- Presiding Justice David G. Sills (August 1990 to present)
- Associate Justice Thomas F. Crosby, Jr. (December 1982 to June 2001)
- Associate Justice Sheila Prell Sonenshine (December 1982 to April 1999)
- Associate Justice Edward J. Wallin (December 1982 to February 1999)
- Associate Justice Henry T. Moore, Jr. (August 1988 to April 1994)
- Associate Justice William F. Rylaarsdam (April 1995 to present)
- Associate Justice William W. Bedsworth (April 1997 to present)
- Associate Justice Kathleen E. O'Leary (January 2000 to present)
- Associate Justice Eileen C. Moore (December 2000 to present)
- Associate Justice Richard M. Aronson (November 2001 to present)
- Associate Justice Richard D. Fybel (February 2002 to present)
- Associate Justice Raymond J. Ikola (January 2003 to present)
| Click here (PDF, 172 KB) and here (PDF, 64 KB) for detailed histories of Division Three |
| Click here (PDF, 414 KB) for a memorial tribute to Associate Justice Thomas F. Crosby, Jr., which was published in Vol. 116 of the California Official Reports. |
The court moved into its current home, the green-gabled, early California style courthouse on Spurgeon Street in January 1989. But there are only six judicial chambers there - not enough room for all the court's justices and staff. As a result, the court now occupies two separate facilities, located about three-quarters of a mile apart.
Design is being completed for a new courthouse, with nine judicial chambers and a state-of-the-art courtroom in the heart of the Santa Ana Civic Center. The two-acre site is located on the corner of Santa Ana Boulevard and Ross Street, next to the Santa Ana City Hall, and directly across the street from the Ronald Reagan Federal Courthouse. Construction is expected to begin in the fall of 2007, with completion scheduled for late 2008 or early 2009. The architect of record on the 51,800 square project is Carrier Johnson Architects, based in San Diego, California.
Division Three will mark its 25th anniversary in 2008.
