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Judge Stewart to Retire From Superior Court
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William D. Stewart’s last day on the bench will be Monday, ending a judicial career of more than 21 years.
He will use up earned vacation time, officially retiring on March 31.
The judge said yesterday:
“I plan to follow the advice of President Eisenhower when he retired in 1961: ‘I am going to sit in a rocking chair, and after an hour or so, I may begin to rock.’ ”
Stewart earned his law degree at Southwestern in 1967. He was a medical malpractice attorney with the firm of Hagenbaugh and Murphy from 1969-99, working his way up to managing partner.
He was practicing with the firm of Moore, Winter. Skebba, and McLennan when then-Gov. Gray Davis appointed him to the Superior Court in December 2000.
Below are thoughts he provided yesterday.
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WILLIAM D. STEWART Judge
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Reflections of Judge Stewart
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onald wright was the judge before whom I first appeared in the mid-1960s as a litigant-representative. Later, he was chief justice of California when I argued Li v Yellow Cab in 1975; that court overruled a decades -old precedent concerning contributory negligence, but accepted my argument that the decision should be prospective only. Fast forward to the time of Tani Cantil-Sakauye as chief justice of California, I was, as a trial judge, reversed in Samara v Matar, with the Supreme Court overruling its own precedent established in 1865. These are metaphorically the bookends of my career as a lawyer and judge: reversals by the Supreme Court requiring them to disapprove decades- or centuries-old precedent. That is the life of the law, and I have been privileged to be a part of it for 54 years.
As a trial lawyer for 32 years I was privileged to appear before some legendary judges such as Bernard Jefferson, F. Ray Bennett, Max Deutsch, Bill Rea, and so many others. Both as a lawyer and judge, I was privileged to work with remarkable trial lawyers, and now some of the sons and daughters of those lawyers have appeared before me. Their lawyering skills are truly amazing—I recently observed a counsel persuade a jury using hand movements only!
Since my appointment as a Superior Court judge by Gov. Gray Davis 21 years ago, I have served with judicial officers on the L.A. Superior Court rendering service to a population of L.A. County larger than 42 of the states. The sheer size of this bench is exceeded only by its greatness and diligence in application of the laws. As an institution, its leadership, past and present, has met unexpected major challenges of trial court unification, budget cuts, personnel reductions, and of course the totally unexpected pandemic.
Since trying my first jury trial six weeks after being admitted to the bar to the recent conclusion of a non-jury matter with a forty page statement of decision, it has been a great ride. I am grateful to all California for the opportunity.
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