California Supreme Court
Jan. 24, 2023
California’s violent chief justice
David Terry, newly elected to the Supreme Court and also a Committee opponent, was present. Terry drew his Bowie knife – which he habitually carried – and gravely wounded Sterling Hopkins in the neck.
John S. Caragozian
Email: caragozian@gmail.com
John is a Los Angeles-based lawyer and sits on the Board of the California Supreme Court Historical Society. He welcomes ideas for future monthly columns on California's legal history at caragozian@gmail.com.
Unsurprisingly, Californians in the 1850s were armed with guns or knives, shot or stabbed one another, and fought fatal duels. It might be surprising, however, that one man, David Terry, engaged in all these activities and even more surprising that he was the California Supreme Court's chief justice.
Terry was born in 1823 in Kentucky, but raised in Texas, claiming to have fought in Texas's 1836 war of independence at age 13. Ten years late...
For only $95 a month (the price of 2 article purchases)
Receive unlimited article access and full access to our archives,
Daily Appellate Report, award winning columns, and our
Verdicts and Settlements.
Or
$795 for an entire year!
Or access this article for $45
(Purchase provides 7-day access to this article. Printing, posting or downloading is not allowed.)
Already a subscriber?
Sign In