California Supreme Court Justices David S. Terry (left) and Stephen J. Field

The 1849 California Constitution provided for a State Supreme Court, to consist of a Chief Justice and two Associate Justices. Several of the early justices proved to be colorful and even dangerous characters.

The fourth Chief Justice, David S. Terry (at the left), killed a U.S. Senator in a duel in 1859. Terry was later killed himself during an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Stephen J. Field, California’s fifth Chief Justice and author of the state’s first civil and criminal codes. In 1863, President Lincoln appointed Field to the U.S. Supreme Court. Field served on the bench until 1897, making him the second longest-serving justice in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Identification Information: David S. Terry Photograph, 1857, F3811:2a, Supreme Court of California; Stephen J. Fields Photograph, 1859, F3811:3b, Supreme Court of California.