Donald R. Wright

Donald Richard Wright
Wright (left) swearing in Jerry Brown (right) as Governor of California on January 6, 1975.
24th Chief Justice of California
In office April 17, 1970 – February 1, 1977
Appointed by	Governor Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Roger J. Traynor
Succeeded by	Rose Bird
Associate Justice of the California Courts of Appeal, Second District, Division Two
In office 1968 – April 16, 1970
Appointed by	Governor Ronald Reagan
Succeeded by	Lynn Compton
Personal details
Born	(1907-01-23)January 23, 1907 Placentia, California, U.S.
Died	March 21, 1985(1985-03-21) (aged 78) Pasadena, California, U.S.
Spouse(s)	Margaret W. McClellan (m. 1932)
Alma mater	Stanford University (A.B.) Harvard Law School (LL.B.)

Donald Richard Wright (February 2, 1907 – March 21, 1985) was the 24th Chief Justice of California.

Born in Placentia, California, Wright earned his Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University in 1929 and his Bachelor of Laws from Harvard Law School in 1932. Admitted to the California State Bar in 1933, he worked in private practice at the law firm of Barrick, Poole & Knox in Pasadena, California until 1953, except for 1942–1946 when he served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.

In 1953, Governor Earl Warren appointed Wright to the Los Angeles Municipal Court, where he served until 1961 when he was elected to the Los Angeles County Superior Court. In June 1968, Sirhan B. Sirhan appeared in court for arraignment on the charge of first-degree murder of Robert F. Kennedy, and Wright as presiding judge assigned a public defender to the case. In 1968, Wright left the Superior Court when Governor Ronald Reagan appointed him as an Associate Justice of California Second District Court of Appeal, Division Two. In 1970, Reagan appointed Wright as the 24th Chief Justice of California, where he served from April 17, 1970, until his retirement on February 1, 1977. In the November 1970 judicial retention elections, Wright received 80.6% of the vote. When Wright stepped down, Governor Jerry Brown named Rose Bird as Wright's replacement.