Solomon Heydenfeldt

Solomon Heydenfeldt (1816–1890) was the first Jewish justice of the Supreme Court of California in the United States. He was elected by direct vote of the people and served from 1852 to 1857.

His opinion in Irwin v. Phillips, established the doctrine of prior appropriation in western water law jurisprudence. He is also noted for arguing as an attorney before the California Supreme Court in Ex Parte Newman, 9 Cal. 502 (1858), where he successfully defended a Jewish man's right to work on Sunday. He refused to take an test oath for lawyers, which led to his retirement from the Bar.

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