Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Finding Aid for the Thomas Patrick White papers
1037
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Title: Thomas Patrick White papers
Collection number: 1037
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
1 linear ft.
(2 boxes, 4 oversize boxes.)
Date: 1906-1961
Abstract: Thomas Patrick White (1888-1968) became the youngest judge in the United States when he was appointed to the Los Angeles City
Police Court in 1913. He then worked at a private trial attorney in Los Angeles until he returned to the bench in 1931 when
he was appointed as a judge to the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. He then served in the California District Court of
Appeal, 2nd Appellate Division as Justice and then Presiding Justice until he was appointed Associate Justice to the Supreme
Court of California in 1959. The collection consists of scrapbooks containing clippings, photographs, correspondence, and
memorabilia relating to White’s judicial career, attorney practice, and participation in civic, religious, and fraternal organizations.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact UCLA Library Special Collections
Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
[Identification of item], Thomas Patrick White Papers (Collection 1037). Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, UCLA.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Mrs. Grace White, November 21, 1968.
Thomas Patrick White (1888-1968) served as a judge in California for 37 years. He was born on September 27, 1888 in Lincoln
Heights, Los Angeles, California and graduated from St. Vincent’s High School in 1904. From 1905 to 1908, White was a railroad
clerk with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in Los Angeles. He then attended the University of Southern California
Law School, receiving his LL.B. degree and California bar admission in 1911. White began his judicial career in 1913 with
his appointment to the Los Angeles City Police Court. At age 25, this made him the youngest judge in the United States. He
served on the Police Court until 1919, during which time he married Helen Hickson (1915). Between 1919 and 1931, White worked
in private law practice in Los Angeles. Loyola University, Los Angeles awarded him an honorary LL.D. degree in 1925. White
was appointed to the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in 1931. He served as a Superior Court Judge from 1931 to 1937,
and then on the California District Court of Appeal, 2nd Appellate Division, as Justice (1937-1949) and Presiding Justice
(1949-1959). He was appointed as an Associate Justice of California’s highest court, the Supreme Court, in 1959. White continued
to hear Supreme Court cases following his retirement from the full-time bench in 1962.
As Police Judge, White started the Women’s Court and probation system, advocated for harsher penalties for those found guilty
of domestic violence, hired a public defender, and campaigned against reckless driving. He was an outspoken critic of the
LA Police Department Purity Squad’s employment of stool pigeons. White presided over the trial of 25 men, mostly Mexican,
caught up in the 1913 Christmas Day riot in Los Angeles Plaza, a disturbance sparked by police who attacked a speaker and
spectators at an International Workers of the World (IWW) rally. He sentenced the “Christian Pacifists,” three ministers arrested
for unlawful assembly for their attempts to hold an anti-war conference (1918). A fervid nationalist, White frequently censured
or punished defendants for making allegedly anti-American remarks or defiling the flag. He was also recognized for his compassion
for the indigent and women in difficult circumstances.
As a trial attorney, White represented City Councilman Joseph “Big Joe” Fitzpatrick in a sensational bribery trial (1925);
Mose Sheffield, an African American police detective allegedly framed for racketeering (1930); and The Citizen, a paper published
by organized labor, in an injunction case (1931). White also defended Los Angeles crime boss and Italian bootlegger, Marco
Albori, alias Albert Marco (the “Master pimp”), when Marco was charged for a 1928 Venice bar shooting and for framing city
councilman Carl Jacobson who was arrested in a ‘morals raid’ at the home of a woman paid by Marco.
On the Superior Court, White criticized the police for failing to release minor offenders on bail, a practice the City Attorney
eventually revised. White’s 1932 Superior Court re-election campaign pitted him against Hearst publications, which supported
White’s opponent, a former Hearst reporter. Hearst papers attacked White for his allegedly lenient sentencing of a child molester.
White was active in the Catholic community and numerous civic and fraternal associations, including the Benevolent and Protective
Order of the Elks, Fraternal Order of the Eagles, Loyal Order of the Moose, Ancient Order of Hibernians, and Catholic Order
of Foresters. He held top leadership roles in several, including the Knights of Columbus, St. Vincent de Paul Society, Southern
California Holy Name Union, Boy Scouts of America, Young Men’s Institute, and Catholic Big Brothers. He taught at Loyola University,
College of Law and delivered many addresses to civic, religious, fraternal, and business groups in Southern California on
patriotism, the dangers of Communism, causes of youth crime, and the deterioration of morals and religion in the home. He
supported the Republican Party and President Herbert Hoover’s candidacy, and he was a member of the Progressive League.
Collection consists of clippings, memorabilia, correspondence, and photographs relating to White’s judicial career, attorney
practice, and participation in civic, religious, and fraternal organizations. Clippings are from newspapers and membership
organization bulletins, journals, and newsletters. Memorabilia include programs, meeting notices, invitations, and announcements.
Collection contains extensive coverage of the Knights of Columbus, White’s speaking engagements, and significant cases from
his legal career.
Almost all of the collection material is organized into 12 scrapbooks.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
4233991
Subjects and Indexing Terms
California--Supreme Court--Officials and employees--Archives.
Judges--California--Archives.
Scrapbooks.