Peirson M. Hall Papers, 1908-1979

Summary

Creators:

Hall, Peirson M. (Peirson Mitchell), 1894-1979

Abstract:

This collection contains the personal and professional papers of California judge Peirson M. Hall (1894-1979).

Extent:

38 Linear Feet (54 boxes, 89 volumes and 4 oversize folders)

Language:

English.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Peirson M. Hall Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains the personal and professional papers of California judge Peirson M. Hall (1894-1979). The Correspondence, manuscripts, and ephemera are organized by genre, subject, and/or original order. The contents include bills (legislative records), biographies, briefs, correspondence, divorce records, genealogical tables, memorandums, newspaper clippings, notes, petitions, photos, proceedings, reports, speeches, subject files, and writings. The subject files include the Alaska Airlines Flight 1866 crash, Uniform Air Crash Legislation Committee, Warsaw Convention, Rank v. Krug, Pan Am Flight 806, Turkish Airlines Flight 981, and Zaibatsu. Oversize items are organized by genre. They include audiocassettes, law notes, legal opinions, newspapers, photos, posters, reports, and scrapbooks. The audiocassettes contain recordings of Judge Hall's oral history on Mines Field. The scrapbooks consist of a large amount of newspaper clippings concerning Judge Hall's early political career. Hall's books are arranged by authors' last names.

Biographical / historical:

Peirson Mitchell Hall was an American judge based in Los Angeles, California. He was born on July 31, 1894, in Armour, South Dakota. Before moving to Los Angeles in 1912, Hall and his mother lived in various places in Nebraska. To pursue a career in law, Hall enrolled in the University of Southern California night Law School and was admitted to the California Bar in 1916. He was in private practice from 1916 to 1924. In 1925 Hall was elected to the Los Angeles City Council and served until 1929. During his tenure in the City Council Hall served as chairman of the Water and Power Committee, a body that eventually formed the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California in 1928. Councilman Hall also was instrumental in the city's acquisition of Mines Field, the site of the future Los Angeles International Airport. In 1929, Hall ran unsuccessfully for Los Angeles City Attorney. In 1933 President Roosevelt appointed Hall as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, in recognition of his services to the Democratic Party. As a U.S. Attorney, Hall was considered one of the top federal prosecutors in the country for his efficiency in handling cases. In 1937 Hall was denied reappointment as U.S. Attorney, an unpopular act largely influenced by U.S. Senator William G. McAdoo, of California. In the following year Hall prepared to challenge McAdoo for the Senate seat but instead withdrew to join Sheridan Downey's Senate campaign in exchange for a promised federal judgeship. In 1939 Hall was appointed by California Governor Culbert Olson to the Superior Court, a judgeship he held until 1942. During his tenure on the Superior Court Hall also served as Head of the Selective Service System in Southern California. In 1942 Hall was appointed and assumed the office of U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of California. He served as Chief Judge from 1959-1964. He was reassigned to Central District in 1966 and assumed senior status in 1968, a post he retained until his death in 1979. Hall was known in the legal community for his expertise in law concerning water rights, patents, and especially aviation, an area in which he heard many lawsuits concerning air disasters and their multi-jurisdictional intricacies. In addition, Hall was chairman of the Uniform Air Crash Legislation Committee of the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference in the late 1970s. Hall was also a member of the U.S. Reparations Mission to Japan following World War II. He has two daughters from his third marriage to Gertrude Mary Hall.

Acquisition information:

Gift of Suzanne Christian on November 1994.

Arrangement:

Organized into three series: 1) Correspondence, manuscripts, and ephemera; 2) Oversized items; 3) Books.

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Aeronautics -- Law and legislation -- United States
Aircraft accidents -- Alaska
Aircraft accidents -- American Samoa
Aircraft accidents -- France.
Airplanes, Military -- Accidents -- United States
Airspace (Law)--United States
Business and politics --Japan.
Business tax
California -- History -- 20th Century -- Sources
Chain stores -- United States
Compensation (Law)--United States
Conflict of laws -- Liability for aircraft accidents -- United States
Court decisions and opinions.
Dams -- California -- Saint Francis Dam -- 1920-1930.
Groundwater -- California -- San Joaquin Valley.
Hotels -- Nevada -- Las Vegas
Industrial concentration -- Japan.
Japan --Economic conditions --1918-1945.
Judges -- California -- Archives
Judges -- Selection and appointment -- United States
Judges -- United States -- Archives
Legal opinions -- United States
Liability for aircraft accidents -- United States
Los Angeles International Airport -- History
Naturalization -- United States
Pan American Flight 806 Crash, American Samoa, 1974
Patents -- United States
Postwar reconstruction -- Japan.
San Joaquin River (Calif.) -- Water rights.
Trial practice --United States
Trusts, Industrial --Japan.
Warsaw Convention (1929)
Water rights -- California -- San Joaquin Valley.
World War, 1939-1945 --Reparations.
Letters (correspondence)--United States
Personal papers -- United States -- 20th century
Professional papers -- United States -- 20th century

Names:

Alaska Airlines
California. District Courts of Appeal
California. Superior Courts
Civil Works Administration of California
Federal Judicial Center
Haskins and Sells
Library of Congress
Lockheed Aircraft Corporation
Los Angeles International Airport
Loyola Law School (Loyola Marymount University)
Mississippi Law Institute
Saturday Evening Post
Turkish Airlines
United Air Lines, inc.
United States. Agricultural Adjustment Act 1933
United States. Attorney (California : Southern District)
United States. Civil Aeronautics Board
United States. Constitution. 1st-10th Amendments
United States. Court of Appeals (9th Circuit)
United States. Court of Appeals (9th Circuit). Uniform Air Crash Legislation Committee
United States. Dept. of Justice
United States. Dept. of State
United States. Dept. of the Treasury
United States. District Court (California : Central District)
United States. District Court (California : Southern District)
United States. Federal Aviation Administration
United States. Federal Civil Works Administration
United States. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation
United States. Selective Service System
West Publishing Company
William Morris Agency
Becker, William H. (William Henry), 1909-1992
Bennett, James V. (James Van Benschoten), 1894-1978
Black, Hugo LaFayette, 1886-1971
Boldt, George H. (George Hugo), 1903-1984
Browning, James R.
Burdick, Quentin N. (Quentin Northrup), 1908-1992
Carusi, Ugo, 1902-
Cathcart, Daniel C.
Chambers, Richard H.
Clark, Tom C. (Tom Campbell), 1899-1977
Clary, Thomas J.
Cole, James L., 1916-1978
Corman, James C. (James Charles), 1920-2000
Cox, W. Harold (William Harold), b. 1901
Cummings, Homer S. (Homer Stille é), 1870-1956
Danielson, George E.
Dirksen, Everett McKinley
Downey, Sheridan, 1884-1961
Doyle, Clyde Gilman, 1887-1963
Eden, Anthony, Earl of Avon, 1897-1977
Elliott, Shelden D. (Shelden Douglass), 1906-
Engle, Clair, 1911-1964
Farrell, George E., 1917-
Friedman, Paul D.
Goldie, L. F. E. (Louis F. E.)
Harrison, Benjamin, 1833-1901
Hauk, A. Andrew, 1912-2004
Hidalgo, Edward, 1912-1995
Hiestand, Edgar W.
Hillings, Patrick J., 1923-
Holifield, Chet, 1903-
Horn, Stephen, 1931-
Holtzoff, Alexander, 1886-1969
Hull, Cordell, 1871-1955
Ingebretsen, James C., 1906-
Jann, Edmund C.
Jones, Marvin, 1886-1976
Kennelly, John J., 1915-
Knight, Goodwin, 1896-1970
Kintner, Earl W.
Kreindler, Lee S.
Latham, Dana
Lavine, Richard Allen, 1917-
Lipscomb, Glenard Paul, 1915-1970
Long, Edward V., 1908-
Longsdorf, George Foster
Margolis, Ben
McAllister, William M.
McDermott, John T.
McDonough, Gordon L.
Mosk, Stanley, 1912-2001
Mulholland, William, 1855-1935
Murrah, Alfred P. (Alfred Paul), 1904-1975
Neblett, William Haynie, b. 1889
Nilsson, George W., 1890-
Pauley, Edwin W. (Edwin Wendell), 1903-
Perl, Raphael
Phillips, John J., 1887-1983
Pine, David A.
Poulson, Norris, 1895-1982
Powers, Harold J.
Rifkind, Simon H. (Simon Hirsch), 1901-1995
Roos, Bö
Ryan, Sylvester J.
Shafroth, Will, b. 1894
Sheppard, Harry Richard, 1885-1969
Smith, H. Allen (Harry Allen), 1907-1976
Speiser, Stuart M.
Stephens, Albert Lee, Jr.
Swinford, Mac
Tompkins, George N.
Trautman, Donald Theodore
Tydings, Joseph D. (Joseph Davies), 1928-
Whitney, Courtney
Winters, Glenn R.
Wright, Charles Alan
Wright, Lloyd, 1890-1978
Zirpoli, Alfonso J.

Places:

California -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
Los Angeles (Calif.)

Restrictions:

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Peirson M. Hall Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:

Huntington Library, Manuscript Collections

1151 Oxford Road

San Marino, CA 91108, US

Contact:

(626) 405-2191

reference@huntington.org

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