Collection Guide
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Manuel (Wiley W.) papers
MSS.1102
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
CJCL Special Collections and Archives
Title: Wiley W. Manuel Papers
Creator:
Manuel, Wiley W. (Wiley William), 1927-1981
Identifier/Call Number: MSS.1102
Physical Description:
13.12 Cubic feet
(3 record storage cartons, 4 legal document boxes, 8 flat storage boxes, 1 judicial robe)
Date (inclusive): 1939-2010
Abstract: Personal and professional papers of Wiley W. Manuel, Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court from 1977 to 1981.
Materials date from 1939 through 2010.
Language of Material: Collection materials are in English.
Collection is open for research upon approval of written request. Requests should be submitted to: California Judicial Center
Library, Special Collections and Archives, 455 Golden Gate Avenue, Room 4617, San Francisco, CA, 94102-7013, or by e-mail
to archives@jud.ca.gov. All researchers must sign the California Judicial Center Library Special Collections Access Agreement
form. This agreement can be sent electronically by request. Records in the collection may contain confidential information,
as defined in the Access Agreement. Publication or disclosure of such information is strictly prohibited.
Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection, created by Wiley W. Manuel, was not
transferred to the California Judicial Center Library. Permission for reproduction or publication of materials in this collection
beyond that allowed by fair use must be secured from the copyright holder.
[Identification of item], Wiley W. Manuel Papers, MSS 1102, California Judicial Center Library.
The collection was transferred to the California Judicial Center Library by Alameda County Commissioner Charles Smiley in
2011.
Born on August 28, 1927, in Oakland, California, Justice Wiley William Manuel was the first African American appointed to
the California Supreme Court. He received his early education in Berkeley, California, and served in the U.S. Army from February
1946 to May 1947. In 1951 he graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a bachelor's degree in economics.
In 1953 he graduated from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where he served as editor-in-chief of
the Hastings Law Journal. Following graduation, he served for twenty-three years with the California Department of Justice
as a deputy attorney general, assistant attorney general, and chief assistant attorney general in the San Francisco Office.
Justice Manuel was appointed to the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, in 1976. In February 1977 he was appointed
to the California Supreme Court by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. and was elected by the voters to a twelve-year term in November
1978. His death from cancer came in January 1981.
To honor his life of dedication to public service, hard work, and equal justice for all, African American lawyers in Sacramento
County renamed their association the Wiley W. Manuel Bar Association. The Wiley W. Manuel Law Foundation, established in 1982,
provides scholarships and career motivation for students in Northern California interested in pursuing a legal career. The
Wiley W. Manuel Certificate, established in 1989 by the State Bar of California, is awarded to lawyers, law students, paralegals,
and secretaries who volunteer their time and expertise on behalf of low-income clients.
The Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland is headquarters for Departments 101-115 of the Superior Court in Alameda County.
The Wiley W. Manuel papers consist of materials documenting the personal, academic, and professional life of the California
Supreme Court's first African American justice. Materials date from 1939 through 2010. Awards, certificates, citations, memorials
and resolutions honoring Justice Manuel comprise the bulk of the collection. His accomplishments and life of service are also
reflected in writings by family members. The collection contains diplomas and other materials documenting his academic history,
including a series of lecture notes, briefs, and summaries he created while he was a student at the University of California,
Hastings College of the Law. A smaller portion of the collection consists of photographs, correspondence, notes and other
materials produced during his tenure in the Office of the California Attorney General (1953-1976) and his service on the California
Supreme Court (1977-1981). Justice Manuel's robe and gavel are among the non-textual materials included in the collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
African American judges -- California
California. Supreme Court.