Consists of some biographical material, including manuscript drafts of an autobiography; case files, including files on Tom Mooney, Caryl Chessman, and James Bakker, among others; some speeches and writings; subject files; clippings, including scrapbooks of clippings relating to Davis' cases; and photographs, including photos relating to the Tom Mooney and Caryl Chessman cases.

George T. Davis was a criminal defense attorney based in San Francisco. He was known for his larger-than-life trial persona and his high-profile cases, many of which involved the death penalty. Davis graduated from law school at UC Berkeley in 1931 and served as assistant San Francisco district attorney for more than a decade. He ran for Attorney General of the state of California in 1942. He spent most of his career as a criminal defense attorney. His first major case was that of Tom Mooney, the labor organizer convicted for the 1916 Preparedness Day bombing in San Francisco. In 1935, Davis managed to secure a new trial for Mooney and, in 1939, Mooney was pardoned by Governor Culbert Olson. The Mooney case was an international sensation and established Davis’ reputation as a criminal defense attorney. During the 1950s, Davis spent five years working on the death penalty appeal of Caryl Chessman and, in 1989, Davis represented televangelist Jim Bakker in a high-profile fraud and conspiracy case. Davis was also active in Democratic Party politics and ran the Northern California campaigns of Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman.

10 linear feet (4 cartons, 7 volumes, 2 boxes, 2 oversize boxes, 1 oversize folder)

Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). Copyright for material created by Alan Copeland has been assigned to the University of California Regents, managed by The Bancroft Library. In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted to The Bancroft Library. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html

Collection is open for research, with the exception of Box 1, which is restricted until 2064 because of attorney-client privilege.