Donald Wright

Who was Donald Wright?

Donald Richard Wright was the 24th Chief Justice of California.

Born in Placentia, California, Wright earned his Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University in 1929 and his Bachelor of Laws from Harvard Law School in 1932. Admitted to the California State Bar in 1933, he worked in private practice at the law firm of Barrick, Poole & Knox in Pasadena, California until 1953, except for 1942–1946 when he served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.

In 1953, Governor Earl Warren appointed Wright to the Los Angeles Municipal Court, where he served until 1961 after being elected to the Los Angeles Superior Court. Wright left the Superior Court in 1968 when Governor Ronald Reagan appointed him as an Associate Justice of California Second District Court of Appeal, Division Two. In 1970, Reagan appointed Wright as the 24th Chief Justice of California, where he served until his retirement in 1977.