Louis Wescott Myers


Louis Wescott Myers was the 20th Chief Justice of California.

Education and judicial career

Myers was born in Lake Mills, Wisconsin, to Jesse Hall Myers and Elizabeth Louise Wescott. Myers was educated in the public schools, and earned a bachelor's and a law degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was Phi Beta Kappa. He practiced law first in Madison, Wisconsin, with the firm of Spooner, Sanborn & Kerr, and afterwards for several years in Chicago, Illinois with Jesse A. and Henry R. Baldwin. In 1898, he moved to Los Angeles, California and maintained a law firm. In 1913, he was appointed to a vacancy on the Los Angeles County Superior Court. He was elected in 1914 and re-elected in 1920.
On January 15, 1923, Governor William Stephens appointed Myers as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California to fill a vacancy when Curtis D. Wilbur was named chief justice. In April 1924, Governor Friend Richardson named Myers as Chief Justice to again replace Wilbur, who became the Secretary of the Navy. In October 1924, Myers ran unopposed and was elected for the remainder of Curtis' term, until January 1927. Myers served in that post until resigning as of January 1, 1926.

O'Melveny & Myers

Following his tenure as Chief Justice, Myers joined a Los Angeles law firm run by Henry W. O'Melveny. Myers's name was added to the firm, which by 1939 became known as O'Melveny & Myers. He specialized in appellate practice. In 1938, Myers argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Mackay Radio the case of NLRB v. Mackay Radio & Telegraph Co., 304 U.S. 333.

Honors and awards

In 1925, Myers received an honorary degree of LL.D. from the University of Southern California. In 1926, he was awarded another honorary degree by the University of California.

Personal life

On November 27, 1901, he married Blanche Brown of Michigan; they had at least two children: Elizabeth Myers and test pilot John Wescott Myers. Louis was an avid fisherman, and in 1951 published a short book, ''An Incompleat Angler.''