Frank G. Finlayson

Frank Graham Finlayson (March 24, 1864 – February 9, 1947) served in the California legislature.[1] He also served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of California for a few months in 1926.

Frank Graham Finlayson
Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court
In office
October 4, 1926 – December 11, 1926
Appointed byGovernor Friend Richardson
Preceded byThomas J. Lennon
Succeeded byJohn W. Preston
Presiding Judge of the California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division Two
In office
January 1, 1919 – October 3, 1926
Appointed byGovernor William Stephens
Preceded byNew seat
Succeeded byLewis R. Works
Personal details
Born(1864-03-24)March 24, 1864
Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
DiedFebruary 9, 1947(1947-02-09) (aged 82)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocrat
Spouse(s)
Agnes Henderson
​
​
(m. 1895; death 1936)​

Grace Davenport McConahy Reiniger
​
​
(m. 1939)​
Alma materUniversity of California, Hastings College of the Law (LLB)

Early life and education

Finlayson was born March 24, 1864, in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia to James Ross Finlayson and Elizabeth Goodsir.[2][3] In 1867, his family emigrated to California and he attended public schools. In 1885, he received a LL.B. degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.[2][4][5] He joined the California bar the same year.[6]

Following graduation, he engaged for two years in private practice in San Francisco with the firm of Ladd & Finlayson. He then moved to Los Angeles and formed the firm with his father of Finlayson & Finlayson.[7][8][9] In November 1892, he was elected on the Democratic Party ticket to the California State Assembly from the 73rd district for a term beginning January 1893.[10][11] In January 1894, he published a treatise on the law of street improvements.[12] In 1895, he was appointed an Assistant United States District Attorney for the Southern District of California, a post his father also held.[13][14][8]

In 1910, he ran successfully for the position of judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, which he held from January 2, 1911 to January 1, 1919, and was presiding judge from May 1, 1917.[15][16][17] In February 1918, during World War I, Finlayson issued a permanent injunction against striking workers of the Southern California Iron and Steel Company.[6] In June 1915, Finlayson was assigned to try to the artesian water case of City of San Bernardino v. City of Riverside.[18][19][20]

In December 1918, Governor William Stephens appointed Finlayson as presiding judge of the newly created California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division Two, for a term starting January 1, 1919.[21][22] By a drawing of lots with the other two justices appointed to the court, Finlayson was assigned the long, 12-year term.[23] In November 1904, the voters had approved a constitutional amendment creating the Court of Appeals, with the Second District located in Los Angeles.[22] Due to its busy docket, the Second District was expanded in 1919.[22]

In October 1926, Governor Friend Richardson appointed Finlayson as Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court to fulfill the remainder of the term of Thomas J. Lennon, who died in office.[24] In the October 1926 election, Finlayson ran for the remainder of the short term, ending January 5, 1931, but he lost to John W. Preston.[25][26]

After stepping down from the bench on December 11, 1926, he re-entered private practice in the firm of Finlayson, Bennett and Morrow.[27] He served on the State Bar of California Board of Governors from 1937 to 1940.[28] He died February 9, 1947, in Los Angeles.[29][30]

Personal life

On July 10, 1895, Finlayson married Agnes Thayer Henderson (June 29, 1867 – October 4, 1936), a widow, in Los Angeles.[9] They had one daughter, Beatrice Finlayson (July 28, 1896 – November 10, 1979).[31] Following the death of his first wife, on April 22, 1939, he remarried to Grace Davenport McConahy Reiniger (June 17, 1885 – October 27, 1961), also a widow.[6]

References
  1. Vassar, Alexander C. (2011). Legislators of California (PDF). Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  2. "Sudden Death of a Well Known Citizen, Hon. James R. Finlayson, Former Asst. U. S. District Attorney, Is Dead". Los Angeles Herald (75). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 15 December 1904. p. 7. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  3. "Deaths-Finlayson". Los Angeles Herald. 26 (66). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 5 December 1896. p. 10. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  4. "More Lawyers, Fifth Annual Commencement of the Hastings Law School". Daily Alta California. 38 (12826). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 26 May 1885. p. 1. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  5. "Hastings Community". Hastings Alumni Publications. San Francisco, CA: Hastings College of the Law Alumni Association. 81: 23. Fall 1992. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  6. Perry, Louis B.; Perry, Richard S. (1963). A History of the Los Angeles Labor Movement, 1911-1941. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. p. 133.
  7. "Lawyers of Los Angeles". San Francisco Call. 78 (10). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 10 June 1895. p. 2. Retrieved July 17, 2017. The firm of Finlayson & Finlayson is another San Francisco firm that has made a success in Los Angeles. Frank G. Finlayson, the junior member of the firm, is a graduate of Berkeley, and also took one term in the Legislature.
  8. Grace, Roger M. (October 18, 2007). "Column: M & M, Wells Fargo Spar Over One-Cent Stamp Tax". Metropolitan News-Enterprise. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  9. "Finlayson-Henderson Wedding". Los Angeles Herald. 44 (91). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 11 July 1895. p. 6. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  10. "The Democratic Avalanche". Los Angeles Herald. 39 (30). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 10 November 1892. p. 4. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  11. "Notes". Los Angeles Herald. 41 (91). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 20 January 1894. Retrieved July 17, 2017. Frank G. Finlayson, ex-assemblyman, will speak before the Y.M.C.A. tonight.
  12. "Street Laws Annotated". Los Angeles Herald. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 21 January 1894. p. 9. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  13. "Assistant District Attorney". San Francisco Call. 78 (91). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 30 August 1895. p. 2. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  14. "Assistant U.S. District Attorney". Sacramento Daily Union. 90 (9). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 31 August 1895. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  15. "Non-Partisan Judiciary Ticket". Los Angeles Herald. 33 (35). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 5 November 1910. p. 11. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  16. "Two Judges Take Oath of Office, Frank G. Finlayson and Gavin Craig Are Sworn in for Places on Bench". Los Angeles Herald. 33 (91). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 31 December 1910. p. 6. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  17. "Finlayson at Head of Superior Judges". Los Angeles Herald (155). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 1 May 1917. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  18. "Six Weeks May Not Finish the Suit". San Bernardino Sun. 42 (87). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 10 June 1915. p. 7. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  19. "Problem of Determining Safe Yield of Artesian Basin Proved Important Factor in Water Trial". San Bernardino Sun. 1 (55). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 2 May 1948. p. 20. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  20. City of San Bernardino v. Riverside, 186 Cal. 7 (Cal. 1921).
  21. "Needham Successor to Judge Langdon". Madera Weekly Tribune (41). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 19 December 1918. p. 4. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  22. "California Courts of Appeal, Division Two of the Second Appellate District, And Its Judges". The Grizzly Bear, Volumes 26-27: 25. April 1920. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  23. "Justice Finlayson Draws Long Term". Los Angeles Herald (51). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 30 December 1920. p. B13. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  24. Johnson, J. Edward (1966). History of Supreme Court, Vol 2, Justices, 1900-1950 (PDF). San Francisco, CA: Bancroft-Whitney Co. p. 117. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 25, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  25. Uelmen, Gerald F. (1988). "California Judicial Retention Elections". Santa Clara Law Review. 28 (2): 333–377, 335.
  26. "Supervisors Proceedings". Madera Tribune (14). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 17 November 1926. p. 2. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  27. "Village Legal Office Part of L. A. Merger". Desert Sun (99). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 9 July 1948. p. 1. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  28. "Tri-County Bar to Honor Jurists at Dinner Friday". San Bernardino Sun (44). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 16 December 1937. p. 5. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  29. "LA. Attorney Dies". San Bernardino Sun (53). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 10 February 1947. p. 2. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
  30. "Judge Finlayson, Noted Jurist Dies". San Bernardino Sun (53). 11 February 1947. p. 11. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
  31. Levy, Juan Neal (22 December 1915). "Happenings of the Day in Los Angeles Society". Los Angeles Herald (44). California Digital Newspaper Collection. p. 14. Retrieved July 17, 2017.

See also
Legal offices
Preceded by
Thomas J. Lennon		 Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court
October 4, 1926 – December 11, 1926		 Succeeded by
John W. Preston
Preceded by
New seat		 Presiding Judge of the California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division Two
1918 – 1926		 Succeeded by
Lewis R. Works
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