Dorothy Wright Nelson

Born in San Pedro, California,[1] Wright received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1950, a Juris Doctor from UCLA School of Law in 1953, and a Master of Laws from the USC Gould School of Law in 1956. She was a research associate fellow at the Gould School of Law from 1953 to 1956. She was in private practice in Los Angeles, California from 1954 to 1957. She was a member of the faculty of the Gould School of Law from 1957 to 1980. She was an instructor from 1957 to 1958. She was an assistant professor from 1958 to 1961. She was an associate professor from 1961 to 1967. She was an associate dean from 1965 to 1967. She was an interim dean from 1967 to 1969 and because of her achievement she was named Woman of the Year by Time magazine.[2] She was a professor from 1967 to 1980. She was a dean from 1969 to 1980. She was an adjunct professor of law at the Gould School of Law starting 1980.[3]

Nelson was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on September 28, 1979, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, to a new seat created by 92 Stat. 1629. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 19, 1979, and received her commission on December 20, 1979. She assumed senior status on January 1, 1995.[3] She published an article in the Southern California Law Review.[4] She is the author of a book, Judicial Administration and the Administration of Justice, published by West Lawbook.

In 1950, Wright married James F. Nelson (1927–2011), a longtime Los Angeles Municipal Court judge.[6] The couple had two children.[6]

She is an active member of the Baháʼí Faith and served in the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of United States for many years. She became a Baháʼí following the suggestion to explore the religion from Donald Barrett in 1954 along with about 70 others across a decade.[7][8] Barrett would go on to serve at the Baháʼí World Center in 1979.[9] In 1989, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degree from Whittier College.[10]

• Dorothy Wright Nelson at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Nelson, Dorothy W. (April 18, 1985). "Justice – A Universal Responsibility". The Sixteenth Donahue Lecture. Suffolk University Law Review.org. Archived from the original on January 20, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
• Gordon Moris Bakken; Brenda Farrington (June 26, 2003). Encyclopedia of Women in the American West. SAGE Publications. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-7619-2356-5.
• Dorothy Wright Nelson (October 12, 2007). An interview with the Honorable Dorothy Nelson, Judge, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (Video). H. Dale Hilton Living History Project of the Emerti Center at the University of Southern California. USC on YouTube.
• Dorothy Wright Nelson (October 21, 2007). Dorothy Nelson Oral History Interview (Television). Women Trailblazers in the Law collection of the American Bar Association. C-Span.org.
• "Dorothy Wright Nelson '50, J.D. '53". 2012 Edward A. Dickson Alumnus of the Year Award. UCLA Alumni. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
• Kloppenberg, Lisa A. (2009). "CLEPR Anniversary Remarks Regarding Judge Dorothy Wright Nelson". Clinical L. Rev. Santa Clara, California: Santa Clara Law Digital Commons. 16: 29–31. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
• Dorothy Wright Nelson (April 27, 2010). Judge Dorothy Nelson Introducing the Baha'i Faith (video). Arcadia, California: Keyvan Geula.
• "James Nelson was a voice for a spiritual approach to justice". Obituary. National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of the United States. March 10, 2011. Archived from the original on June 30, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2014.