Jess E. Stephens

Jess E. Stephens (1882–1953) was a Los Angeles, California, city attorney who was noted for his legal work on behalf of an important traffic tunnel project in that city and for a union railroad station there, as well as his handling of claims against the city after the collapse of the Saint Francis Dam. He later became a judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Stephens

Personal

Stephens was born May 4, 1882, in State Line, Indiana, the son of Edwin Elias Stephens and Arminda Jane Rice, both of Ohio. He had a brother, Albert Lee Stephens, and four sisters, Edith (later Downs), Elsie (later Musselman), Amy (later Nelson) and Minnie (later Sims). The family moved to Compton, California, when Jess was 2, and he attended school there. In February 1900 he was graduated from Los Angeles High School, and then he studied law with a firm of attorneys and at Stanford University.[1][2][3][4]

He was married to Alice Bernice Cherry of Iowa and Illinois in the Pico Heights Congregational Church on September 1 or 18, 1907, and they had a son, Harrison Lee, and a daughter, Barbara (Mrs. Philip Manning).[1][5][6]

He was a member of the Elks, the Masons, the Shriners and the Whitley Park Country Club.[1] In 1930 he was president of the City Club.[7]

Stephens died at age 71 on December 2, 1953, in his home at 1416 N. Hayvenhurst Drive, West Hollywood.[8] A Protestant, he was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale.[1][2]

Vocation

Stephens was admitted to the bar in 1904 after undergoing the last oral examination ever conducted by the California Supreme Court.[1]

For two years he was associated with his brother, Albert Lee Stephens, as a vice president of the California Title Insurance Company, then known as the Title, Abstract & Trust Company.[1]

In 1909 he was appointed deputy city attorney by City Attorney Leslie R. Hewitt and served until 1913, when he entered private practice for two years. He returned to the city service in 1915 and was promoted to assistant city attorney in 1918 under his brother, Albert Lee, who was then the city attorney. In January 1921 the City Council appointed him as the city attorney to fill the unexpired term of Charles S. Burnell, who had been appointed a judge. He was elected to his own term in July 1921, and he served for eight years thereafter. In none of the elections did he face any opposition.[1][2][9][10][11]

As city attorney, he was notable for:

• His work as counsel in the Second Street Tunnel litigation in the 1920s,[2] winning a decision from the United States Supreme Court favoring the project's legality. He argued the case himself in front of the court.[12]
• His handling of claims arising from the collapse of the Saint Francis Dam in 1928. He obtained settlements from all the claimants but one, and the city won the single suit that was filed.[2]
• The success of a movement compelling railroads serving Los Angeles to build a Union Station in the area of the Plaza.[2][12]

In 1929 he opened his own law practice with L.P. Green, specializing in municipal and corporation law[1] One of his clients was Oscar T. Conklin, a Ventura, California, newspaper publisher, who was challenging the legality of a new city charter that had been adopted by voters in that city.[13][14]

In December 1937 he was appointed by Governor Frank Merriam to the Los Angeles Superior Court, along with Clement Nye and Benjamin Scheinman.[15] He served in the Appellate Division with Judges Hartley Shaw and Edward T. Bishop. Stephens retired from the court in October 1953, at the age of 69, saying that ill health prevented him from serving longer.[16]

References and notes

1. Clare Wallace, Los Angeles Public Library reference file, with sources as listed there
2. "Jess E. Stephens, Retired Judge, Dies," Los Angeles Times, December 3, 1953, page 5
3. "High School Graduates," Los Angeles Herald, February 9, 1900
4. "Mrs. Nelson, Sister of Two Judges, Dies," Los Angeles Times, December 3, 1951, page A-7
5. "Society: To Wed This Evening," Los Angeles Herald, September 18, 1907
6. "Engagement Revealed at Tea," Los Angeles Times, August 15, 1933, page A-5
7. "City Club Cheers at Tax Ruling," Los Angeles Times, March 6, 1930, page A-5
8. Location of the Stephens residence as seen on Mapping L.A.
9. Chronological Record of Los Angeles City Officials 1850–1938, Municipal Reference Library, March 1938, reprinted 1946
10. "Promoted, Announces Candidacy," Los Angeles Times, November 19, 1920, page II-1
11. "Stephens Honored in Campaign," Los Angeles Times, May 3,1925, page A=7
12. "City Attorney's Office Handles Much Routine," Los Angeles Times, February 10, 1925, page A-6
13. "Ventura's Candidates File Names," Los Angeles Times, March 21, 1931, page 6
14. "News of Southern Counties: Charter Move Loses Round," Los Angeles Times, April 28, 1931, page A-10
15. "Three Named to Superior Court Bench," Los Angeles Times, December 23, 1937
16. "Superior Judge Stephens Retires," Los Angeles Times, October 10, 1953, page A-1

Further reading

• An encomium from the Fillmore American newspaper praising the work of "Jess E. Stephens—Lawyer—Man" in handling the demands of the survivors of the Saint Francis Dam disaster

Second Street Tunnel litigation

• "Calls Tunnel Suit Sinister: Public Works Chief Demands to Know Who Backs It; Second-Street Bore Attack Is Hit by Citizens, Improvement Thwarters Are Blamed for New Action," Los Angeles Times, January 21, 1921, page II-12
• "Will Tell City Stand on Tunnel," Los Angeles Times, February 10, 1924, page E-15
• "City Wins Suit on Legality of Tunnel Plans," Los Angeles Times, February 22, 1924, page A-10
• "One Tunnel Case Fails at Capital," Los Angeles Times, February 26, 1924, page A-5

Union Terminal litigation

• "Final Fight Under Way: Union Terminal Case Argued Before Supreme Court Narrowed to Authority of Interstate Body; Resumption of Proceedings Scheduled for Today in Washington," Los Angeles Times, October 29, 1929, page 1
• "Union Station Decision Near: Stephens Thinks Court May Rule Before Christmas; City's Special Attorney Home After Final Argument; Werner Expresses Hope for Favorable Action," Los Angeles Times, November 6, 1929, page A-1
• "Depot Fight End Seen: Counsel of City Pleased; Werner Says Final Outcome Settled Unless Carriers Try to Obstruct; Railway Lawyers Silent on Supreme Court Upholding Contested Order," Los Angeles Times, May 19, 1931, page 1

Preceded by Charles S. Burnell	Los Angeles City Attorney Jess E. Stephens 1921–29	Succeeded by Erwin P. Warner