Clarence Kincaid; Retired Judge

A funeral service will be held Saturday for retired Superior Court Judge Clarence L. Kincaid, who spent 32 years on the bench in Los Angeles.

Kincaid, who presided over some of the most notable trials in the city’s history, was 92 when he died Sunday.

A graduate of Hollywood High School, USC and the USC School of Law, Kincaid was admitted to the Bar in 1921 and appointed to the Municipal Court 10 years later. In 1934, he was elevated to the Superior Court and reelected many times until he retired in January, 1963.

During his tenure he heard several of the cases which culminated in the election of reform governments in Los Angeles in the late 1930s and early ‘40s. Included were charges of malfeasance and fraud in City Hall and the district attorney’s office, irregularities in Civil Service examinations and liquor license bribes and shakedowns.

As presiding officer of the Criminal Division of the Superior Court in 1937 he directed the grand jury investigation of many of the politicians involved in the ongoing scandals.

He also was the presiding judge at the 1945 paternity trial of Charles Chaplin where the late comedian was adjudged the father of a daughter born to actress Joan Berry.

After his retirement, Kincaid continued for several years to fill in at Southland courts for vacationing or otherwise absent judges.

His funeral service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at Hollywood Memorial Cemetery.

A widower, he is survived by two cousins. Donations in his name are asked to the USC Law Center.