Wakefield Taylor, 93; Judge on California Court of Appeal
Wakefield Taylor, 93, a longtime member of the California Court of Appeal, died April 6 at his home in the Bay Area city of Martinez.
Born in Ukiah, Calif., Taylor graduated from UC Berkeley and earned his law degree there.
He was a lieutenant in the Navy during World War II.
After the war, he was in private practice in San Francisco. He served as city attorney in Antioch and deputy district attorney for Contra Costa County.
Gov. Earl Warren appointed him to the Superior Court in 1951, and he was elevated to the state Court of Appeal by Gov. Pat Brown in 1963.
Seven years later, he was appointed presiding judge by Gov. Ronald Reagan.
Taylor served on assignment several times to the state Supreme Court.
He was founding chairman of the Center for Judicial Education and Research and served on the state Judicial Council.
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