Irving Hill Papers, 1930-1998, bulk 1960-1998

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Summary

Creators:
Hill, Irving, 1915-1998.
Abstract:
This collection contains the personal and professional papers of Judge Irving Hill (1915-1998), who served as a United States District Judge in California, chiefly dating from 1960 to 1998. The vast majority of the professional papers originated from Hill's tenure as a U.S. District Court judge.
Extent:
16,617 pieces in 58 boxes and 1 oversize folder
Language:
English.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains the personal and professional papers of Judge Irving Hill (1915-1998), chiefly dating from 1960 to 1998. The collection contains correspondence, manuscripts, ephemera, committee files, legal case files and trial notes, and color slides.

The Correspondence, Manuscripts, and Ephemera Series contains Irving Hill’s personal and professional papers, including correspondence, dockets, court instructions and orders, newspaper clippings, photos, and speeches. The vast majority of the professional papers originated from Hill’s tenure as a U.S. District Court judge. This series is arranged alphabetically by genre.

The Committees Series includes papers related to Hill’s involvement in various committees of the U.S. District Court and civic organizations. This series is organized alphabetically by committee names.

Legal Cases and Trial Notes make up the entirety of the third series. Legal case files are subject files of U.S. District Court cases presided by Judge Hill. The legal case files are organized alphabetically by name. Trial notes are handwritten notes kept by Judge Hill in his courtroom. Most of the trial notes are individually labeled with the case name and the date of the trial. Trial notes are organized by date, per original order.

The Color Slides Series documents Irving and Maydee Hill’s personal travel narratives. As avid photographers and travelers, the Hills have traveled to Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and South America. They have also traveled extensively throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. This series is arranged alphabetically and chronologically.

The Oversize Series contains items that need special housing. They include card files, certificates, large photos, commemorative plaques and gavel, and resolutions.

Biographical / historical:

Irving Hill (February 6, 1915-March 18, 1998) was a United States federal judge based in Los Angeles, California. Hill was born on February 6, 1915 in Lincoln, Nebraska, eight years after his parents had immigrated to the U.S. from Russia in 1907. After his graduation from Lincoln High School in 1932, Hill spent the next four years (1932-36) at the University of Nebraska. In his senior year Hill was named the state’s sole nominee for the Rhodes Scholarship. In 1936 Hill entered Harvard Law School and graduated cum laude in 1939. He was an editor of the Harvard Law Review and president of his graduating class. Hill married his college sweetheart Maydee Taylor in 1939.

From 1939 to 1944, Hill worked for the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., including assignments in the Anti-Trust (1939-40) and the Criminal (1942-44) division. From 1940-1942, Hill was on the legal staff of the Bonneville Power Administration, U.S. Department of the Interior, at Portland, Oregon. In 1944, Hill volunteered for combat service as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy. He was assigned to sea duty in the Armed Guard Branch of the Navy which placed Navy personnel aboard merchant chips to operate their guns and communication equipments.

Following his U.S. Navy duties, Hill returned in 1946 to the Justice Department in the Office of the Assistant Solicitor General. He retired from the Justice Department in the Fall of 1946, moved to California, and became associated with the firm Pacht, Warne, Ross and Bernhard. In 1947 Hill and his partners formed their own legal firm, originally named Hill, Jones, and Attias and later renamed Hill, Greenberg and Glusker. In 1961 Hill was appointed to the California Superior Court by Governor Pat Brown. He was appointed in 1965 by California Chief Justice Roger Traynor to the Appellate Department of the Superior Court. In late 1965, Hill received from President Lyndon Johnson an appointment to be a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of California. He was reassigned to the newly-authorized U.S. District Court, Central District of California in 1966. From 1979-1981 Hill served as Chief Judge for the Central District Court. He achieved senior status in 1980 but chose to remain on the bench.

Hill died in his chamber on May 18, 1998. Irving and Maydee Hill had three sons: Lawrence, Steven, and Richard.

Acquisition information:
Gift of the Hill 1982 Trust, April 26, 2002.
Arrangement:

The Irving Hill papers are organized into five series:

  • 1) Correspondence, Manuscripts, and Ephemera
  • 2) Committees
  • 3) Legal cases and Trial Notes
  • 4) Color Slides
  • 5) Oversize

Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Box 27 contains miscellaneous documents that are sealed due to the personal nature of information present in the documents.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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