Wiley Manuel

Manuel was born in Oakland, California, grew up near Ward and Dohr Streets in South Berkeley, and was educated in the public schools.{{cite book|last1=Lipsitz|first1=George|title=Midnight at the Barrelhouse: The Johnny Otis Story|date=2010|publisher=U of Minnesota Press|location=Bloomington, MN|isbn=978-0816666782|page=[https://archive.org/details/midnightatbarrel00geor/page/6 6]|url=https://archive.org/details/midnightatbarrel00geor|url-access=registration|quote=wiley manuel berkeley high school.|accessdate=August 19, 2017}} After graduating in 1945 from Berkeley High School he studied at the University of California, Berkeley.{{cite news|title=6 to join Berkeley High Hall of Fame|url=http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2000-04-17/article/965?headline=6-to-join-Berkeley-High-Hall-of-Fame&status=301|accessdate=August 19, 2017|work=Berkeley Daily Planet|date=April 17, 2000}} Then he attended Hastings College of Law and in 1953 received his LL.B. degree with Order of the Coif honors.{{cite journal|title=Hastings Community|journal=Hastings Alumni Publications|date=Fall 1992|volume=81|page=23|url=http://repository.uchastings.edu/alumni_mag/81|accessdate=August 23, 2017|publisher=Hastings College of the Law Alumni Association|location=San Francisco, CA}}{{cite news|last1=Endicott|first1=William|title=From the Archives: Wiley Manuel, First Black on State High Court, Dies|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/archives/la-me-wiley-manuel-19810106-story.html|accessdate=June 12, 2017|work=Los Angeles Times|date=January 6, 1981}} He also served as Editor-in-Chief of the Hastings Law Journal.[http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8k64kf7/entire_text/ Wiley W. Manuel Papers], Online Archive of California. Retrieved June 11, 2017.{{cite web|title=In memoriam: Wiley Manuel|url=http://www.cschs.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/CSCHS-Manuel-Memorial.pdf|publisher=California Supreme Court|accessdate=June 12, 2017|date=1982}}{{cite journal|title=The Wiley W. Manuel Scholarship|journal=Hastings Community, Hastings Alumni Publications|date=Summer 1987|volume=71|page=6|url=http://repository.uchastings.edu/alumni_mag/71}}

Following law school, Manuel worked for 23 years in the California Attorney General's office, rising to chief assistant attorney general in the San Francisco office.{{cite news|last1=Turner|first1=Wallace|title=Wiley Manuel, 53, Dead in California|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/06/obituaries/wiley-manuel53dead-in-california.html?mcubz=0|accessdate=June 12, 2017|work=New York Times|date=January 6, 1981}}{{cite web|title=Press release: Attorney General Kamala D. Harris issues Statement Honoring Black History Month|url=https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-kamala-d-harris-issues-statement-honoring-black-history-month|publisher=Attorney General of California|accessdate=June 12, 2017|date=February 6, 2012}} In March 1956, then-Deputy Attorney General Manuel announced that municipalities adding fluoride to public drinking water cannot be charged with practicing dentistry.{{cite news|title=Press Stoppers|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DS19560303.2.23.1&srpos=1&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22wiley+manuel%22-------1|accessdate=July 31, 2017|work=Desert Sun|issue=118|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=3 March 1956|page=1}}

In January 1976, Governor Jerry Brown appointed Manuel to the post of judge of the Alameda County Superior Court.{{cite news|title=Governor Appoints 19 to Judge Posts|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/681922259|accessdate=May 31, 2024|work=Chico Enterprise-Record|date=31 January 1976|page=2}}

On February 12, 1977, Governor Brown elevated Manuel to the Supreme Court. On March 8, 1977, he was approved by the Judicial Qualifications Commission, he was sworn in on March 24, 1977, and took his seat on April 5, 1977.{{cite news|title=Manuel OKd For Court Post|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DS19770308.2.46&srpos=6&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22wiley+manuel%22-------1|accessdate=July 31, 2017|work=Desert Sun|agency=UPI|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=8 March 1977|page=A3}}{{cite news|title=Rose Bird Now Chief Justice|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DS19770326.2.8&srpos=4&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22wiley+manuel%22-------1|accessdate=July 31, 2017|work=Desert Sun|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=26 March 1977|page=A1}}{{cite news|title=New Justices Seated|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DS19770405.2.15&srpos=3&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22wiley+w.+manuel%22-------1|accessdate=July 31, 2017|work=Desert Sun|agency=UPI|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=5 April 1977|page=A2}}{{cite news|title=African-American justices honored for 50 years of service|url=http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2011/04/24/african-american-justices-honored-for-50-years-of-service/|accessdate=June 17, 2017|work=East Bay Times|date=April 24, 2011}} He was the first African American justice of the Supreme Court.{{cite news|title=And Justice For All|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=LDN20120305.1.14&srpos=8&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22wiley+manuel%22-------1|accessdate=July 31, 2017|work=LA Downtown News|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=5 March 2012|page=14}} Also in 1977, he delivered the keynote address at the first meeting of the California Association of Black Lawyers.{{cite web|title=CA Association of Black Lawyers Honors UC Hastings Alumni|url=http://www.uchastings.edu/news/articles/2012/04/black-lawyers-honors.php|publisher=UC Hastings School of Law|accessdate=August 19, 2017|date=April 14, 2012}} Among his notable cases is the criminal prosecution against William and Emily Harris of the Symbionese Liberation Army on charges of kidnapping Patricia Hearst in 1974.[http://law.justia.com/cases/california/supreme-court/3d/19/786.html Harris v. Superior Court] (1977), 19 Cal. 3d 788. In August 1977, Manuel wrote the 6 – 1 majority opinion that the trial court abused its discretion in denying the defendants' request for state-appointed counsel of their choosing.{{cite news|title=Harrises' Request OK'd|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DS19770825.2.14&srpos=2&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22wiley+manuel%22-------1|accessdate=July 31, 2017|work=Desert Sun|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=25 August 1977|page=A2}} Manuel served for only four years before he died of stomach cancer.

In honor of Manuel, there is a non-profit scholarship foundation in Northern California.{{cite web|title=Justice Wiley W. Manuel Scholarship|url=https://uchastings.academicworks.com/opportunities/772|publisher=UC Hastings College of Law|accessdate=June 12, 2017}} Manuel, who was known for his dedication to pro bono work, has a pro bono award named after him awarded by the State Bar of California each year.{{cite news|title=Taylor gets award|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=CJ19910627.2.79&srpos=6&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22wiley+w.+manuel%22-------1|accessdate=July 31, 2017|work=Coronado Eagle and Journal|issue=25|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=27 June 1991|page=27|quote=Coronado resident Timothy Taylor of the law firm Sheppard, Mullin, Richter and Hampton was honored as a 1991 Wiley W. Manuel Pro Bono Award winner by the State Bar of California.}}{{cite news|title=Coronadan honored with pro bono award for community service|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=CJ19920305.2.75&srpos=4&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22wiley+w.+manuel%22-------1|accessdate=July 31, 2017|work=Coronado Eagle and Journal|issue=10|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=5 March 1992|page=26|quote=The State Bar of California has honored Coronado resident Timothy W. O'Brien with the 1991 Wiley W, Manuel Pro Bono Award. This award is named in recognition of retired California Supreme Court Judge Wiley W. Manuel for his important contributions in minority rights issues.}}{{cite news|title=Coronado Attorney Recognized for Pro Bono Work|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=CE19940504.2.31&srpos=2&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22wiley+w.+manuel%22-------1|accessdate=July 31, 2017|work=Coronado Eagle|issue=18|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=4 May 1994|page=7|quote=The Wiley W. Manuel Award was created in 1989 by the State Bar of California to recognize lawyers, law students, secretaries, and paralegals in the state who provide 50 or more pro bono hours of service a year to low-income clients.}} The Wiley Manuel Courthouse, part of the Alameda County Superior Court, was named after him.{{cite web|title=The History of the Wiley Manuel Bar Association of Sacramento County|url=http://www.wileymanuelbarassociation.com/|publisher=The Wiley Manuel Bar Association of Sacramento County|accessdate=20 August 2012}}

In 1948, he married Eleanor M. Williams, and resided in Oakland, California. He died on January 5, 1981. He was survived by his wife and their two children, Yvonne and Gary Manuel.{{cite news|last1=Payton|first1=Brenda|title=Mothers keep meeting even after 52 years|url=http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2005/05/16/mothers-keep-meeting-even-after-52-years/|accessdate=June 18, 2017|work=East Bay Times|date=May 16, 2005}}

• List of justices of the Supreme Court of California
• Allen Broussard
• Lionel Wilson
• Janice Rogers Brown
• Vaino Spencer

{{reflist}}

• {{cite journal|last1=Richardson|first1=Frank K.|title=In Remembrance of Justice Wiley W. Manuel|journal=California Law Review|date=1981|volume=69|page=917|url=http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/californialawreview/vol69/iss4/2/|accessdate=June 12, 2017}}

• [http://www.wileymanuelbarassociation.com/ Wiley Manuel Bar Association]
• [http://www.cschs.org/history/california-supreme-court-justices/wiley-w-manuel/ Wiley W. Manuel]. California Supreme Court Historical Society.
• [http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8k64kf7/ Wiley W. Manuel papers]. California Judicial Center Library, Special Collections and Archives. Online Archive of California.
• [http://www.courts.ca.gov/12523.htm Past & Present Justices]. California State Courts. Retrieved July 19, 2017.

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{{s-legal}}

{{s-bef|before=Raymond L. Sullivan}}

{{s-ttl|title=Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California|years=1977–1981}}

{{s-aft|after=Otto M. Kaus}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Manuel, Wiley W.}}

Category:1927 births

Category:1981 deaths

Category:African-American judges

Category:Justices of the Supreme Court of California

Category:20th-century California state court judges

Category:University of California College of the Law, San Francisco alumni

Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni

Category:Lawyers from Oakland, California

Category:Superior court judges in the United States

Category:African-American people in California politics

Category:African-American history in Oakland, California

Category:20th-century American jurists

Category:20th-century American lawyers

Category:20th-century African-American lawyers