Donald B. King

Donald Bruce King was a retired associate justice of the Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division Five. He was appointed to the newly-created position by Governor Brown, Jr. on December 2, 1982 and was confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments on December 29, 1982. After taking his oath of office, he was confirmed by the electorate on November 4, 1986. He retired on June 30, 1996. Before his appointment, he had served as a judge of the Superior Court of San Francisco from June 23, 1976 to December 29, 1982, appointed by Governor Brown, Jr. and elected in 1978. He also served as a California State Inheritance Tax Referee at the San Francisco Superior Court from July 1, 1975 to June 23, 1976, appointed by California State Controller Kenneth Cory. Prior to his judicial career, Donald Bruce King had a private law practice in San Francisco from January 7, 1959 to June 23, 1976, concentrating on commercial litigation, probate, and personal injury work. He was a partner of King and Sullivan. Donald Bruce King was a member of the California Judges Association from 1976 to 1996, and was a chair of the Appellate Court Committee from 1989 to 1990, the Family Law Committee from 1981 to 1983, and the Court Improvement Committee from 1977 to 1979. He was also a member of the Family Law Advisory Committee to the Judicial Council from 1989, the Bar Association of San Francisco from 1959 to 1996, and the Lawyers' Club of San Francisco from 1959 to 1996. Other memberships included the California Judicial Council from 1987 to 1989, the Commission on Child Support Development and Enforcement from 1983 to 1984, and the California Judicial Council's Advisory Committees on Uniform Statewide Law and Motion Rules from 1980 to 1982, Legal Forms from 1978 to 1980, and Summary Dissolution from 1978 to 1979. He was a former president of the California Chapter of the International Association of Family and Conciliation Courts from 1981 to 1983, the West of Twin Peaks Professional and Executives Association from 1968, and the West Portal Avenue Association from 1966. He was also the former Vice Chair of the San Francisco Citizens Charter Revision Committee from 1968 to 1970. Donald Bruce King was the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, including the Public Service Award from the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in 1992, the Award from the St. Thomas More Society of San Francisco in 1992, the President's Award from the California Judges Association in 1981, the Award of Merit from the Bar Association of San Francisco in 1979, the Judicial Officer of the Year Award from the Family Law Section of the California State Bar in 1988, and the Judge of the Year Award from the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association in 1980. He was also the first recipient of the Award from the northern California chapter of the Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers for extraordinary contributions to the practice of family law. Donald Bruce King was an adjunct professor of family law at Hastings College of the Law, the University of San Francisco School of Law, and the Golden Gate University School of Law from 1979 to 1996. He was a faculty member of the California Judicial College in Berkeley from 1983 to 1982, and of the California Continuing Judicial Studies Program from 1981 to 1983. He was also a frequent participant and panelist of the Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB) programs, the Northern California Chapter of the American Matrimonial Lawyers, the Bar Association of San Francisco, and the Lawyers' Club of San Francisco. He was the co-director (with Judge William P. Hogoboom) of the Rutter Group's annual Family Law Workshop. Donald Bruce King was the co-author (with Judge Hogoboom) of the California Practice Guide Family Law (2 vols.), published by the Rutter Group, and the author of "Guidelines for Domestic Relations Cases. San Francisco Superior Court" (1977). He was admitted to the California Bar, the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Ninth Circuit, the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California, and the U.S. Supreme Court on January 7, 1959, October 20, 1965, respectively. He was a Democrat and was the Chair of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee from 1962 to 1966. During his judicial career, Donald Bruce King authored over 1,200 opinions in a wide range of civil and criminal cases, and over 50 published opinions in family law cases. In his free time, Donald Bruce King enjoyed jogging and swimming. He was born on February 24, 1931 in San Francisco, California. He was married and had one son.