John Racanelli 6020

John Racanelli was a judge in the First District Court of Appeal in California from 1977 to 1991. He was born in Pennsylvania, but his family moved to San Francisco in 1943 due to his father's health. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps at the age of 18 and served in both World War II and the Korean War. After being discharged, he went to UC Berkeley and then to Hastings College of the Law, graduating in 1952. He passed the bar in the same year and started practicing law the day after he was discharged from the military. He believes his military experience gave him a sense of responsibility and opened his eyes to the world.