Full Name: Arthur G. Scotland
Year of Induction: 2016
Art Scotland served on the California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, for over 21 years from February 1989 until his retirement in October 2010. He was appointed the court’s Presiding Justice in 1998. In 2006, he was elected president of the Council of Chief Judges of the State Courts of Appeal after chairing its Education Committee and serving on the Executive Committee. A member of the delegation that met with the Conference of Chief Justices Board of Directors and obtained approval for the Council to become affiliated with the National Center for State Courts, he played a major role in negotiating the memorandum of understanding and service agreement with the NCSC and formulating the Council’s dues structure. He then drafted talking points and was on the team of Council members who made telephone calls and sent fact sheets to the chief judges of states with intermediate appellate courts, resulting in the Council’s successful transition to the NCSC.
He began his career in the law as a law enforcement officer following graduation from the University of California, Davis, then returned to school at the University of Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, graduating with distinction. After being a prosecutor with the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office and the California Attorney General’s Office, he was appointed by Governor George Deukmejian as Cabinet Secretary for the administration. In 1987, he was appointed to the Sacramento County Superior Court before being elevated to the Court of Appeal. In 2010, the Judicial Council of California presented him with the Ronald M. George Award for Judicial Excellence, honoring a member of the judiciary for “extraordinary dedication to the highest principles of the administration of justice.” After retirement from the bench, he joined the firm of Nielsen Merksamer as Of Counsel practicing government law