From 1954 to 1967, he was in private practice in Long Beach, California. He practiced law with future Governor of California George Deukmejian.
From 1967 to 1971, he was a judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court. In February 1970, Lucas was the trial judge in the prosecution of Charles Manson for the murder of actress Sharon Tate, which continued through January 1971.[2][3][4] In June 1970, Lucas had Manson removed from the courtroom due to his disruptive behavior.[5][6]
In April 1975, Lucas sat as trial judge in the complex Equity Funding civil litigation, brought after a $3 billion fraud by executives at a life insurance company.[7]
In November 1986, Lucas was retained by the voters.[9] However, Chief Justice Bird and two other liberal justices were not.
After Bird lost her retention election, Deukmejian announced on November 26, 1986, that he would elevate then-Associate Justice Lucas to the position of chief justice.[10] Deukmejian then announced the appointment of three new conservative Associate Justices, David Eagleson, John Arguelles, and Marcus Kaufman, thereby creating the first conservative majority on the Court in several decades.[10]
Tenure
The decisions of the Lucas Court were pro-business, affirmed death penalty sentences imposed by the trial courts, and tended to adhere to the textualist approach.[11][12] In matters of criminal law, the Lucas Court's interpretation of the law favored the government more than that of the Bird court.[10][13]
The Lucas court also reversed several pro-plaintiff landmark decisions in the context of tort law and insurance law.[10]
In 1988, Lucas implemented a practice that the justices produce opinions within 90 days of oral arguments.[14]
On June 23, 1956, Lucas married Donna J. Fisher in Los Angeles.[16]
Retirement and death
On October 1, 1995, he announced he would retire in May 1996 to spend more time with his family.[11] After retiring from the Court, Lucas went back into private practice and became an arbitrator for JAMS in Los Angeles.[17]
Lucas died on September 28, 2016, in Los Angeles, California. He was 89.[18][19]
Photo of Judges Malcolm M. Lucas and Thomas Reavley, and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, presiding at Pepperdine University's 11th annual moot court competition, 1985. UCLA Libraries.
