Clarke E. Stephens; State Appellate Court Judge

Clarke E. Stephens, 82, trial and state appellate court judge for 37 years. A native of Los Angeles and son of a federal appellate court justice, Stephens earned his undergraduate and law degrees from USC. He served in the Marine Corps during World War II, rising from private to captain and earning the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star with three combat stars for battles on Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima. Stephens was appointed to the Los Angeles Municipal Court by Gov. Earl Warren in 1947 and was elected by his colleagues to serve as presiding judge in 1954. The jurist was elevated to the Los Angeles County Superior Court by Gov. Goodwin Knight in 1958 and to the Los Angeles-based 2nd District Court of Appeal by Gov. Edmund G. “Pat” Brown Sr. in 1966. He retired in 1984. On Sunday in Los Angeles.