John E. Richards

John Evan Richards (July 7, 1856 – June 25, 1932) was an American attorney who served as an associate justice of the California Supreme Court from 1924 until 1932. Biography Richards was born on July 7, 1856, to Richard Evan Richards and Mary Hamilton in San Jose, California, where he attended the public schools. He obtained his undergraduate degree from University of the Pacific in 1877 and his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1879. After graduation, Richards practiced law in San Francisco and San Jose with the firm of Moore, Lane & Leib, where future Justice William Langdon was later employed as a law clerk. In January 1904, Richards was elected a trustee of the newly formed Santa Clara Bar Association. In September 1907, Governor James Gillett appointed Richards as judge of the Santa Clara Superior Court to fill the vacancy from the resignation due to age of Augustus Rhodes.