Education
University of California, Los Los Angeles University of Southern California Gould School of Law.
University of California, Los Los Angeles University of Southern California Gould School of Law.
Born in San Pedro, California, Dorothy Wright received an Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1950, a Juris Doctor from University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law in 1953, and an Master of Laws from the University of Southern California Law School in 1956. She was a research associate fellow, University of Southern California Law School from 1953-1956. She was in private practice in Los Angeles, California from 1954-1957.
She was an instructor from 1957-1958.
She was an assistant professor from 1958 to 1961. She was an associate professor from 1961-1967.
She was an associate dean from 1965-1967. She was an interim dean from 1967-1969.
She was a professor from 1967-1980.
She was a dean from 1969-1980. She was an adjunct professor of law, University of Southern California Law School starting 1980. Nelson is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
In 1973 there was discussion she might be nominated to the United States Supreme Court in the news.
Nelson was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on September 28, 1979, to a new seat created by 92 Statistics 1629. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 19, 1979, and received her commission on December 20, 1979.
She assumed senior status on January 1, 1995. She published an article in the Southern California Law Review.
She is the author of a book, Judicial Administration and the Administration of Justice, published by West Lawbook.
She became a Bahá"í following the suggestion to explore the religion from Donald Barrett in 1954 along with about 70 others across a decade. Barrett would go on to serve at the Bahá"í World Center in 1979. Dorothy Wright Nelson at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
Nelson, Dorothy West. (April 18, 1985).
"Justice – A Universal Responsibility". The Sixteenth Donahue Lecture (Suffolk University Law Revieworg).
Retrieved June 30, 2014. Gordon Moris Bakken; Brenda Farrington (June 26, 2003).
Encyclopedia of Women in the American West.
SAGE Publications. p. 212. Dorothy Wright Nelson (October 12, 2007). An interview with the Honorable Dorothy Nelson, Judge, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (Video).
H. Dale Hilton Living History Project of the Emerti Center at the University of Southern California.
University of Southern California on YouTube. Dorothy Wright Nelson (October 21, 2007). Dorothy Nelson Oral History Interview (Television).
Women Trailblazers in the Law collection of the American Bar Association. C-Spanish.org. Davis, Kenneth (October 24, 2007).
Law Crossing. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
"Dorothy Wright Nelson "50, Juris Doctor "53". 2012 Edward A. Dickson Alumnus of the Year Award. University of California, Los Angeles Alumni. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
Kloppenberg, Lisa A. (2009).
"CLEPR Anniversary Remarks Regarding Judge Dorothy Wright Nelson". Clinical L. Review (Santa Clara, California: Santa Clara Law Digital Commons) 16: 29–31.
Retrieved June 30, 2014. Dorothy Wright Nelson (April 27, 2010).
Arcadia, California: Keyvan Geula.
"James Nelson was a voice for a spiritual approach to justice". Obituary. March 10, 2011. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
She was a member of the faculty of University of Southern California Law School from 1957-1980.