Louis Wescott Myers

Myers was born in Lake Mills, Wisconsin, to Jesse Hall Myers and Elizabeth Louise Wescott. Myers was educated in the public schools, and earned a bachelor's and a law degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was Phi Beta Kappa.^[1] He practiced law first in Madison, Wisconsin, with the firm of Spooner, Sanborn & Kerr, and afterwards for several years in Chicago, Illinois with Jesse A. and Henry R. Baldwin. In 1898, he moved to Los Angeles, California and maintained a law firm. In 1913, he was appointed to a vacancy on the Los Angeles County Superior Court. He was elected in 1914 and re-elected in 1920.^[2][3]

On January 15, 1923, Governor William Stephens appointed Myers as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California to fill a vacancy when Curtis D. Wilbur was named chief justice.^[4][5] In April 1924, Governor Friend Richardson named Myers as Chief Justice to again replace Wilbur, who became the Secretary of the Navy.^[6] In October 1924, Myers ran unopposed and was elected for the remainder of Curtis' term, until January 1927.^[7] Myers served in that post until resigning as of January 1, 1926.^[2][8][9]

Following his tenure as Chief Justice, Myers joined a Los Angeles law firm run by Henry W. O'Melveny. Myers's name was added to the firm, which by 1939 became known as O'Melveny & Myers.^[10] He specialized in appellate practice. In 1938, Myers argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Mackay Radio the case of NLRB v. Mackay Radio & Telegraph Co., 304 U.S. 333 (1938).

In 1925, Myers received an honorary degree of LL.D. from the University of Southern California.^[11][12] In 1926, he was awarded another honorary degree by the University of California.^[13]

On November 27, 1901, he married Blanche Brown (July 26, 1874 – May 1, 1943) of Michigan; they had at least two children: Elizabeth Myers and test pilot John Wescott Myers.^[14][15][12] Louis was an avid fisherman, and in 1951 published a short book, An Incompleat Angler.^[11][16]