Christopher Cottle
Encyclopedia
Christopher Clarke Cottle (born May 18, 1940) is an American lawyer and jurist, who served as the Presiding Justice of the California Sixth District Court of Appeal from 1993 to 2001, Associate Justice
of that court from 1988 to 1993, and District Attorney
of Santa Cruz County
from 1975 to 1977. Cottle holds the unusual status of having been appointed to judgeships by both Democratic
and Republican
governors
. He is also a former captain
of the Stanford University football team
.
, Cottle grew up in nearby Inglewood
, where he attended Andrew Bennett Elementary School and Morningside High School
. After Cottle was placed in foster care at the age of 14, his foster parents encouraged his athleticism, and he became a three-sport athlete at Morningside, playing on the school's baseball
, basketball
, and football
teams. He was also student body president and served as the President of the California Association of Student Body Presidents.
Cottle entered the University of California, Berkeley
in 1958, but after attending for one day, he realized the school was a poor fit and transferred to Stanford University
in time to start the fall quarter, as Fall Semester at Berkeley started one month before Fall Quarter at Stanford. After his transfer was approved but before classes began, he worked for the construction company building Stanford Hospital
. Awarded a football scholarship, Cottle was a linebacker
and center
. A three-year letterman, he eventually became captain of the that defeated Cottle's former school in the 1961 Big Game
. He was a pre-medical
student at Stanford, but during his senior year, he decided he did not want go into medicine and did not apply to medical school
.
After earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Stanford in June 1962, Cottle worked for the University as a fundraiser and freshman football coach. The following year, he enrolled at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law
. Working his way through law school, Cottle worked as a counselor for the probation department and a janitor at Hastings, where he earned his Juris Doctor
in June 1966.
, Cottle worked as an attorney at the San Jose
law firm of Berns & Steinberg until he was hired as a prosecutor by the Santa Cruz County District Attorney's office in 1968. He was assigned to prosecute sexual assault and rape cases for two years, after which he prosecuted 25 homicide cases. While he served in the District Attorney's office, Cottle taught evidence at Cabrillo College
.
In 1971, he assisted District Attorney Peter A. Chang, Jr. in prosecuting John Linley Frazier, who murdered a Soquel, California
family because he believed "their house was destroying the environment." In 1973, Cottle was the lead prosecutor in the case of serial killer
Herbert Mullin
, gaining convictions for all ten murders charged in Santa Cruz County (Mullin committed three more outside the jurisdiction).
Cottle was elected District Attorney of Santa Cruz County in 1974 and took office in 1975. He served as the county's top prosecutor until his appointment to the bench.
Governor
Jerry Brown
. In 1979, Cottle ruled that the Boys Club of Santa Cruz County violated the Unruh Civil Rights Act
when the club prevented girls from obtaining membership. (Eleven years later, the national Boys Clubs of America would change its name to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.)
In 1988, the California Sixth District Court of Appeal expanded from three justices to six justices, so Republican
Governor George Deukmejian
appointed Cottle one of the three new Associate Justices. The three new justices drew straws
to determine seniority, and Cottle drew the middle straw and middle seniority.
In 1993, Republican Governor Pete Wilson
elevated Cottle to Presiding Justice of the Sixth District Court of Appeal. As Presiding Justice, Cottle fostered the Court's public outreach and education programs, including programs in Santa Cruz
and Monterey
and at the Santa Clara University School of Law
. In 1995, Cottle wrote a unanimous decision upholding the right of the San Jose Mercury News
to sell posters of football star Joe Montana
without Montana's permission. In 1999, a case came before the Sixth District Court of Appeal regarding a San Jose
law mandating the city's government find minority-owned and women-owned firms for city contracts, and Cottle ruled that the San Jose law was unconstitutional because it violated Proposition 209
.
Cottle retired from the court in 2001 and has become a private mediator and arbitrator.
Associate Justice
Associate Justice or Associate Judge is the title for a member of a judicial panel who is not the Chief Justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the United States Supreme Court and some state supreme courts, and for some other courts in Commonwealth...
of that court from 1988 to 1993, and District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
of Santa Cruz County
Santa Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, on the California Central Coast. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay. . As of the 2010 U.S. Census, its population was 262,382. The county seat is Santa Cruz...
from 1975 to 1977. Cottle holds the unusual status of having been appointed to judgeships by both Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
governors
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
. He is also a former captain
Captain (sports)
In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field...
of the Stanford University football team
Stanford Cardinal football
The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference's North Division. Stanford, the top-ranked academic institution with an FBS program, has a highly successful football tradition. The...
.
Education and football
Born in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Cottle grew up in nearby Inglewood
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...
, where he attended Andrew Bennett Elementary School and Morningside High School
Morningside High School
Morningside High is a public high school in Inglewood, California.-History:In 1951, the first two classes of students came to the Morningside Park area of Inglewood to attend the new Morningside High School. Incoming 9th graders came from the surrounding junior high schools, and a class of 10th...
. After Cottle was placed in foster care at the age of 14, his foster parents encouraged his athleticism, and he became a three-sport athlete at Morningside, playing on the school's baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, and football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
teams. He was also student body president and served as the President of the California Association of Student Body Presidents.
Cottle entered the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in 1958, but after attending for one day, he realized the school was a poor fit and transferred to Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in time to start the fall quarter, as Fall Semester at Berkeley started one month before Fall Quarter at Stanford. After his transfer was approved but before classes began, he worked for the construction company building Stanford Hospital
Stanford Hospital
Stanford Hospital and Clinics is known worldwide for advanced treatment of complex disorders in areas such as cardiovascular care, cancer treatment, neurosciences, surgery, and organ transplants. Consistently ranked among the nation's top hospitals, Stanford Hospital and Clinics is internationally...
. Awarded a football scholarship, Cottle was a linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
and center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
. A three-year letterman, he eventually became captain of the that defeated Cottle's former school in the 1961 Big Game
Big Game (football)
The Big Game is an American college football rivalry game played by the California Golden Bears football team of the University of California, Berkeley and the Stanford Cardinal football team of Stanford University. It is typically played in late November or early December...
. He was a pre-medical
Pre-medical
Pre-medical is a term used to describe a track an undergraduate student in the United States pursues prior to becoming a medical student...
student at Stanford, but during his senior year, he decided he did not want go into medicine and did not apply to medical school
Medical school in the United States
Medical school in the United States is a four year graduate institution with the purpose of educating physicians in the field of medicine. It provides a major part of the medical education in the United States.-History:...
.
After earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Stanford in June 1962, Cottle worked for the University as a fundraiser and freshman football coach. The following year, he enrolled at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law
University of California, Hastings College of the Law
University of California, Hastings College of the Law is a public law school in San Francisco, California, located in the Civic Center neighborhood....
. Working his way through law school, Cottle worked as a counselor for the probation department and a janitor at Hastings, where he earned his Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
in June 1966.
Legal career
Upon earning admission to the State Bar of CaliforniaState Bar of California
The State Bar of California is California's official bar association. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, and prescribing appropriate discipline...
, Cottle worked as an attorney at the San Jose
San José
San José, or San Jose, is the Spanish for Saint Joseph. It usually refers to one of two major cities. These are:*San José, Costa Rica, the capital of Costa Rica*San Jose, California, the tenth-most populous city in the United States...
law firm of Berns & Steinberg until he was hired as a prosecutor by the Santa Cruz County District Attorney's office in 1968. He was assigned to prosecute sexual assault and rape cases for two years, after which he prosecuted 25 homicide cases. While he served in the District Attorney's office, Cottle taught evidence at Cabrillo College
Cabrillo College
Cabrillo College is a public community college offering associate degrees and certificates in more than 70 fields of study such as: engineering, computer science, allied health , public safety, marine biology and the visual and performing arts. The college itself is named after the explorer Juan...
.
In 1971, he assisted District Attorney Peter A. Chang, Jr. in prosecuting John Linley Frazier, who murdered a Soquel, California
Soquel, California
Soquel is a census-designated place in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The population was 9,644 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Soquel is located at ....
family because he believed "their house was destroying the environment." In 1973, Cottle was the lead prosecutor in the case of serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
Herbert Mullin
Herbert Mullin
Herbert Williams Mullin is a serial killer who committed 13 murders in California in the early 1970s.- Childhood and youth :...
, gaining convictions for all ten murders charged in Santa Cruz County (Mullin committed three more outside the jurisdiction).
Cottle was elected District Attorney of Santa Cruz County in 1974 and took office in 1975. He served as the county's top prosecutor until his appointment to the bench.
Judicial career
Cottle resigned as District Attorney when he was appointed a Judge of the Santa Cruz County Superior Court in 1977 by DemocraticDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Governor
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
Jerry Brown
Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr. is an American politician. Brown served as the 34th Governor of California , and is currently serving as the 39th California Governor...
. In 1979, Cottle ruled that the Boys Club of Santa Cruz County violated the Unruh Civil Rights Act
Unruh Civil Rights Act
The Unruh Civil Rights Act is a piece of California legislation that specifically outlaws discrimination based on age, sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, marital status, or sexual orientation...
when the club prevented girls from obtaining membership. (Eleven years later, the national Boys Clubs of America would change its name to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.)
In 1988, the California Sixth District Court of Appeal expanded from three justices to six justices, so Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Governor George Deukmejian
George Deukmejian
Courken George Deukmejian, Jr. born June 6, 1928) is an Armenian American politician from California who as a Republican served as the 35th Governor of California and as California Attorney General .-Early life:...
appointed Cottle one of the three new Associate Justices. The three new justices drew straws
Drawing straws
Drawing straws is a selection method that is used by a group to choose one member of the group to perform a task after none has volunteered for it...
to determine seniority, and Cottle drew the middle straw and middle seniority.
In 1993, Republican Governor Pete Wilson
Pete Wilson
Peter Barton "Pete" Wilson is an American politician from California. Wilson, a Republican, served as the 36th Governor of California , the culmination of more than three decades in the public arena that included eight years as a United States Senator , eleven years as Mayor of San Diego and...
elevated Cottle to Presiding Justice of the Sixth District Court of Appeal. As Presiding Justice, Cottle fostered the Court's public outreach and education programs, including programs in Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
and Monterey
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
and at the Santa Clara University School of Law
Santa Clara University School of Law
The Santa Clara University School of Law is the law school of Santa Clara University, a Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, in the Silicon Valley region. The School of Law was founded in 1911...
. In 1995, Cottle wrote a unanimous decision upholding the right of the San Jose Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News
The San Jose Mercury News is a daily newspaper in San Jose, California. On its web site, however, it calls itself Silicon Valley Mercury News. The paper is owned by MediaNews Group...
to sell posters of football star Joe Montana
Joe Montana
Joseph Clifford "Joe" Montana, Jr. , nicknamed Joe Cool, Golden Joe, The Golden Great and Comeback Joe, is a retired American football player. Montana started his NFL career in 1979 with the San Francisco 49ers, where he played quarterback for the next 14 seasons...
without Montana's permission. In 1999, a case came before the Sixth District Court of Appeal regarding a San Jose
San José
San José, or San Jose, is the Spanish for Saint Joseph. It usually refers to one of two major cities. These are:*San José, Costa Rica, the capital of Costa Rica*San Jose, California, the tenth-most populous city in the United States...
law mandating the city's government find minority-owned and women-owned firms for city contracts, and Cottle ruled that the San Jose law was unconstitutional because it violated Proposition 209
California Proposition 209 (1996)
Proposition 209 is a California ballot proposition which, upon approval in November 1996, amended the state constitution to prohibit public institutions from considering race, sex, or ethnicity. It had been supported and funded by the California Civil Rights Initiative Campaign, led by University...
.
Cottle retired from the court in 2001 and has become a private mediator and arbitrator.