Superior Court Judge
Buried in the Geary Family Plot in the Eastern Half Circle of Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery is Donald Geary, who died on September 18, 1966. Donald was born on December 30, 1891 and grew up in Santa Rosa. He was admitted to the bar in 1915 and entered the law practice with his father, Thomas J. Geary, and his brother William Finlaw Geary.
In 1931, Donald was appointed Judge of Sonoma County Superior Court where he served continuously until he retired in 1957 following a heart attack. But during his tenure as a Superior Court Judge, Donald Geary did something so bold and unprecedented that he made history.
In 1956, Superior Court Judge Donald Geary barred both the press and the public from witnessing the proceedings of a sensational murder trial over which he presided. His unprecedented decision created such a stir that it was met with a legal challenge, and an appeal was filed. But his groundbreaking decision was subsequently upheld!
Who could have ever imagined that a Superior Court Judge in what was then small town Santa Rosa, California, would set such an historical precedence in the judicial branch of the United States government.
Burial location: Rural Cemetery, Eastern Half Circle, Plot 92.
~by Sandy Frary, Rural Cemetery Archivist
Buried in the Geary Family Plot in the Eastern Half Circle of Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery is Donald Geary, who died on September 18, 1966. Donald was born on December 30, 1891 and grew up in Santa Rosa. He was admitted to the bar in 1915 and entered the law practice with his father, Thomas J. Geary, and his brother William Finlaw Geary.
In 1931, Donald was appointed Judge of Sonoma County Superior Court where he served continuously until he retired in 1957 following a heart attack. But during his tenure as a Superior Court Judge, Donald Geary did something so bold and unprecedented that he made history.
In 1956, Superior Court Judge Donald Geary barred both the press and the public from witnessing the proceedings of a sensational murder trial over which he presided. His unprecedented decision created such a stir that it was met with a legal challenge, and an appeal was filed. But his groundbreaking decision was subsequently upheld!
Who could have ever imagined that a Superior Court Judge in what was then small town Santa Rosa, California, would set such an historical precedence in the judicial branch of the United States government.
Burial location: Rural Cemetery, Eastern Half Circle, Plot 92.
~by Sandy Frary, Rural Cemetery Archivist
Superior Court Judge
Buried in the Geary Family Plot in the Eastern Half Circle of Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery is Donald Geary, who died on September 18, 1966. Donald was born on December 30, 1891 and grew up in Santa Rosa. He was admitted to the bar in 1915 and entered the law practice with his father, Thomas J. Geary, and his brother William Finlaw Geary.
In 1931, Donald was appointed Judge of Sonoma County Superior Court where he served continuously until he retired in 1957 following a heart attack. But during his tenure as a Superior Court Judge, Donald Geary did something so bold and unprecedented that he made history.
In 1956, Superior Court Judge Donald Geary barred both the press and the public from witnessing the proceedings of a sensational murder trial over which he presided. His unprecedented decision created such a stir that it was met with a legal challenge, and an appeal was filed. But his groundbreaking decision was subsequently upheld!
Who could have ever imagined that a Superior Court Judge in what was then small town Santa Rosa, California, would set such an historical precedence in the judicial branch of the United States government.
Burial location: Rural Cemetery, Eastern Half Circle, Plot 92.
~by Sandy Frary, Rural Cemetery Archivist
Buried in the Geary Family Plot in the Eastern Half Circle of Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery is Donald Geary, who died on September 18, 1966. Donald was born on December 30, 1891 and grew up in Santa Rosa. He was admitted to the bar in 1915 and entered the law practice with his father, Thomas J. Geary, and his brother William Finlaw Geary.
In 1931, Donald was appointed Judge of Sonoma County Superior Court where he served continuously until he retired in 1957 following a heart attack. But during his tenure as a Superior Court Judge, Donald Geary did something so bold and unprecedented that he made history.
In 1956, Superior Court Judge Donald Geary barred both the press and the public from witnessing the proceedings of a sensational murder trial over which he presided. His unprecedented decision created such a stir that it was met with a legal challenge, and an appeal was filed. But his groundbreaking decision was subsequently upheld!
Who could have ever imagined that a Superior Court Judge in what was then small town Santa Rosa, California, would set such an historical precedence in the judicial branch of the United States government.
Burial location: Rural Cemetery, Eastern Half Circle, Plot 92.
~by Sandy Frary, Rural Cemetery Archivist
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