CSCHS sponsors a variety of educational programs, receptions, archival projects, oral history projects and a student writing competition. Grants and gifts are available from the Society for scholarly projects and publications dealing with California legal and judicial history that advance the mission of the Society.
Upcoming Program
The California Supreme Court Historical Society is pleased to advise you of the following program, which it has agreed to co-sponsor:
Tuesday, February 7, 2023 – In-Person in San Francisco or by Webinar
5:00pm – 6:30pm
War Crimes: From the 1945 San Francisco U.N. Conference to Today
Do politics and diplomacy factor into our definition of war crimes? How are war crimes dealt with currently, compared to the past?
Panelists:
Prof. Laurel Fletcher | International Human Rights Clinic, Berkeley Law
Prof. David Cohen | Center for Human Rights and International Justice, Stanford University
Prof. Saira Mohamed | UC Berkeley School of Law
Moderator: Ambassador (ret.) Jeff Bleich
Keynote: Robert James, Esq.
There is no charge for this program.
MCLE Credit is available for $50
Program Registration for In-Person, Webinar and MCLE Credit
This program is being co-sponsored by the Northern District of California Historical Society, the Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society, the San Francisco Historical Society and the California Supreme Court Historical Society.
The Bernard E. Witkin Oral History Project

Bernard E. Witkin
The California Supreme Court Historical Society has launched The Bernard E. Witkin Oral History Project to interview former members of the the California judiciary and others to create an archival record of Witkin’s influence on the California Supreme Court and the California Judiciary.
The focus of the project will be to conduct research, obtain archival materials, and record oral histories relating to Witkin’s role as a special advisory member of the California Judicial Council, his influence on judicial opinion writing, judicial appointments and judicial education, and his role in the founding of the California Supreme Court Historical Society.
For further information about the project or to contribute remembrances of Bernie Witkin please contact witkinstories@gmail.com
The CSCHS Research Travel Grant in California Legal History
The California Supreme Court Historical Society has established a Research Travel Grant to defray the expenses of graduate students and law students at accredited U.S. universities and law schools who are researching California legal history for the purpose of preparing an article or other paper.
This grant was funded by the generosity of California Supreme Court Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar (Ret.) and David M. Werdegar, M.D., in honor of Selma Moidel Smith, Editor-in-Chief of California Legal History. Additional donations are welcome to ensure the continuation of this grant program.
› Research Travel Grant Application
› Online Grant Donation Form
› PDF Grant Donation Form
The CSCHS Selma Moidel Smith Law Student Writing Competition in California Legal History
An annual competition for law students and graduate students to write about California legal history including the history of the California Supreme Court.
California Supreme Court Oral History Project – University of California, Berkeley
The California Supreme Court Oral History Project carries out research interviews with retired justices to create an archival complement to the written record of California’s highest court and, by extension, the lower California courts. This project is partially funded by the California Supreme Court Historical Society.