The year was 1958, and President Dwight David Eisenhower was looking for a few good judges. Since one of the federal vacancies he was attempting to fill was in California’s San Joaquin Valley, he wound up appointing Madera County Superior Court Judge, M.D. Crocker. It was an excellent choice, but one that might never have been made possible had it not been for the ambition of a couple of judges from a neighboring county.
The process for nominating federal judges begins in the offices of the United States Senators from the state in which the vacancy exists. In this particular case, William F. Knowland had the responsibility of advising the President on his choice. As fate would have it, Knowland knew exactly what he was looking for; he just didn’t know for whom, until the Madera County Bar Association made its move.
The word had been out for some time that a federal judgeship had opened up in the Valley, and a flurry of activity accompanied that revelation. The leading contenders were two well-seasoned superior court judges from Merced County.