She was an interim dean from 1967 to 1969 and because of her achievement she was named Woman of the Year by the Los Angeles Times.

[3] Nelson was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on September 28, 1979, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, to a new seat created by 92 Stat.

[5] On February 1, 2018, Nelson ruled that the County of Maui violated the Clean Water Act when it discharged pollutants without a permit.

[6] The Supreme Court mostly affirmed in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund.

In 1950, Wright married James F. Nelson (1927–2011), a longtime Los Angeles Municipal Court judge.

She became a Baháʼí following the suggestion to explore the religion from Donald Barrett in 1954 along with about 70 others across a decade.