Malcolm Millar Lucas (April 19, 1927 – September 28, 2016) was an American jurist and attorney who served as the 26th Chief Justice of California.
In February 1970, Lucas was the trial judge in the prosecution of Charles Manson for the murder of actress Sharon Tate, which continued through January 1971.
[6] In April 1975, Lucas sat as trial judge in the complex Equity Funding civil litigation, brought after a $3 billion fraud by executives at a life insurance company.
He replaced Frank K. Richardson, former Governor Ronald Reagan's only remaining appointee on the Court.
[10] In 1988, Lucas implemented a practice that the justices produce opinions within 90 days of oral arguments.
[11] After retiring from the Court, Lucas went back into private practice and became an arbitrator for JAMS in Los Angeles.