Justice Marvin and Jane Baxter Appellate Law Center Dedication

The Justice Marvin and Jane Baxter Appellate Law Center was officially dedicated at UC Hastings on January 20, 2011.

"This state of the art facility will assist Hastings in delivering excellent appellate advocacy training to its students and should take to an even higher level its outstanding record of moot court achievements," said Justice Baxter ‘66. "I look forward to national and international moot court competition being conducted at this center."

Justice Baxter refers to his Hastings experience from 1963 to 1966 as a "joint venture" with his wife, Jane, and explained that the school remains a very important part of their lives. "Hastings provided an excellent legal education at a time when its tuition was a pittance. For that I am forever grateful."

Chancellor and Dean Frank H. Wu welcomed guests and expressed UC Hastings' gratitude. "Thanks to the generous gift in honor of Justice Baxter and Jane Baxter," said Dean Wu, "we were able to fully renovate and redesign the Hastings Moot Court into a modern Appellate Law Center."

Former California Governor George Deukmejian (who had planned to attend the dedication, but could not) conveyed his best wishes: "Justice Baxter has served the people of California in both the judiciary and executive branches with great distinction. I always appreciated his wise counsel." Governor Deukmejian continued, "Marv is an intelligent, humble man who applies his considerable skill and good judgment with serious attention to detail and commitment to doing the right thing. Jane and Marv have been great partners in providing outstanding public service. They are so deserving of this recognition that will provide valuable, improved educational opportunities to generations of students of the law."

Justice and Mrs. Baxter were joined at the dedication by their family, close friends and colleagues on the Supreme Court of California. Jane Baxter recognized their daughter Laura Baxter-Simons and her husband, Nat Simons, and their children Alison and Evan Simons. She also introduced their son Brent Baxter and his wife, Kristin Baxter, and their daughters Kelsey and Katie Baxter.  Jane reminisced that she was a member of the Hastings Wives' Club and one project was a cookbook published in 1965 titled "Tortes, Tarts and Other Edible Properties."

Special thanks were extended by all to Jon Swihart, the artist of the Baxter portrait now gracing the wall directly outside the Moot Court, as well as the portrait donors: James and Josephine Mahoney; Justice James and Pamella Ardaiz; Judge Robert and Shari Jameson; James and Anna Shekoyan; Thomas Malcolm; and Michael and Judith Dowling.

Moot Court Student Board member and competitor Juliet McCullough '11 was very pleased to be present for the dedication. "For us to get to practice in a court like this prepares us for competition, and for the real world," said McCullough. "We have second ranked moot court program in the country, and this new facility will sharpen our competitive edge."

The Hastings Moot Court was first proposed in 1885 and had been organized as a regular weekly activity of the senior class since 1886. In 1896, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that "a novel court, modeled after the Supreme judicature, has recently been established at the Hastings Law School." Over the years, the Moot Court program has become one of the most successful and well-respected in the United States. UC Hastings has been ranked in the Top 5 for the past three years according to the national moot court competition website LawSchoolAdvocacy.com.

Justice Baxter was raised on a farm in Fresno County and received his bachelor's degree in economics from California State University, Fresno. After graduating from Hastings, Baxter served as a Fresno County deputy district attorney before going into private practice with the Fresno law firm Andrews Andrews Thaxter Jones & Baxter. He also served as president of the Fresno County Bar Association. As Appointments Secretary to Governor George Deukmejian, he was the Governor's principal advisor on all gubernatorial appointments to the executive and judicial branches of government. In that capacity, he assisted in the appointment of more than 700 judges. In 1988, Governor Deukmejian appointed Baxter as an Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District. He was elevated to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California in 1991 and in 2002 won reelection for a new term of office.

Justice Baxter is Vice-Chair of the Judicial Council of California and is Chair of its Policy Coordination and Liaison Committee. He received the 1998 Distinguished Alumnus Award from Hastings, and is a Director Emeritus of the law school.

Marvin and Jane Baxter met as students at California State University, Fresno, where Jane graduated with a degree in Education. They were married the summer before Justice Baxter entered Hastings, and Jane taught second grade in Burlingame while Justice Baxter completed his legal studies. Jane took a leave of absence to raise their two children. She returned to teaching in Fresno in 1985 and retired in 1995. She has a lifetime credential in Elementary Education and earned the distinction of being a Master Teacher.