Honorees

Hon. Edgar Bedillion Hervey

1898-1977

Edgar Hervey’s mother brought him to Los Angeles in 1909 from Wheeling, West Virginia after his father died.  He received a scholarship which allowed him to attend USC after winning a high school speaking contest.  He continued to win championships with his debating skills at U.S.C.  When the First World War broke out he volunteered and served in the Tank Corps in France.  After the armistice, he attended two semesters at the University of Lyons.  He then returned to Los Angeles, where he clerked for a Superior Court Judge and attended law school at USC.  He married and then moved to El Centro in 1922, where he later served as a police judge. 

In 1928 he moved to San Diego and became a successful criminal defense attorney, earning a reputation as a strong, colorful trial lawyer with a photographic memory.  His arguments often incorporated quotes from works like Shakespeare and the Bible.  Superior Court Judge James Toothacre called Hervey “probably one of the best-cross examiners San Diego ever had.”  Hervey ranks among the best criminal defense lawyers San Diego ever produced.  His great ability as an advocate hampered him somewhat when he became a judge, because “he was a real advocate all his life and remained one once he got on the bench,” which some who appeared before him did not consider a virtue.  As a criminal defense trial lawyer, he was highly skilled and “raised the bar” for later generations of trial lawyers.

In 1958, he was appointed to the Superior Court, where he served with distinction until his retirement.  Among them was Judge Hervey’s son, Jim Hervey, who later became one of the best civil trial lawyers San Diego has ever seen.

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