Evelle Jansen Younger (June 19, 1918 – May 4, 1989) was an American lawyer who served as the

California Attorney General The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the government of California. The officer must ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section 13). The ...

from 1971 to 1979. Prior to his career as Attorney General, he served as the district attorney in Los Angeles where he oversaw the prosecutions of both

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934 – November 19, 2017) was an American criminal, cult leader, and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Some cult members committed a Manson ...

and

Sirhan Sirhan Sirhan Bishara Sirhan (; ; born March 19, 1944) is a Palestinian-Jordanian man who assassinated Senator Robert F. Kennedy, a younger brother of American president John F. Kennedy and a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 1968 U ...

. In 1978, he had an unsuccessful run as the Republican Party nominee for

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...

and retired from politics a year later. He joined the firm Buchalter, Nemer, Fields, & Younger as a senior partner in 1979 where he worked until his death a decade later.

Early life and education

Younger was a second cousin twice removed of the Younger Brothers, a notable 19th-century gang of American outlaws that are often associated with the

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, Bank robbery, bank and Train robbery, train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the "Little Dixie (Missouri), Little Dixie" area of M ...

gang. He was born in Stamford, Nebraska in 1918 and received his law degree from Nebraska University.

Career

After graduating law school, Younger became an FBI Special Agent. At the age of 24, when he was one of

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American attorney and law enforcement administrator who served as the fifth and final director of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) and the first director of the Federal Bureau o ...

's top agents, Younger became a member of

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

forerunner the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...

, serving in the Burma-China-India theater during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Younger served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

as well as Korea. He was a municipal

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

in California from 1953 to 1958 and a superior court judge in California from 1958 to 1964, when he became district attorney of Los Angeles County. He also rose to the rank of Major General in the US Air Force Reserve, and was the first to be promoted to the rank of Brigadier General (Reserve) as a Special Agent in the AF Office of Special Investigations. Early in his career as a judge, Younger hosted

KTLA KTLA (channel 5) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship station of The CW. It is the largest directly owned property of the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is ...

's weekly crime drama ''

Armchair Detective An armchair detective is a fictional investigator who does not personally visit a crime scene or interview witnesses; instead, the detective either reads the story of the crime in a newspaper or has it recounted by another person. As the armch ...

'', and was later a consultant and presiding judge on the reality show ''Traffic Court'' on

KABC-TV KABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship station of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station mai ...

. He also authored the book ''Judge and Prosecutor in Traffic Court''. During his time as the Los Angeles district attorney, he oversaw criminal cases which included the prosecutions of

and

. He is the first prosecutor in the United States to prosecute mass felony charges against college campus demonstrators in the 1960s. Younger was elected as the 26th

Attorney General of California The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the government of California. The officer must ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" ( Constitution of California, Article V, Section 13). ...

, the first Republican in a generation to do so. As the Attorney General, Younger helped develop the

California Environmental Quality Act The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA ) is a California statute passed in 1970 and signed in to law by then-governor Ronald Reagan, shortly after the United States federal government passed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), ...

. He also advocated for a broad interpretation of its applicability, filing a brief in the landmark case Friends of Mammoth v. Board of Supervisors in 1972. The ruling in the case was considered one of the most important for environmental rulings, requiring an evaluation of environmental impact prior to any public agency sanction of new construction. In the 1978 Republican

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

, Younger defeated Edward M. Davis, Kenneth L. Maddy, and

Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Wilson previously served as a United S ...

to win the Republican gubernatorial nomination. He was defeated in the general election by incumbent

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...

. Younger retired from public service in 1979 and joined the firm Buchalter, Nemer, Fields, & Younger as a senior partner (named Buchalter, Nemer, Fields, Chrystie and Younger at the time).

Personal life

Younger married Mildred Eberhard on July 3, 1942. Their son, Eric, was born in San Francisco in 1943. Younger died from heart disease at his home in the

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills is a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. It borders Studio City, Universal City and Burbank on the north, Griffith Park on the north and east, Los Feliz on the southeast, Hollyw ...

on May 4, 1989, at the age of 70. He is interred in the Los Angeles National Cemetery alongside his wife, Mildred Eberhard Younger, who died in 2006.

References

External links

*
Biography on Attorney General site
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Younger, Evelle J. 1918 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century California politicians Burials at Los Angeles National Cemetery California attorneys general California Republicans Candidates in the 1978 United States elections District attorneys in California Lawyers from Los Angeles Federal Bureau of Investigation agents People from Harlan County, Nebraska People of the Office of Strategic Services Politicians from Los Angeles United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of the Korean War University of Nebraska College of Law alumni