Arthur G. Scotland

Office: Sacramento
1415 L Street
Suite 1200
Sacramento, CA 95814

Arthur Scotland, retired Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, specializes in government law as Of Counsel to the firm.

His judicial career included over 21 years on the Court of Appeal in Sacramento and almost two years as a Judge of the Superior Court of Sacramento County. Before his appointment to the bench in 1987, he served as Cabinet Secretary to Governor Deukmejian, 1983-1987, California Deputy Attorney General, 1976-1983, and Sacramento County Deputy District Attorney, 1974-1976.

After retiring from the Court of Appeal in 2010, he reactivated his license to practice law and represented the President pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly in a successful lawsuit against the State Controller, regarding the constitutional requirements for passage of a balanced budget bill.  He then joined the firm in 2012.

Honored as “Distinguished Attorney of the Year” by the Sacramento County Bar Association in 2014, he has received other recognition for his legal work and community service.  In 2010, the Judicial Council of California presented him with the “Ronald M. George Award for Judicial Excellence,” honoring a member of the judiciary for “extraordinary dedication to the highest principles of the administration of justice.” Scotland was named Judge of the Year in 2004 by the Sacramento County Bar Association. Active in his community, he was recognized as “Humanitarian of the Year” for volunteer work on behalf of the Sacramento Children’s Home, and received a Community Service Award for helping educate school children about our legal system and their rights and responsibilities as Americans. Other service awards include recognition by the American Board of Trial Advocates, Sacramento Valley Chapter, for “having tirelessly given his time and effort to make the community we live in a better place for those less fortunate and in need.”

In November 2016, Justice Scotland was named to the Hall of Fame of the Council of Chief Judges of the State Courts of Appeal based on his “notable and extraordinary service” to the organization. He is one of only thirteen individuals to have been inducted into that body in the CCJSCA’s 36-year existence. That same month he also received the Fourth Annual Founders’ Award from SacLEGAL, Sacramento’s LGBT bar association, comprised of attorneys, professionals and legislative advocates affiliated with the Sacramento County Bar Association, in recognition of his contributions to the legal profession and support of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. In November 2018, the Asian/Pacific Bar Association of Sacramento presented him with its President’s Award for his “unwavering support of diversity, inclusion, and equality; commitment to justice and civility; and steadfast dedication to making our community a better place.”

Mr. Scotland also received the prestigious A. Sherman Christensen Award, “bestowed upon a member of the American Inns of Court who, at the local, regional, or national level, has provided distinguished, exceptional, and significant leadership to the American Inns of Court movement.” The award was presented in the courtroom of the United States Supreme Court on October 20, 2018.

  • Mr. Scotland ruled on a wide variety of complex civil matters while serving as a Justice of the Court of Appeal.
  • Mr. Scotland appears in trial and appellate courts, representing clients regarding constitutional challenges to state statutes and regulations, challenges to the legality of county ordinances and regulatory actions, and defenses against claims based on the California Environmental Quality Act.