William M. Finch (October 7, 1862 - May 10, 1931)

Presiding Justice, May 1921 - May 1931

Born in Indiana, October 7, 1862, William M. Finch moved to California in 1880. He attended Pierce Christian College in Colusa, and became the first county superintendent of schools in Glenn County, California. While in that office, he studied law, and he was admitted to the California Bar in 1897. Finch was elected Judge of the Superior Court of Glenn County in 1905, and served until 1921, when he was appointed to the Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, to serve the remainder of the term left by the resignation of the court's first presiding justice, N.P. Chipman. Justice Finch had served 10 years when he died at his home in Sacramento, May 10, 1931.