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Hon. Lynn "Buck" Compton, UCLA 1939-1943
 Decades after his brave WWII military
service, Judge Compton was re-introduced to the
world in Stephen Ambrose’s best-selling book “Band of
Brothers,” which was later turned into the Tom Hanks/Steven
Spielberg-produced HBO miniseries of the same name.
Compton, who commanded the second platoon of Easy Company in the 506th
Parachute Infantry Regiment, saw front-line action that began on D-Day and
lasted through the Battle of the Bulge. Compton’s exploits
earned him a Silver Star, a Purple Heart, and a long list of other high
honors.
While “Band of Brothers” made Judge Compton
famous in recent years, his accomplishments have been attracting attention
and admiration since the 1940s. Before going to war, Judge
Compton lettered twice for the UCLA football team, and was part of the
first Bruin squad, in 1943, to see action in the annual Rose Bowl
game. Among his teammates in both football and baseball (he served as
team captain and catcher in that sport) was future baseball Hall of Fame
member Jackie Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball’s color line.
When the Judge returned from war, he joined
the Los Angeles Police Department. Rising to the rank of detective
while attending Loyola Law part-time, Judge Compton graduated in
1949. Over a subsequent twenty-year career with the Los Angeles
district attorney’s office he again rose
through the ranks, this time, ultimately leaving in 1970 as chief deputy
district attorney. During his tenure, he oversaw the 1969 prosecution
of Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin, Sirhan Sirhan.
Judge Compton’s exit from the D.A. was prompted by his 1970
appointment to the California Courts of Appeal as an Associate Justice by
then-Governor Ronald Reagan. During his term on the bench, Judge
Compton authored more than 2,000 written opinions in all areas of law.
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