STEPHEN M. WHITE
District Attorney

1882-1884

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Stephen M. White

Stephen M. White (1882-1884), educated at Santa Clara University, arrived in Los Angeles in 1874 and was described by one historian as a "dynamic and brilliant" lawyer. Before becoming district attorney in 1882, White was a charter member of the first Los Angeles County Bar Association. After one term, he became president pro tem of the California Senate and later was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he worked to establish the deep-water harbor at San Pedro, now known as the Los Angeles Harbor. He also appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court to defend the 1888 Scott Exclusion Act, enacted because of continuing anti-Chinese sentiment. The law essentially barred 20,000-30,000 Chinese laborers from reentering the United States.