Jan. 3, 1936: Los Angeles County Superior Court judges begin wearing robes  at the suggestion of California Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Waste. Not all judges like wearing robes and some continue to appear on the bench in business suits, The Times says. 

Bonus fact: The first woman judge appointed to Los Angeles County Superior Court was Georgia Bullock, 1931. Bullock, who died in 1957, was the first woman judge in California, The Times said.