Malcolm Lucas from the University of Southern California in 1950 and a Bachelor of Laws from the USC Gould School of Law in 1953. From 1954 to 1967, he was in private practice in Long Beach, California. From 1967 to 1971, he was a judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court. In February 1970, Lucas was the trial judge in the prosecution of Charles Manson for the murder of actress Sharon Tate, which continued through January 1971. In June 1970, Lucas had Manson removed from the courtroom due to his disruptive behavior. On July 8, 1971, President Richard Nixon nominated Lucas
Charles Manson of his body. Holmstrom explained that Manson had objected to his Hare Krishna chants and verbally threatened him. After 1989, Manson was housed in the Protective Housing Unit at California State Prison, Corcoran, in Kings County. The unit houses inmates whose safety would be endangered by general population housing. He had also been housed at San Quentin State Prison, California Medical Facility in Vacaville, Folsom State Prison and Pelican Bay State Prison. In June 1997, a prison disciplinary committee found that Manson had been trafficking drugs. That August he was moved from Corcoran State Prison to Pelican Bay State Prison.