Never Stop Reading: The Lifelong Curiosity of Judge Stephen Trott

Long before Stephen Trott became known for his distinguished legal career, he was part of The Highwaymen, a folk group that performed in the 1960s and produced a #1 Hit, “Michael Row the Boat Ashore.”

The group showed real promise, but their manager urged them to stay in school rather than give up their degrees to pursue music full-time. Steve took that advice to heart. “I realized that I didn’t have the kind of talent that’s necessary to make a career out of music,” he says. 

He had fun in the music business, but then it was “time to go to law school.” 

And believe it or not, Steve turned down an offer to become Director of the FBI to serve as a judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Even after moving from the stage to the courtroom, he continued to perform. “We kept singing for 51 years…even though I was on the bench,” he explains.

He laughs about the balance he’s kept between creativity and structure. “Maybe it’s the right brain and the left brain fighting with each other,” he says, “but I like both.”

“I spent 33 years reading almost nothing but the law,” Stephen says. Retirement hasn’t changed that. “I study the Constitution, listen to all the Supreme Court arguments, and read all the cases that come out.” For Stephen, reading the law feeds his curiosity as he finds it fascinating to watch “government of the people, by the people, and for the people” at work.

His lifelong love of reading extends well beyond law. “Reading is learning,” he says, “and I’m insatiably curious. Every time I open a book, I learn something new.” His reading list includes history, biography, and mystery. Lately, he’s been drawn to historian Jon Meacham’s works on Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, FDR, and Winston Churchill, as well as The Soul of America and the memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant. When he’s ready for a change of pace, he enjoys Michael Connelly’s mystery novels.

Stephen’s life has taken him to many places. “I was born in New Jersey, lived in Ohio, then I lived in Mexico until I was 18,” he says. “I also resided in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Los Angeles, Virginia, Idaho, and now back to California.”

When asked which place he’s loved most, he answers without hesitation: “Idaho was my favorite.” He and his wife spent more than three decades there. After D.C., “I didn’t want to come back and battle with the traffic in Los Angeles, so we moved to Idaho for 33 years before returning to California.”

Whether he’s following a Supreme Court case, reading a biography, or picking up a mystery novel, Stephen continues to find purpose and joy in learning.

Asked if he’ll ever stop reading, he says, “Never! There’s always something new to learn.”

That’s Stephen Trott — a lifelong learner, a former Highwayman, and a man whose curiosity ensures he’ll never stop reading, never stop learning, and Never Stop Growing. He’s a Sequoian through and through.