He was in private practice in San Francisco, California from 1948 to 1967. He was Chairman of the
Civil Service Board of Appeals in
Pittsburg, California from 1956 to 1958. He was
city attorney of
Concord, California from 1960 to 1969. He was a judge of the
Contra Costa County Superior Court from 1968 to 1970.
Federal judicial service Conti was nominated by President
Richard Nixon on October 7, 1970, to the
United States District Court for the Northern District of California, to a new seat created by 84 Stat. 294. He was confirmed by the
United States Senate on October 13, 1970, and received his commission on October 16, 1970. He assumed
senior status on November 1, 1987. Conti was a self-described
conservative known for his tough-on-crime views and ardent support of capital punishment, earning the nicknames "Hanging Sam" and "Slammin' Sam".
Notable cases In 1974, Conti sentenced
Nicholas Sand to fifteen years' imprisonment for operating a lab that manufactured
LSD, and lamented that it was not a capital offense. Between 1979–1980, Conti presided over a
racketeering trial involving of members of the
Hells Angels. He and his family required protection by the
United States Marshals due to threats he received. in which
John Fogerty was sued by his former label,
Fantasy Records, over his 1984 song "
The Old Man Down the Road", which they claimed infringed the copyright of his
Creedence Clearwater Revival song "
Run Through the Jungle". Part of Fogerty's defense involved performing both songs in court for the jury, who found in his favor. In 2008, Conti ruled that military veterans suing over delayed mental health treatment from the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs had no recourse in the courts for their complaint, because systemic error was not proven. He suggested that he was unhappy to have reached that conclusion, and was privately disappointed when his ruling was upheld on appeal. ==Personal life and death==