San Diego Criminal Justice Memorial
Honorees
A memorial directory honoring deceased judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys who advanced criminal justice in San Diego County.
David Curnow
1942-2017
David Pearce Curnow was born on October 1, 1942 in Alhambra, California. After graduating from Burbank High School, Dave obtained an AA degree in 1962 from Los Angeles Valley College, and then obtained a BA degree in 1964 from Redlands University, with a triple major in Political Science, Sociology, and Economics. Dave obtained his JD from U.C. Berkeley School of Law.
Following his graduation from U.C. Berkeley in 1967, Dave joined the United States Army Reserves. After completing basic training, Dave joined the United States Department of Justice as an Assistant United States Attorney, first in Los Angeles and then in San Diego.
Dave practiced in San Diego for 41 years, from 1973 through 2014. He spent 27 years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, and served as the Chief of the Fraud Section and Deputy Chief of the Appellate Section. Dave also spent 14 years in private practice as a partner with Amos & Curnow, Jennings, Engstrand & Henrickson, and Sullivan, McWilliams, Lewin & Markham.
Dave was both an accomplished trial lawyer who tried more than 100 cases to a jury, and a skilled appellate lawyer who has 91 published opinions to his credit, including one in the United States Supreme Court.
When not practicing law, Dave was an avid outdoorsman and triathlete. In 1988, Dave was involved in a tragic accident when his bicycle was struck from behind by a motorist whose car had drifted into the bicycle lane. The accident left Dave paralyzed from his chest down, and he was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Dave overcame his disability, however, and practiced for another 24 years litigating criminal appeals in the Appellate Division of the United States Attorney’s Office.
Dave’s passion for the triathlon remained, and he became involved with the Challenged Athletes Foundation and played an instrumental role in having the triathlon admitted as an Olympic sport. After retiring from the practice of law in 2014, Dave volunteered with Casa de Amistad as a tutor and mentor to disadvantaged youth. Dave passed away on December 20, 2017.