San Diego Criminal Justice Memorial
Honorees
A memorial directory honoring deceased judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys who advanced criminal justice in San Diego County.
Jeffrey G. Elias
1947-2018
Jeff was born in Akron, Ohio in 1947 and moved to Sherman Oaks when he was two years old. Jeff made the Southland his home:? attending public schools, obtaining his Batchelor’s degree at UCLA and his JD at Loyola Law School. Jeff ‘s career began at the Los Angeles Public Defender’s Office where he spent 11 years, rising through the ranks to become a felony trial lawyer in the Criminal Courts in Santa Monica. Although his?responsibilities included training new lawyers, assigning cases and community relations, his forte was representing people suffering with mental illness.
When San Diego created its first Public Defender office in 1988, one of the first persons Frank Bardsley hired was Jeff Elias. Bardsley was a colleague of Jeff’s from the Los Angeles Public Defender’s office and recognized Jeff’s special expertise in representing people suffering with mental illness.
Jeff was immediately installed as Supervising Attorney of the Mental Health Unit. The Mental Health Unit became the exclusive public entity designated to handle all involuntary civil commitments, including LPS matters, for San Diego County. Jeff’s responsibilities included staff development, supervision, case management and community relations. Through Jeff’s leadership, the Unit developed into a respected partner in this specialized forensic community. He was a resource for other attorneys and agencies, advising on procedures relating to mental health issues and psychiatric defenses. In addition, he helped to develop and continued to be a team member for the Behavioral Health Court, functioning as the principal screener and the legal representative for all participants. Jeff retired on December 6, 2012 and continued working with agencies, individuals, and organizations as a consultant about mental health law, involuntary civil commitments, community reentry programs and behavioral health courts.
Jeff was a well-known and well-respected member of the forensic mental health community.? He was President of the San Diego Psych-Law Society, Chair for the Board of Directors for Mental Health America of San Diego County and received the Outstanding Community Servant Award from the Board of Supervisors of San Diego County. Jeff’s many contributions on behalf of his clients was recognized in Sacramento with the State Senate Award, Governor’s Award and Certificate of Appreciation from the California Legislative Assembly, and in Washington where he received a Certificate of Appreciation from the U.S. House of Representatives. Jeff enjoyed reaching out to students and encouraging them to take up the cause of?mental health awareness and was a frequent guest lecturer at UCLA, USC, UCSD, SDSU, USD and Cal Western School of Law.