San Diego Criminal Justice Memorial
Honorees
A memorial directory honoring deceased judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys who advanced criminal justice in San Diego County.
Gene Dukette
1888-1962
One of the trusted and loyal associates of the capable and long-time District Attorney Thomas Whelan. He served as a Deputy District Attorney under both Tom Whelan and James Don Keller.
His early years were spent as a civil trial lawyer in the Los Angeles area. He had a flourishing practice and represented many prominent theatrical personages of the 1930s and early 1940s. Seeking a change in his practice, and challenged by the remarkably gifted Thomas Whelan, Dukette entered public service as a prosecutor.
His courtly manner and affable personality made him a force to be reckoned with in the trial courts of the county. He tried every kind of criminal case with great success over his lengthy career. His modesty, deference, and innate kindness impacted the lives of all who knew him. Dukette’s influence on other prosecutors in his office was legendary.
At the time of his passing in August 1962, he was remembered in Dicta – the sole lawyer magazine of the time, in the following language: “Not long ago there was a squib in the column about the lunch meeting arranged and held by a group of friends of Gene Dukette. It was a pleasant affair, and in retrospect takes on an added glow. By now you have all heard of Duke’s death late in August, and those of us who were present to greet him at the lunch are delighted that we held the function at the time and in the manner that we did. One of the high points was a description by Duke himself at how he felt to be among his friends and associates, swapping stories and recalling old times. The atmosphere was nostalgic without being maudlin, and Duke said that it was akin to a description he once heard applied to the act of making love: you have a lot of fun, but nobody laughs. All of us who have been associated with the D.A.’s office during the time Duke was there, as well as many whom he opposed in trial through the years, will think of Duke with only the warmest of memories. Our profession will never be so over-stocked with good men that we can afford to lose one such as Duke.” (Dicta, October 1962, p.12).
His life was a compelling portrait of a thoroughly good and decent man – a man of great honor in his profession.