Honorees

Harry Steward

1922-1996

Born in Los Angeles, California, in 1922, his family moved to Vista, California.  In 1932, the family started the Steward Trucking Company which transported fruits and vegetables to the Los Angeles produce markets.  Young Harry worked in the family business while going to school.  He graduated from Vista High School in 1939. 

When World War II began, he joined the Army Air Corps and piloted 95 missions mostly over Athe Hump@ (the Himalayas) to and from India, China and Burma.   He  flew large transport aircraft on these dangerous missions to resupply The Flying Tigers and the Chinese government.  468 American and 46 Chinese crews perished in the endeavor.  Steward was honorably discharged at the rank of lieutenant in 1946, and was awarded an Air Medal with cluster and four campaign citations. 

In 1947, Harry entered the University of Southern California, graduating from the law school in 1950 to began a private practice for a large firm in Los Angeles (1950-53).  He then became an Assistant U.S. Attorney there in the civil division before moving to San Diego to become the Assistant U.S. Attorney in charge of the San Diego office (1954-1957).   

Harry left government service in 1957 to start a private law practice in San Diego during which time he helped lead the drive to incorporate the City of Del Mar, California.  In 1960, he signed the Del Mar City Charter after the successful drive to incorporate.  He was later recognized by city officials as one of the founders of the city. 

Harry Steward was a fine trial lawyer.  He tried dozens of cases, both civil and criminal, in the state and federal courts in San Diego, and  was known as a creative and fierce litigator, with many victories.
He was also instrumental in the creation of another important entity crucial to the criminal justice in San Diego.  The two defender organizations, Federal Defenders and Defenders, Inc., owe their existence in no small part to his organizing efforts to create them.  His son, Dean Steward, reports that this was not easy.  While helping to organize funding for the organization, Steward obtained a grant from the Ford Foundation through the NLADA National Defender Project.  The grant required a matching grant from the San Diego County Bar Association, but the Association would not fund the match.  Steward and then Chief Judge James Carter collaborated on a method of convincing the Bar of the excellence of the grant concept.  The judge issued an order that lawyers in the County had to accept federal indigent cases and that the appointed lawyers were required to personally make court appearances and handle all aspects of the cases. The judge then proceeded to appoint partners in big civil firms.  Soon thereafter, the Bar re-considered and granted funds to match the grant. 

Harry Steward was named the first Executive Director of Federal Defenders, Inc.  He brought with him two fine attorneys, Warren Reese, and John Hart Ely. Federal Defenders was a “community defender” because it was set up as a non­profit corporation with a local board of directors  under the Criminal Justice Act of 1964.  It served as a model for the creation of other offices throughout the nation. As a result of the success of the project, soon there followed the creation of the state program, Defenders, Inc., responsible for the representation of indigents in state courts.

In 1969, Harry Steward was appointed by President Richard Nixon as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, a position he served in until 1975.  Of his switch from defense counsel to chief prosecutor, Steward stated “I’ve handled a lot of grounders in my day, and it’s sort of nice to be at bat for a change.” (Dicta Oct. 1970). 

After his service as U.S. Attorney, he took a year off to sail the South Pacific and re-entered private practice until his retirement in 1984.    He passed away September 30, 1996, at the age of 74, in the city of his youth, Vista, California.    

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