San Diego Criminal Justice Memorial
Honorees
A memorial directory honoring deceased judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys who advanced criminal justice in San Diego County.
Hon. Robert J. Stahl, Jr.
1924-2002
Stahl was born in Los Angeles on September 4, 1924 and remained in Southern California his entire life but for his military service. His undergraduate work was at Occidental College, where he was an accomplished high jumper on the Varsity Track Team. Following a tour of duty in the Navy as an Ensign, he earned his L.L.B. degree from the University of Southern California in 1949.
Service to others was a hallmark of the life of Robert J. Stahl, Jr. When he retired he was the longest serving Judge on the San Diego Municipal Court. He came to the Court after 13 years of distinguished service in the office of James Don Keller, District Attorney for San Diego County, where he rose to the rank of Assistant District Attorney, after exemplary service as a trial lawyer. He played a key role in shaping the transition of that office from a staff of 15 attorneys into one of the largest prosecuting offices in the country.
When he retired from the court, his fellow honoree, retired Superior Court Judge William T. Low, who preceded him as Assistant District Attorney, praised him as “. . . fair, compassionate, thoughtful and considerate…”. Low continued that Stahl was “a steady judge” and that litigants who left his courtroom “were aware that they received a decision based on the facts and his keen analysis.” (SDUT 9/30/89). In the late 1950s, Low and Stahl jointly prosecuted the Ruth Latham kidnaping case (LA Times 12/15/96).
His public service spread beyond the profession and the court, embracing many years of military service as a naval reservist, in World War II and Korea, where he served for three years in the office of the Judge Advocate General in Washington D.C. and then as a staff legal officer in the Commander Service Squadron in San Diego. He retired as a Captain. He also served All Hallows Parish in La Jolla; was an adult leader in Boy Scouts; was Chairman of the Eagle Board of Review; was Commodore of Mission Bay Yacht Club, where he pursued his passion for small boat sailing; and as a Rotarian.
After a brief time at the City Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, he moved his family to San Diego in 1954 (DictaApril 1968). Marvin Mizeur assured the Bench and Bar that it was privileged to have a new Municipal Court Judge of Stahl’s caliber and integrity because “[w]hen you meet him you immediately sense that he is a very capable, decent and fair minded man.” (Id.)
The crown jewel of his life was his family, his wife and five sons, two of whom are attorneys.