San Diego Criminal Justice Memorial
Honorees
A memorial directory honoring deceased judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys who advanced criminal justice in San Diego County.
Stanley Jones
1951-2015
Stanley Thurman Jones was born on April 20, 1951, in Oceanside, California.
After graduation from Western State University Law School (now Thomas Jefferson School of Law) with a JD degree in 1976, he was admitted to the California Bar that year.
Stan was a musician (vocals, guitar and drums) and initially balanced a community practice with his performing. He also volunteered on inmate legal issues. For example, in 1977, Stan became the case coordinator for the “Camp Pendleton 14,” a case involving 14 African American Marines from the South charged with assaulting a group of White Marines who they thought were involved in KKK activities on the base. The case helped expose the presence of the Klan at Camp Pendleton and the racism which existed on base.
In the mid-eighties Stan worked for Defenders Inc. handling felony arraignment court. When the San Diego Public Defenders Office was established in the late 1980s, he began a new career there, working over 25 years before retiring. During his time in the Public Defenders Office, Stan worked in the Downtown, South Bay, and El Cajon offices. He also spent many years in the Mental Health Unit and was a great resource of information to attorneys about working in that court. Additionally, Stan helped supervise the Public Defender Central Misdemeanor Unit and served as the Office’s head of training for several years. He was also a Union Representative for the office.
Stan was very active in the legal and criminal justice community. He was a member and past president of the San Diego Criminal Defense Lawyers Club, a Board member of the San Diego Criminal Defense Bar Association, a past president of the San Diego Psych-Law Society. He also taught law at National University for a number of years.
Stan’s clients were very important to him, and he always did his best for them. His sense of humor was enjoyed by those he worked with, prosecutors, the bench, and court staff. Stan always said, “It is important to have someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to.”
Stan passed away unexpectedly on January 17, 2016. We lost a wonderful colleague and friend. His great spirit and our memories of him will live forever.