Trial attorney Milton J. Silverman, who successfully defended the family of 12-year-old Stephanie Crowe and Black community activist Sagon Penn in high-profile murder cases, died last week at the age of 80.

He is considered by many of his contemporaries as one of the best, if not the best, trial lawyers of his time. The San Diego attorney’s cases and clients regularly made headlines, beginning in the 1980s and continuing beyond.

“Milt Silverman is a lawyer the likes of whom we will never see again,” said longtime San Diego defense attorney Eugene Iredale. “For 20 years Milt had criminal and civil cases with miraculous results because of his scrupulous attention to detail and his understanding of how to tell a story with his unique voice.”

Silverman passed away peacefully on May 21. “I was so blessed,” said Silverman’s wife, Maria. “We were a team. He loved me; he loved the children. Milt treated me like a delicate flower.”

Silverman handled a wide breadth of cases in his career, but perhaps the best known were the murder of Stephanie Crowe and the arrest that resulted in Sagon Penn shooting and killing a police officer.

Crowe was stabbed to death in her rural Escondido home. There was no sign of forced entry into the home and no forensic evidence that identified the killer. Her brother, Michael Crowe, then 14, and two of his friends confessed to the killing during intense, prolonged police interrogations.

Silverman represented the Crowe family, and his actions led to a dismissal of charges against the boys. Instead, a transient who had Stephanie Crowe’s blood on his shirt was charged. And 13 years later, the Crowe family agreed to accept $7.25 million to settle a federal civil-rights case filed against the cities of Escondido and Oceanside. 

Silverman also represented Penn, a man acquitted of killing a police officer in a case that divided San Diego County. He had shot and killed a San Diego police officer, run over another officer and wounded a civilian observer after a traffic stop in Encanto went horribly awry in 1985. Silverman, argued that Penn acted in self-defense in the face of excessive force from police.

San Diego criminal attorney Bob Grimes described Silverman as “an absolute, first-class trial lawyer who excelled at getting a vision of the case with a meticulous investigation and analysis.” Grimes added that Silverman was the only lawyer he ever encountered who “excelled at both criminal and civil cases.”  

While many of his criminal cases were headline-grabbing, his legal career spanned a variety of cases as diverse as product liability, toxic torts, defamation, abuse of process, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and misrepresentation, according to his biography.

“He was deadly on cross examination,” said friend and fellow attorney Dennis Schoville. “Milt had an innate ability to really understand people” and “his trial technique and his insight into what he needed to do in cross examination was exemplary.”

Schoville said the Crowe case, which had bounced back and forth in the judicial system for 13 years, showed Silverman’s “brilliance and personal perseverance.” Schoville represented one of the boys wrongly accused of murder in a lawsuit against four Escondido police officers, an Oceanside police officer, and a psychologist, while Silverman represented the victim’s family. Both attorneys were victorious in securing a settlement.

Silverman would go back to court yet again, to have all those accused declared factually innocent, a rare ruling. “He just felt as a matter of justice needed to be done,” Schoville said

Perhaps his most impactful case was the Penn trial.

“In a city known for its conservatism and pro-police attitude, much of the public was convinced it was an open and shut case and guilty verdicts couldn’t come fast enough,” said journalist Tony Perry who covered San Diego for the Los Angeles Times. “Silverman proved otherwise and two juries agreed.” 

A book about the case, “Reap the Whirlwind: Violence, Race, Justice, and the story of Sagon Penn,” is set to release in July. Its author, Peter Houlahan, interviewed Silverman extensively over the past two years about his role in defending Penn. 

The importance of Silverman’s successful defense had a major impact on San Diego, “as the innocent verdict preceded the riots in South Central Los Angeles in 1992 which also spread to San Francisco and Oakland,” said the book’s author. The verdict proved to be a damper for potential violence here.

“We had been through our own crisis between police and the Black community years before Los Angeles did,” according to former Deputy Chief Norm Stamper, who is quoted in the book. Nine-term congressman Lionel Van Deerlin wrote in a San Diego Union editorial, “This city can add a name to America’s pantheon of legendary defense lawyers: Milton Silverman.”  

Mark Sauer, a veteran San Diego newspaperman who covered several cases in which Silverman was the principal attorney, recalled, “Milt Silverman embodied what it means to be a tough trial attorney. He was smart, relentless, legally cunning, with a great sense of showmanship and guile. Milt won multimillion-dollar civil judgments on behalf of noted clients, like Dale Akiki and the Crowe family, by successfully overcoming prosecutorial immunity as few lawyers ever have.”

“He was brash, flamboyant, and completely at ease in the spotlight. And he always was guided by his unerring sense of justice,” Sauer added.

Silverman was noted for his ability to master complex subject matters in preparing for a case.  An example was his successful defense of Dr. Maurizio Zanetti, an immunologist accused by the federal government of fraud involving research on HIV vaccines.

 “He would spend 14 hours a day working hard right beside me,” recalled Zanetti. “He quizzed me in every possible way,” noting that Silverman was “mentally and emotionally involved with what was happening.”  

The case was 25 years ago but Zanetti and Silverman developed a friendship that endured until his recent death.

Silverman was a graduate of San Diego State University in 1966 and UCLA School of Law in 1969. The son of an attorney, his first murder case, when he was 25, was in Vietnam while he was working with the Judge Advocate General’s office. 

When he began working in San Diego in private practice he recalled sleeping on the floor in his office and teaching class and bathing at SDSU. He recounted the anecdote in an interview he gave for his Legends of the Bar Award, one in a long list of awards and recognition he received for his years of outstanding work.

In that interview Silverman advised young attorneys new to the justice system that when he began his career, he didn’t understand what noted attorney Clarence Darrow meant when he said “there is no justice either in or out of court.” But 35 years of experience gave Silverman his answer.

“I’ve seen people with righteous cases who are ground up and eaten alive by the system” and others who “should have been punished, brought to justice laugh and sneer in the faces of who they wronged,” he said at the time.

It was those “righteous cases” that motivated Silverman, said Judge Jeffrey Miller, a Senior U.S. District judge who worked in the San Diego Superior Court system for 10 years.

“He was very selective about his cases. And he accepted only those cases that he cared deeply about, that he believed in, that there was an important right to be vindicated. Or where he felt just the need for justice,” Miller said.

Miller first encountered Silverman, who was 40 at the time, in a personal injury trial in Superior Court. 

“There were things that stood out to me at that point as he had a presence in the courtroom that I don’t know I had seen from anyone else up to that point in my life,” Miller said. “He had a compelling style about him. He wasn’t bombastic. And he had a tone, a certain way that was authoritative, without being cocky, without alienating people.” 

He noted that “Milt Silverman without a courtroom was like Pavarotti without an opera.”

Judge Leo Papas said of Silverman, “Milt knew how to connect to people in a visceral and in intuitive way. He recalled talking with Silverman about his opening statement for the Crowe case. “The civil case settled but the experience was spellbinding and gripping as any murder mystery best seller,” Papas said.

Maria Silverman recalled that she and the family became part of Silverman’s law practice, working in the office with him. She became his second set of eyes. Everywhere he went on a case, she would come along. She would sit in trial court with him, making suggestions during jury selection on which jurors she liked and didn’t like. He trusted her instincts.

When he represented the parents of a daughter who had allegedly been brainwashed by a Krishna sect, the family temporarily moved to Orange County. “We rented a trailer. We stayed there for six months,” recalled his wife. “We used to come back on the weekends, going back and forth. It was always an adventure with my husband.”  

Daughter Rose Silverman recalled fear during and after the Penn trial. Her father never left her or her brother alone. It was on a nighttime grocery trip that she saw her father carrying a gun. The family had received death threats, and the San Diego Sheriff’s Department had issued Silverman a gun permit. Eventually the children were sent out of state for their protection.

But what mattered for the family was their father’s love. “We are all about the family and supporting each other and being there for each other and loving each other,” Rose Silverman said. “He was all about family, and about law and justice.”  

The family wants their friends to know that “Milt went home surrounded by his loving family leading him into the presence of God with the beautiful music of Paul Wilbur.”

Silverman is survived by his wife Maria, daughter Rose, son Richard and four grandchildren.
A memorial service is being planned at the First Church of the Nazarene in late June.

San Diego may have expensive housing, but it still ranks as one of the 10 best U.S. cities for raising a family, according to the financial services website WalletHub.

The Miami-based company ranked 182 U.S. cities — including the 150 most populous, plus at least two cities from each state — on five measures:  affordability, education, health, socio-economics and family fun opportunities.

San Diego came in 8th, with measures of education and family fun outweighing affordability.

Five of the ten best cities were in California, including top-ranked Fremont, Irvine, San Diego, San Jose and Huntington Beach. Only one city in California’s arch-rival Texas — Plano — made the top ten. Pembroke Pines was the top city in Florida, coming in at 40.

“While not perfect — given personal preferences and the limitations of publicly available data — our findings will hopefully give movers a better sense of their options,” WalletHub said.

Other cities in San Diego County made the extended list, including Chula Vista at 43 and Oceanside at 70.

High pressure to the south will influence the weather through Wednesday with a shallower marine layer, fewer low clouds and generally higher daytime temperatures, particularly inland, forecasters said.

High temperatures Tuesday are expected to reach 66 to 69 near the coast, 71 inland, 71 to 75 in the western valleys, 75 to 80 near the foothills, 75 to 85 in the mountains and 100 to 103 in the deserts, according to the National Weather Service.

A low pressure trough moving inland to the north on Wednesday could slightly deepen the marine layer and bring minor cooling, mainly west of the mountains.

From Thursday through the weekend, only minor day-to-day changes are expected with high temperatures about 5 degrees above average for the deserts and slightly below average for the coast and valleys.

The marine layer will be around 2,500 feet with low clouds spreading inland into portions of the valleys during nights and mornings.

Gusty southwest to west winds will affect the mountains and deserts each late afternoon through late evening with the strongest gusts reaching 25 to 35 mph.

Ten San Diego County nonprofit organizations were surprised with $10,000 grants from Cox Charities this week for local programs that support K-12 education, digital equity, conservation and sustainability, and military and veterans.

Cox Charities is a philanthropic foundation led and funded by Cox Communications employees and supported by the company.

The 2024 San Diego Cox Charities community grant recipients and their programs are:

• Alpha Project — Its Permanent Supportive Housing program for veterans provides residents with emergency rental assistance, food, transportation, household supplies, and medical equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers, and power chairs.
• Cyber Seniors — Digital training workshops in English and Spanish for older adults that include basic technology training, as well as practical knowledge on how to use technology to connect to friends, family and the community.  
• Downtown San Diego Partnership Foundation — The O-Lot Digital Resource Hub in downtown San Diego will close the digital divide for clients temporarily living in a safe sleeping site and invest in their future by providing access to critical resources to help end their homelessness.
• Experience Nature Unplugged — Through outdoor classrooms and nature-inspired STEAM activities, the nonprofit empowers tweens and teens to use technology intentionally to build community, reduce loneliness and inspire confidence in outdoor settings.
• Forever Balboa Park — Expansion of volunteer programs to maintain and enhance Balboa Park for all visitors, and recruit and train 100 tree maintenance corps volunteers who will help maintain new biodiversity gardens and exterior gardens around the restored Botanical Building.
• Healthy Day Partners — The Straight 2 The Plate Mobile Garden Classroom helps food insecure individuals and families grow their own healthy food and become less reliant on food donations by providing gardening workshops in underserved communities.
• Living Coast Discovery Center — The grant will provide field trips to the center for schools with high poverty levels so that students can explore a nature reserve, interact with wildlife and participate in hand-on STEAM activities.  
• Mama’s Kitchen — The grant will fund meals for 360 critically ill veterans in San Diego County. Meals are home-delivered and medically tailored to improve the quality of life for critically ill veterans and their families.
• San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum — The grant will enable the museum to provide 525 scholarships for younger students from under-resourced communities in San Diego County to participate in STEM educational workshops.
• TERI Inc. – The grant will enable the nonprofit to double its capacity for neurodiverse students to participate in its STEM programs and robotics.

A 3.5 magnitude earthquake close to the Borrego Springs community was reported late Sunday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The quake struck just before 11 p.m. Sunday, 3.5 miles west of Borrego Springs and 26.9 miles northeast of the San Diego County Estates resort, U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The county Sheriff’s Department hadn’t received any reports of damage, an official said.

— City News Service

Slight warming is expected on Memorial Day in some parts of San Diego County, with a mild week ahead, forecasters said.

Coastal San Diego will see mostly cloudy conditions throughout the week, with highs ranging from the upper 60s to low-70s. The mountains and valleys will see a mix of partly cloudy and some windy conditions, with highs in the mid-70s.

The deserts will see mostly clear and sunny conditions, with some mild winds and highs possibly hitting the triple digits by Monday, according to the National Weather Service.

Downtown San Diego on Memorial Day will see cloudy conditions in the morning, then gradually become mostly sunny, with a high near 69 and gusts as high as 20 mph.

Monday’s San Diego surf forecast includes a moderate-risk rip current, with surf height from 2 to 4 feet, a mixed west swell from 280 degrees and south swell from 210 degrees.

West to northwest winds around 20 knots will occur in the outer coastal waters from 30 to 60 nautical mile each afternoon and evening through Wednesday.

“A short wave ridge is expected over the area by next Saturday which could bring additional minor warming and a continued shallow marine layer,” the NWS said.

City News Service contributed to this article.

Firefighters were battling a vegetation fire that broke out in Marron Valley Sunday, but quickly brought it under control.

Units were dispatched around 11:30 a.m. to reports of a fire in a remote area of San Diego County, south of Dulzura and close to the Mexico border, said Cal Fire officials.

“The blaze was stopped at 12 acres. Fire personnel will remain at the scene for another two hours to mop up and patrol for hot spots,” Cal Fire PIO Captain Brent Pascua said.

No evacuations or injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire was not immediately known.

City News Service contributed to this report.

What’s harder than shopping for a Mother’s Day gift? One could argue shopping for Father’s Day. If dad isn’t telling you exactly what he wants, it can be difficult to find the perfect gift for him. Here’s our annual Father’s Day Gift Guide with the hopes of making gift-finding easier this holiday. 

For the stylish dad

Protect dad’s eyes and keep him cool with NEVEN’s assortment of trendy and affordable sunglasses. With many different styles and color schemes, you are sure to find a pair that dad will love. Plus, the company is offering a deal where you get two free pairs with one purchase! There’s also a warranty so if they break, just send them back for a new pair. 

If dad loves style and comfort, check out SOREL’s range of men’s slippers, which are durable for coffee runs and totally comfy for relaxing during a football game. We love the Falcon Ridge Scuff and Dude Moc Slipper.

Speaking of shoes, check out Juntos, a luxurious yet eco-conscious footwear brand. Juntos offers slip-on and lace-up shoes that have been created from heel to toe using sustainable materials that are abundant in the Ecuadorian landscape.

For the stylish dad who needs a bag, check out the  Chrome Industries Camden Backpack, which fits a 15” laptop and comes with a ton of internal organization for his pens, keys, wallets, phone and more. Plus, it’s made from recycled nylon and is entirely PFAS-free. Another option includes the Kadet Max, which has a swappable buckle feature, he can personalize it to match his unique sense of style. 

Let dad hit the fairways with the trendiest of gear from Sunday Swagger, a polo company with personality. Dad will love the bold, bright patterns and prints where you can spot him a mile away. All polos are designed with 4-way stretch, UPF 40 sun protection, moisture-wicking technology and a breathable poly spandex blend that is wrinkle resistant.

For the active dad 

Gift dad some comfortable clothing to get active in with prAna. We love the company’s Stretch Zion Short II, which is breathable and lightweight, and the Lost Sol Short Sleeve Shirt, which is also made with breathable stretch fabric, built in UPF 50+ protection and moisture-wicking properties.

How about gifting dad his very own kayak? Hydro-Force Cove Champion Inflatable Two-Person Kayak is affordable and comes with everything dad will need for a great day on the water! It is designed for a quick and easy setup and also comes with a hand pump.

Speaking of water – how about adding a pool to dad’s backyard with Bestway Inflatable Pool Set. It’s super easy to set up – just select a level surface, inflate the top ring and the pool will rise as it’s filled up with water. 

Get dad on the pickleball wagon with Selkirk, the owner of high-end paddles that provide better performance, durability and control. The company has paddles for all player levels, along with plenty of videos and tips on how to improve your game. 

For dad’s long runs, get him the JLab’s JBuds Lux ANC Over-Ear Headphones, which has exceptional sound quality, 70+ hours of playtime and Smart Active Noise Cancellation. 

For the dad that loves to escape but needs to stay connected, check out MIDLAND’s  X-TALKER T71VP3 Two-Way Radio. These walkie-talkies provide up to 15 hours of battery life and 38 miles of range! 

Does dad need help unwinding from his active days? Try the Hydragun HeatPulse Knee Massager, which combines the therapeutic benefits of heat and vibration therapy, offering soothing relief for chronic pain, sports injuries, and post-surgery recovery. Or the Penetrex Trio Bundle for Joint & Muscle Relief, which helps deliver relief from any discomfort. 

For the foodie dad

For the dad who loves to be in the kitchen, help him get organized with the cool StoveShelf. The handy, yet simple, shelf will allow dad to access his essentials faster while keeping the kitchen tidy. 

If dad loves to cook meat, he’ll love the MeatStick 4X Wireless Meat Thermometer, which can accurately tell the temperature of whatever he is cooking. The company is currently offering 30% off its products in honor of Father’s Day.

If he enjoys hunting and cooking, he’ll love Excalibur for making his very own jerky!  The Excalibur Dehydrator Select Series 10 Tray offers a temperature range of 85°-165° F and a timer for up to 30 hours, allowing you to efficiently dehydrate a wide variety of foods, including meat, fruit, and herbs. 

Upgrade dad’s wine supplies with Vin Fresco. The company offers rechargeable wine openers, electric wine aerators and more. Dad will appreciate the faster and easier access to his favorite wines. 

Dad could always use a few great bottles of wine. Celebrate him with the exquisite taste of Kenefick Ranch, crafted with love and dedication from the heart of Napa Valley. We love the 2019 Kenefick Ranch Pickett Road Red, 2015 Kenefick Ranch Petite Sirah and the 2022 Kenefick Ranch Rosé.

How about a sweet gift? Chef Max of Magnolia Kitchen is delivering sweet goodness with his mouth-watering cookies. Check out his assortment of baked good options, which are all made with 100% butter and all-natural ingredients.

Have a gift idea for dads? Tell us in the comments.

____

San Diego Moms is published on Saturdays. Have a story idea? Email hoaq@timesofsandiego.com and follow her on Instagram at @hoawritessd.

San Diego is stopping new intakes at its homeless shelter in Golden Hall as it prepares to transition people staying there to other shelters by the end of the year.

The Golden Hall Shelter is operated by Father Joe’s Villages under a contract with the San Diego Housing Commission and is set to close before the year is out due to winter storm damage.

The facility was first approved as a temporary shelter in 2019 by the San Diego City Council. The 60-year old building was recently damaged in this winter’s heavy rain, and the fire marshal has sped up the facility’s timeline.

According to a report issued last year by San Diego’s Independent Budget Analyst, it would cost at least $9.3 million in improvements to operate Golden Hall as a permanent shelter.

“Given future redevelopment plans for the Civic Core site, such an investment has been deemed unwise,” a city statement reads.

The several blocks around the shelter, which include Civic Theatre and the City Administration Building, are the subject of a proposed redesign. Mayor Todd Gloria has been attempting to find a developer to take on the ambitious project — which also includes the blighted 101 Ash Street building — for several years.

According to the city, residents at Golden Hall who have not yet been connected with long-term housing arrangements will be relocated to existing or new city-funded facilities by the end of the year. The temporary shelter currently has a capacity of 264 beds.

Intakes continue at all 17 other city-funded shelters and its two Safe Sleeping and four Safe Parking sites.

Gloria has proposed expanding the city’s shelter capacity by 1,000 beds and more than 200 Safe Parking stalls for households living in their cars.

Cool, May gray weather will continue through Saturday in the San Diego area before a warming trend begins on Sunday and continues on Memorial Day.

“Cooling will continue through Saturday,” the National Weather Service said. “Night and morning coastal low clouds will extend inland across all of the valleys and onto the lower coastal slopes of the mountains with slower daytime clearing for coastal areas.”

The deep marine layer brought patchy drizzle on Friday morning, and more is expected on Saturday morning.

Highs Saturday will be around 65 along the coast, 62 to 67 in the valleys, 58 to 68 in the mountains and 82 to 86 in the deserts.

The clouds will clear on Sunday and Monday, with temperatures expected to be 5 to 10 degrees higher.