Barry Tarlow

1939 - 2021

August 2, 1939 - April 30, 2021 Barry Tarlow, a nationally prominent criminal defense lawyer, passed away peacefully at his home on April 30, 2021. His funeral service and burial occurred on May 3, 2021 at Mt. Sinai Memorial Park. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Saul and Mildred Tarlow. He attended Boston University School of Law where he was the Editor of the Law Review and graduated number one in his class. He was admitted to the Bar in California in 1965. He served as an Assistant United States Attorney, Criminal Division, in California prior to establishing his own law firm in 1966. He served as President for the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice and was on the Board of Directors for the ACLU Foundation of Southern California. He was the Chair of the Rico Prosecutions Committee and Counsel for the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section. In 1992 he was named the Criminal Defense Lawyer of the Year by the Century City Bar Association. He was selected as one of the outstanding criminal lawyers in the country by publications ranging from the National Law Journal to Naifeh and Smith's Best Lawyers in America (1983 to 2021). Barry Tarlow was known for his successful defense of a variety of clients in criminal cases, such as George Christie, former President of the Hells Angels Ventura chapter, who was acquitted of solicitation of murder charges. He also successfully defended Clarence Chance who was exonerated and released after serving 17 years in prison with apologies from the state of California after being wrongfully convicted of shooting an off-duty sheriff's deputy. Barry Tarlow wrote more than three hundred articles and books on criminal practice and procedure including Tarlow on Search and Seizures and was a co-author of California Criminal Defense Practice and was a long time Contributing Editor of The Champion, the magazine for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He was a stalwart supporter of Centurion Ministries, a secular, non-profit organization with a mission to exonerate the wrongfully convicted.He loved his Great Danes, collecting antiques and was an avid sports fan. He is survived by his two siblings, Barbara and Gerald and his partner Marcia Morrissey. Donations can be made in his name to The Centurion Ministries.