Alvin H. Goldstein Jr.

Alvin H. Goldstein, Jr. Alvin H. Goldstein, Jr. died peacefully on July 28, 2020 at his home in San Rafael, CA. He was 93. A proud father, decorated veteran of WWII, attorney, judge and teacher, he displayed a fierce passion for his work, his family, leisure and laughter, and more than lived up to the moniker of "Big Al," affectionately bestowed upon him by his children. Al was born in St. Louis, Missouri to parents Willmett Geist and Alvin H. Goldstein, Sr. who, as a cub reporter for the St. Louis Post Dispatch, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1925, for his assistance in solving the Leopold and Loeb case and breaking the story. At 18 years old, Al enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in the 30th Infantry Division from 1944 to 1946. He fought battles in Europe including the Battle of the Bulge and was awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star for courage displayed in battle. Home from the War, he was fortunate to resume his education with the help of the GI Bill. He attended Colgate University, graduated cum laude in 1949 and from Harvard Law School in 1952. After law school he worked as an Assistant District Attorney for New York County under Frank Hogan, whom Al considered a mentor. He distinguished himself there, coming up through the ranks, through homicide, racket investigations, and most famously, by convicting a notorious labor racketeer, Johnny Dio. He caught the attention of United States Attorney General Robert Kennedy, and In 1957 Kennedy dispatched him to California in the capacity of Special Assistant to the Attorney General, to prosecute Frankie Carbo and "Blinky" Palermo, et al, a famous boxing racketeering case in the Federal Court in Los Angeles, which resulted in a conviction. In 1958 Al moved to California to work for Edmund G. (Pat) Brown as a special consultant on organized crime as a Special Assistant Attorney General for California. In 1965, Governor Brown appointed him to the Municipal Court in Marin County, where he served as judge until 1971, sitting on both the Municipal and Superior Courts. When Al retired from the bench to re-enter private practice, he was one of the youngest judges in the state. He practiced law with David Phillips and Mark Musto in San Francisco and in Marin with Robert Carrow, and as a member of the part-time faculty, taught torts and criminal law at the Golden Gate School of Law for 10 years. Al was an active member of the California State Bar Association, serving as a two-term chair of the Litigation Section, and was on the Special Committee on Criminal Justice. Al developed a growing commitment to advocacy on behalf of human rights. Seminal events in his life would continue to fuel this calling. These included relentless personal attacks from the German American Bund, a neo-Nazi organization that proliferated at his high school in the Bronx, his engagements on several European battlegrounds during World War II, his experiences registering voters in rural Alabama during the Freedom Summer of 1964, as a trial attorney and a judge, and from his participation in the Civil Rights Movement. In 2003, Al took an assignment as Judicial Consultant with the Deptartment of Justice as part of a Judicial Assessment Team for Northern Iraq. He was assigned as the State Department's chief liaison with the Judicial Institute in Baghdad, where he worked with Iraqi judges and law professors to implement a human rights program. Later that same year, he accepted a post in the Office of High Representative in the Brcko District of Bosnia, where he was a consultant on organized crime. Al was a committed San Francisco 49er football fan who attended Kezar Stadium in the '60s with his father, his wife, and sons, and was one of the 49er Faithful who rarely missed a home game during the Candlestick years from 1971-2015. He treasured his family and cherished the many friendships during the course of his rich, fulfilling life. Whether enjoying a martini with friends or family or just discussing events of the day, he could always breathe life into a conversation. He loved to travel and take long rides with the top down in his beloved, and ever breaking down, Alfa Romeo. Those of us lucky enough to have known him will always remember and miss his humor, charisma, charm and infectious laughter, his indomitable spirit, and his open, inquisitive, brilliant mind. Al is survived by his wife, Patricia; his children and their spouses, Michael and his wife Sharilyn; Andrew and his wife Molly; Catherine and her husband Kerry; and his grandchildren Natalie, Grace and Avery. Our celebration of Al's life will be postponed to a safer time when all of our family and friends are able to attend.