Milton Joseph Silverman Jr.

1944 - 2024

"Milt" Silverman, one of San Diego's greatest and most famous attorneys, passed away suddenly of an aggressive form of leukemia on May 21, 2024 at the age of 79, in the loving presence of his family and to the music of Paul Wilbur. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Maria Silverman, their children, Richard and Rose, and four grandchildren. He was a devoted family man who doted on his wife and children.

Milt was born in Denver, Colorado. His father, a Naval Academy graduate and lawyer, moved to San Diego, where Milt grew up. He attended Grossmont High School where he was a member of the concert band and the wrestling team. He graduated from San Diego State with distinction in 1966. In 1969, he graduated from UCLA Law School. While at UCLA, Milt received the award of ""Best Student – Mock Trial Attorney"". Upon graduation, he was awarded a fellowship from the Reginald Heber Smith Community Lawyer Foundation and lived in Pueblo, Colorado, where he was instrumental in establishing a school lunch program for underprivileged students in the public school system. After his fellowship, Milt returned to San Diego, where he soon began his own law practice.

During his 50-year career, he was an astoundingly successful trial attorney, with unusual success in both civil and criminal cases. The central theme of his career was his desire to help clients who he felt had been wronged or treated unfairly. He used his trial genius and never-give-up diligence, to achieve many successes for his clients.
One of his most amazing trial victories was a $32.5 million jury verdict in 1983 - which was considered the largest civil verdict in California at the time. In that case, Milt sued the Hare Krishna's on behalf of the family of a young woman who he alleged was kidnapped and brainwashed by the Hare Krishna's. The case was tried to a jury in Orange County. For six months, Milt and his family moved to Orange County and lived in a trailer during the entire trial.

In 1986 and 1987, Milt defended Sagon Penn through two jury trials on multiple murder, manslaughter and assault charges stemming from Penn's shooting of two police officers and a ride-along. Milt's diligence showed that Penn was acting in self-defense and had been subjected to racial taunts and assaulted by the police officers. Among other things, Milt hired a forensic expert to analyze a tape of the events which included the shots fired. From that evidence, he proved that the physical forensic evidence corroborated Penn's version of events and not the police officers. This highly publicized case raised sensitive racial issues and caused threats to Milt and his family's safety to the extent he armed himself to protect his family.

Milt was known for his total dedication to his clients, often focusing on just one case at a time and often fighting against long odds. For example, he sued several San Diego municipal agencies and others on behalf of Jim Wade and his family. Mr. Wade's daughter, then eight years old, had been viciously raped, and immediately reported that a stranger had entered her bedroom, kidnapped and raped her. The authorities did not believe her, and removed her and her brother from the family home for over a year. After a year of meetings with a psychologist and others, the daughter accused her father of her rape and the District Attorneys' office charged him. After criminal charges were brought, on request of Mr. Wade's criminal defense attorney, DNA tests proved that a different man, not Mr. Wade, had committed the crime and the charges against him were dropped. Milt brought a civil case against the numerous participants in these events. It was his hard work, discovery and incredible tenacity that resulted in a settlement for the family after several years of litigation. Similarly, he took on a civil rights case for Dale Akiki against a church and other authorities. Mr. Akiki had been charged with numerous counts of sexual abuse of children in a church. A jury acquitted Mr. Akiki on all counts. Milt took on the very difficult civil lawsuit against the church and others involved and achieved a substantial settlement for Mr. Akiki.

In a third notorious case, Stephanie Crowe was viciously murdered in her home. Law enforcement immediately focused on her brother and two of his teenage friends and succeeded in obtaining confessions from the three boys. In the meantime, the police ignored multiple reports of a transient who had been in the neighborhood on the night of the murder. The trial judge found that the confessions were involuntary and had been obtained illegally. The court dismissed the charges against the three teenagers. Milt and other attorneys filed civil cases on behalf of the teenagers against the sheriffs and law enforcement personnel who were involved. He dedicated sixteen years of his life, eventually overcoming numerous defense efforts and appeals, to obtain a substantial settlement on behalf of his client. In the meantime, he went to court to obtain a finding that his client was factually innocent of the charges, an important finding for the boy's future.

Because of these many career successes on behalf of his clients, Milt was considered by many to be in an elite class of trial lawyers that includes the likes of Clarence Darrow, Thurgood Marshall, Abraham Lincoln and very few other lawyers of historical note. The cases demonstrated that when Milt took on a case, he believed in the cause and his client despite often enormous contrary public opinion and long odds against success. He never gave up until success was achieved.

Milt received so many awards, accolades and honors, it is impossible to list all of them. A few, that he valued the most, included his induction into the American College of Trial Lawyers (nationally considered the highest honor a trial lawyer can achieve), his admission into the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) which is reserved for outstanding civil jury trial lawyers. He received awards from the San Diego Trial Lawyers in 1983 and 1987, including the Trial Lawyer of the Year in 1987. He was selected as the Criminal Defense Trial Lawyer of the Year, also in 1987, by the California Defense Bar Association. Along the way, the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice honored him for his dedication to the cause of criminal justice in the State of California by awarding him its Skip Glenn award. He was designated a Legend of the Bar by the San Diego Bar Association.

In addition to his trial work, Milt was dedicated to the improvement of his profession and donated enormous amounts of time to helping other lawyers learn their craft. He was very active in the Lewis M. Welsh Inn of Court in San Diego and created a famous mock trial skit called ""The Bones of Colonel Hart,"" which was often redone by the Inn starring Milt and other members of the Inn. He also taught in the San Diego NITA trial program for several years and the San Diego Inn of Court, always agreeing to give demonstrations of trial skills to the audience. He amazed the audiences with his remarkable demonstrations of cross-examination and closing argument.

Milt was the author of a well-received book, ""Open and Shut"" about one of his most famous cases. In that case, he successfully achieved a defense verdict against charges that his client, a woman who had contracted for the murder of her husband, had acted under the influence of another man who had hypnotized her.

Milt was a highly religious man and a student of the Bible. He wrote a book about the life of Jesus. His religious journey began when he used a client's open Bible to help him understand her and to develop her defense. He and Maria were members of the First Church of the Nazarene at Point Loma College.

Milton J. Silverman, Jr. will be missed by his many friends at the Bar, including co-counsel and adversaries, his clients, his family and so many others who were affected or influenced by him. He was truly ""one of a kind"". Most importantly, as reflected in the cases he decided to take, he was a highly empathetic and decent human being. San Diego, indeed, the world, is a better place because of him.

There will be a memorial service for Milt at First Church of the Nazarene, 3901 Lomaland Drive, San Diego, CA 92106, on June 29, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, Milt's family asked that if you wish to donate in his name, you may make it to Maranatha Foundation at 2580 Historic Decatur Street, San Diego, CA 92106.