Justice Jenkins praises criminal defense lawyer Dennis Riordan

Criminal defense lawyer Dennis Riordan died two days ago at 73. In an extensive San Francisco Chronicle obituary today, Jason Fagone described Riordan as “a relentless and uncannily persuasive San Francisco appeals lawyer who represented people convicted of serious felonies and repeatedly won their freedom, often by finding new evidence of their innocence and by exposing deep flaws in old trials.” Among many other honors, Riordan is one of only five attorneys inducted into the California Lawyers Association’s Appellate Lawyer Hall of Fame.

The article has many appreciations by former clients and legal community members, including this:

“Martin Jenkins, a California Supreme Court justice who presided over some of Riordan’s cases in both state and federal court, described the attorney as ‘pretty much always the smartest person in the room, but never acted like it.’

‘He’d get a wry smile on his face. A little twinkle in his eye. And he’d repackage the argument in a way that helped us achieve consensus,’ Jenkins said. Outside of court, the two men ultimately became friends, closing down restaurants together or just grabbing a burger: ‘I came to know him as a person, as a man, and my admiration just grew exponentially,’ Jenkins said.”