Fierce advocate, gentle leader: Former Sacramento Public Defender Duran dies at 70
.jpg "Sacramento County Public Defender Paulino Duran is seen at his office in Sacramento in 2006. Duran, Sacramento County’s chief public defender for 25 years, died Jan. 19, 2021, of complications of COVID-19. He is remembered for a fierce advocacy and a natural grace during his long legal career.")
Paulino Duran, remembered for his fierce advocacy and an abiding kindness that defined his long legal career and a quarter-century as Sacramento County’s chief public defender, has died. He was 70.
Duran died Jan. 19 from complications of COVID-19, according to his daughter, Sarah Duran LeVine.
“His entire existence was built on one simple phrase: ‘Equality and justice for all,’ and he worked tirelessly to create that,” said Duran LeVine. “He was honest and kind and filled with acceptance. He judged no one.”
Duran retired as Sacramento County Chief Public Defender in 2018, having served as the longest sitting chief public defender in California. He battled dementia his final three years, a fight his daughter called “heartbreaking ... tragic, unfair and inhumane.” Duran was diagnosed with COVID-19 in December.
“It was a heartbreaking end to his life,” Sarah Duran LeVine said Monday. “It felt like his family lost him twice: first with the dementia; and, now, we’ve lost him again.”
Duran’s wife, Suzanne Duran, died of cancer in May 2019. In addition to Duran LeVine, Duran is survived by son Paulino Duran, daughter Katie Duran Long and four grandchildren. Memorial services are pending due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Remembrances of Duran shared common themes: his grace and decency; his fierce advocacy and his professionalism; and the love he had for his family.
“He was always committed to helping people. That was one of his passions in life along with his family and children,” said veteran public defender Steven Garrett, who succeeded Duran as Sacramento County Chief Public Defender.
“Paulino Duran was the quintessential gentleman, a real class act,” Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said in a statement. “As a public defender, he was a fierce advocate for his clients regardless of their past deeds, their current situation or their station in life. He appreciated the adversarial nature of our criminal justice system yet managed to balance a strong sense of advocacy with professionalism, a collaborative spirit and natural grace.”
Paulino Gallardo Duran was born April 5, 1950, in Mexico, to mother Isaura and father Paulino Duran. The son of immigrants, Duran did not speak English until he was 16. His high school instructors in San Francisco told Duran he should become a mechanic.
But Duran was drawn to the law and what would become a lifelong pursuit of social justice. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in 1972 from San Francisco State University, putting himself through school; then the University of San Francisco, where he received his law degree in 1975.
He never forgot the opportunity, Duran LeVine said.
“He had always been an advocate for social justice. When he came out of law school, he felt like he owed it to society to help people less fortunate,” she said.
His first job out of law school was as a deputy prosecutor in the Alameda County District Attorney’s office but quickly felt the pull of public defense. Duran would work in the offices of the San Francisco and Marin County Public Defender and taught 13 years at UC Hastings College of Law in San Francisco before taking over the Sacramento County Public Defender’s Office in 1993.
The Durans made their home in Sonoma County. Suzanne Coleman Duran, his wife, was a theater instructor and founder of Broadway Bound Kids in Sonoma. Moving to Sacramento would uproot that. The family stayed. For decades, Duran made the long drive each morning to Sacramento to practice law.
Duran was also a president of the California Public Defenders Association; co-founded the California Council of Chief Defenders and served on a state Attorney General’s task force to combat human trafficking and slavery.
Longtime assistant public defender Jessie Morris Jr. recalled the impact Duran had on the culture of the Sacramento public defender’s office from its sense of professionalism down to the furnishings.
“The amazing impact he had on the office — it was wonderful to have a kind gentleman at the head of the office,” Morris said.
Retired supervising assistant public defender Diane Howard said of her former boss: “Paulino was a kindhearted soul with a big personality. His first and foremost concern was always for the clients and protecting their rights. His goal for the office was to make it the very best it could be, not only for the clients, but attorneys and staff as well.”
Sacramento Superior Court Presiding Judge Russell Hom remembered Duran as “gentle, polite, responsive.”
“We’re tremendously fortunate to have one of the best public defenders’ offices in the state. ... It’s a reflection of their leadership. You can have a view as an advocate for clients, but it’s also a reflection of the broader judicial system,” Hom continued. “They understand their obligations as advocates and as legal professionals. That’s instilled from the top.”
This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 2:54 PM with the headline "Fierce advocate, gentle leader: Former Sacramento Public Defender Duran dies at 70."
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