He was a friend of mine and a semi-regular commenter on this blog since the blog started.
To me, Sid was the epitome of what a Harris County criminal lawyer was. He was disheveled, disorganized, sarcastic, angry, fearless . . .
. . . and a phenomenal lawyer.
I met Sid when I was a baby prosecutor. He was grizzled and wide-eyed. My first encounter with him didn't lead me to believe that there was anything special about him. It wasn't until much later that I mentioned something about Sid to another attorney (I think it was Pete Justin), and that lawyer's response was something to the effect of "Sid is one of the most brilliant legal minds that building has ever seen."
As I would come to find out, Sid may not have always looked like much on the outside, but on the inside, he was an intensely zealous (and wickedly brilliant) criminal defense attorney. He had the respect of all of his peers that knew of his work.
He commented on the blog quite a bit. Sometimes he signed his name, but other times he did so anonymously. He wasn't hiding his opinions when he logged in under the "Anonymous" tag. I think he just didn't feel like wasting the time it took to log in under his own name. He would sometimes call me to follow up and explain why he commented the way he had. He was a keen observer of the Big Picture when it came to the Harris County Criminal Justice System, and he was willing to fight every aspect of it which he believed to be unfair.
Recently, his health was failing him and he was struggling to make ends meet. I called him to check on him, and he sounded like the Sid that we all knew and loved. He was aggravated and pissed off, yet still in possession of his sense of humor and oddly upbeat demeanor.
A lot of us reached out to Sid to see if there was anything we could do to help him. A special word of thanks should go out to Robert Pelton for his efforts in finding Sid the healthcare options that he needed. As sad as I am to learn of Sid's passing, there is some comfort in knowing how many people reached out to him and let him know that they cared, loved and respected him.
A funeral mass for Sid will be held this Friday, April 26th at 10:00 a.m. in the Chapel of Divine Mercy at St. Laurence Catholic Church, 3100 Sweetwater Blvd., Sugar Land, TX 77479. Sid's family is asking that donations in Sid's memory be made to the animal rescue group, HOPE.
Sid was a true warrior and a champion of those who didn't have anybody else to stand with them. He was an unassuming Giant in our little legal world. I'm proud to have known him and I'm proud to have called him my friend.
I will miss him.
2 comments:
After seeing numerous posts like this over the years on this blog, it really strikes me just how many members of the criminal defense bar seem to have to work right until the end of their lives. In my opinion, it really is tragic that people who have been responsible and worked hard their whole adult lives don't even get a year or two off at the end to relax and spend time with family. I think the real message here is for younger attorneys to starting putting at least a little money away every year for retirement. Even if it is just a few thousand dollars in an IRA each year, if you start early enough, it will be really useful to you when you need it.
I just recently heard of Sid's passing. The man could cite volume, page and defendant name to most any issue you could present him with. I worked with him for several years in the Fort Bend DA's office. RIP, Sid and thanks to Pelton for helping him out. I know others tried as well.
Greg Gilleland
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