Lawyers and friends are mourning the sudden death of San Diego criminal defense attorney Stephen Cline after he collapsed suddenly in court on June 13.
Cline was 58 years old. The cause of his death is currently unknown.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Cline was in the middle of an argument for a pretrial motion for a 27-year-old homicide case when he collapsed and was taken to Sharp Mercy Hospital, where he later died.
“We mourn the sudden passing today of Deputy Public Defender Steve Cline, a long time and respected criminal defense attorney in San Diego County,” the San Diego Deputy District Attorneys Office wrote on Twitter. “We send our deepest condolences to his family and the entire Office of the Public Defender.”
The San Diego Deputy District Attorneys Association also posted on Twitter about Cline’s death, saying he was a “courthouse fixture” in San Diego for 30 years.
Cline had been working as a public defender since closing his private practice, also in San Diego, in 2018.
“I want to thank all of you for entrusting me with your criminal defense needs as well as those of your family and friends,” Cline wrote in a 2018 letter to clients on his private practice’s website. “I am sincerely grateful and humbled that you chose my firm to defend your rights as well as those of your family and friends over the past 15 years.”
According to comments on his LinkedIn page and on social media, Cline was widely known as a hard-working criminal defense lawyer who handled criminal cases in local and federal courts from petty theft to arson, and was well-loved by his family, friends, and colleagues.
“Stephen Cline is truly one of San Diego’s most well-versed criminal attorneys,” colleague Alyssa Wolven wrote in a recommendation of Cline on the LinkedIn page for his private practice. “Walking alongside Stephen in any setting where attorneys, judges, and the like gather; it would seem that he knows everyone, and everyone knows and respects him.”
Former high school peers and friends also filled Sacramento’s John F. Kenney High School reunion of 82’s Facebook page with memories of Cline and condolences to his family.
Cline served for many years on the board of Uptown Planners, which advises the city of San Diego about land use and development projects. He also, most recently, served as the president of the Mission Hills Town Council.
The San Diego Mission Hills Business Improvement District also wrote on Facebook that Cline was knowledgeable, no-nonsense, zealous, and tough as a skilled attorney.
Additionally, the National Trial Lawyers Association named Cline as one of the top 100 trial lawyers in the region in 2015.
He is survived by his wife, who, according to the San Diego Tribune, was in the court watching the proceedings when he collapsed.
