Learned today that former San Francisco Assistant District Attorney Thomas J. Norman (Tommy to one and all) has died. Tommy had been in the DA's office forever, but I didn't really get to know him until I became one of the defense lawyers in the last state death penalty case to be tried in San Francisco, in 1996. It was a very long trial, eight months, in fact. Tommy and I sat at the ends of our respective tables, practically close enough to play footsies, which would not have been very appropriate, but fun nonetheless.
Tommy was an absolute gentleman, in and out of the courtroom. During the trial he interviewed a witness. While other DA's might have given us the witness' name and taken no notes of the interview, Tommy gave us his own interview notes -- handwritten.
God doesn't make prosecutors like Tommy any more. Maybe He only made one, and then threw away the mold. I'll probably have more to say in the next few days. Right now I'm getting a little misty.
