Honoring Judge David Nelson

A community gathering is planned for March 30 in honor of the late Mendocino County Superior Court Judge David E. Nelson, a man whose towering presence helped reshape the county’s legal, political and cultural landscapes.

Nelson’s death Feb. 17 at age 77 has sparked an outpouring of sympathy and respect for a man widely known for his keen intellect, courtroom compassion, and kind manner that extended from family, friends, and colleagues to the least fortunate.

Superior Court Judge Ann Moorman, a close associate and friend of Nelson’s, has practiced law for 37 years, and is mourning his passing.

“I’ve never had another colleague like Dave, and his combination of commitment to justice, his understanding of the law, and his instinct for the human condition. I probably never will,” said Moorman.

Mendocino Coast attorney Steve Antler, a friend of Nelson’s for four decades, recalled shopping with Nelson in a local supermarket when an unexpected encounter captured the essence of the judge’s impact on others in the courtroom.

“Two people walked up to him and reminded Dave they had been defendants in his drug court. They thanked him profusely, and told him ‘You saved our lives’,” said Antler. “It was clear to me at that moment how the essence of his being was trying to help people have a good life.”

Nelson, a Minnesota native, moved to Mendocino County in the early 1970s after graduating from Stanford University and receiving his law degree from Yale Law School. He was part of an influx of newcomers to the county a half century ago who shifted the political dynamics of a then rural conservative county, and infused communities with new appreciation of alternative education, the arts, and social mores.

Nelson and his then wife Phyllis Webb bought land in the hills out on Low Gap Road west of Ukiah, and with the help of friends in 1974 built a house to live. They entered into a land partnership with Gina Campbell and Billy Jamison which remains in force today between the two families, and their four grown children. 

Nelson’s career as a criminal defense lawyer began to surge after he became involved in some major cases, and the county became the center of the outlaw marijuana industry that sank deep roots in the so-called “Emerald Triangle.” Nelson had a solo law practice, but he often worked in tandem with some of the best known criminal defense attorneys in Northern California: Moorman, Susan B. Jordan, J. Tony Serra, Chris Andrian, and Richard Petersen. Nelson’s public posts from that era proclaiming “Busted?” were legendary. 

Even though Nelson and wife Phyllis eventually divorced, “the land’” remained a passion for both. Nelson retreated there over the years, to recharge personally and professionally. He loved having friends out, hiking in the hills, and talking about events of the day over a cold beer or two on the deck.

Land partners Billy Jamison and Gina Campbell remained close friends with Nelson, who married Judith Fuente 38 years ago and lived on Ukiah’s Westside in a cottage-style house where Nelson continued his love of gardening until his passing.

“We loved Dave Nelson, and his steadiness. He never wavered in his convictions,” said Gina Campbell.

Nelson’s law practice thrived, and he emerged as one of the North Coast’s premier lawyers. In 1984, he and fellow attorney David Riemenschneider formed a partnership with law offices located in the historic Republican Press newspaper building across School Street from the Mendocino County Courthouse.

“Dave was a kind, generous, honest, funny, intelligent, and empathic individual,” said Riemenschneider, who has known Nelson since 1966. Riemenschneider was appointed a Superior Court judge in 2012 and served five years with Nelson on the bench before his friend and former law partner retired. 

“Dave was a first class friend, and first rate law partner and judge. His clients were universally grateful for the heartfelt and quality representation he gave them,” said Riemenschneider.

Nelson’s wife Judith Fuente and his two daughters Jessica and Julia were the center of his life.

Daughter Julia Newberry of Napa said, “I hope he can be an inspiration for us to deepen the connections we have with each other. To look for the good in people. To listen with intention. To give and receive love freely and graciously as he did so well.”

Jessica Nelson of Minneapolis said her father set “an amazing example of being kind and curious, working hard, and doing good in the world. Every day I try to be like him. I think that is true for so many who knew him.”

Beyond his devotion to family and the law, Nelson left his mark on the region’s politics.

In 1980, Nelson helped orchestrate the election of fellow Stanford graduate Dan Hamburg to the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors. Nelson devoted his energies to getting Hamburg elected to Congress in 1992 and became his top district field representative for two years. 

The “Hamburg era” may have been short-lived in local politics, but Nelson’s advice and political support continued to be sought as his personal and professional stature rose. He remained well connected in Democratic Party politics, and in Sacramento where Nelson’s recommendations still mattered.

Beyond the law and politics, and Nelson’s support of local cultural institutions like Ukiah Players and SPACE, a local school of performing arts and cultural education for young people, athletics played a big role in his early life.

In his youth, Nelson was an all-state athlete during high school in his native Rochester, Minnesota in football, track, and basketball. He was inducted into the Rochester Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. Nelson, the son of an elementary school principal, was a paragon of Midwest values. Nelson earned an Eagle Scout badge, and he was student body president at his John Marshall High School.

Nelson was recruited out of high school for his football skills, but he declined offers from East Coast schools in favor of Stanford. 

In his first year, Nelson was the starting quarterback for Stanford’s freshman team. Nelson played safety under legendary Stanford coaches Bill Walsh and Dick Vermeil, a Napa Valley native. He had his 15 minutes of stardom when he intercepted a pass during the big game with UC Berkeley and was an All-Conference Honorable Mention in the Pacific Coast Conference in the fall of 1967. 

Family, friends, and Nelson’s adopted community were impressed with his past accomplishments but what they most remember is his personal credibility, his honesty, his understated humor, and his love of a good party. 

Judge Moorman said Nelson brought a “humble and empathetic intellect” to the bench, including his devotion to the Adult Drug Court. “He used his compassion alongside the rules and laws that we must enforce in a civil society to break apart the cycle of addiction, economic injustice, violence, and generational trauma.”

Nelson is survived by his wife of 38 years, Judith Fuente, and daughters Julia Newberry (Brian) of Napa and Jessica Nelson (Joe Slag) of Minneapolis; a brother Dr. Roger Nelson (Marcia Hall) of Phoenix, Arizona; sisters Jan Meslin (Pete) of Cayucos and Lori Wesley (Mike) of Dublin, Ohio; and four grandchildren, Elle and Quinn Newberry and Freya and Leif Slag. He was preceded in death by his parents, Irene and Woodrow Nelson.

The community gathering in Nelson’s honor will be held from 2-4 p.m. March 30 at SPACE, 508 W. Perkins St., Ukiah.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Friends of Drug Court Fund. 

Donations can be made online at https://communityfound.org/fund/friends-of-the-drug-court-fund/ or by check to the Community Foundation of Mendocino County, 204 S. Oak St., Ukiah, 95482, with “Friends of Drug Court Fund” in the memo line.