Bill Trautman, our beloved and revered California Grand Jurors’ Association (CGJA) president (2012-13), unexpectedly passed away on December 9, 2013.
We mourn the death of our friend and leader. At the same time, we celebrate and honor him
and his life, most of which over the past six years he devoted to promoting and
serving the unique grand jury system in California.
As foreperson of the 2007-2008
Napa County Grand Jury, Bill liked to say it was the best grand jury ever. The jury’s final reports described
investigations into 13 topics, such as Farm Worker Housing and Municipal and
County Fire Departments. The reports received
admiration and respect from many in the county. One of the reports won the 2007 CGJA’s Excellence
in Reporting Award, and the Napa
Valley Register won the CGJA’s
2007 Excellence in Reporting Award for its coverage of the 2007-2008
Napa County Grand Jury. Bill then served
a second term as foreperson of the 2008-2009 Napa County Grand
Jury.
This experience hooked Bill into the
mission of the grand jury statewide. He joined
the Napa County CGJA Chapter and became active at the state level. He put his knowledge to work as a trainer of
new jurors. He was the editor of the Grand Jury Law Compendium and chair of
the Legal and Legislative Resources Committee.
He became a CGJA director in 2011 and was elected as CGJA president in
2012.
Bill was an accomplished attorney
who used his acumen and leadership skills to build the statewide organization,
CGJA. He also led the battle against AB
622 in 2012, which would have eviscerated the grand jury system.
Bill received a BA degree in
Economics from the University of California (Berkeley) and an LLB degree from
the University of California (Berkeley) School of Law (Boalt Hall). He practiced law for 42 years handling major
litigation as a partner in three law firms.
Upon retiring, he became a mediator and arbitrator and lectured on
various legal subjects and trial practice for California Continuing Education
at the Bar and various other organizations.
Bill was a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, past officer
of the San Francisco Barristers’ Club, and a member of the board of directors
of The Bar Association of San Francisco.
He was past president of the Oakland Museum Association, the Boalt Hall
Alumni Association, and the Legal Aid Society of San Francisco. In Napa, Bill was president of the Silverado
Property Owners’ Association; former member of the Napa County General Plan
Update Steering Committee; chair of the Silverado Community Services District
Advisory Committee; and a member of the Napa County Groundwater Resources
Advisory Committee.
The
family will host a Celebration of Life
for Bill January 9, 2014 at 1:00PM at the Claremont
Country Club, 5295 Broadway Terrace, Oakland, CA 94618; Phone:(510)
655-2431
The
CGJA has established a special fund to honor Bill’s leadership and service to the
grand jury system. CGJA will use the
funds collected to promote and support this unique system. Contributions may be made to the CGJA, a
501(c)(3) public benefit corporation by clicking on the Donate button.
In the Personal Message space in the final screen, please state that that
your contribution is to go to the William Trautman Memorial Fund. Checks may be sent to: William
Trautman Memorial Fund, 5645 Dartford Way, San Diego CA 92120
No comments:
Post a Comment