Retired Santa Barbara County District Attorney Christie Stanley died April 25 at her North County home after a long battle with lung cancer. She was 61 years old.
A memorial service honoring Stanley’s life will be held on April 30 at 10:30 a.m. at Pacific Christian Center, 3435 Santa Maria Way, in Santa Maria.
In lieu of flowers, mourners can make contributions to the Christie Stanley Memorial Education Fund at any branch of Community Bank of Santa Maria.
“Christie was a dynamic, powerful woman who carried herself with poise, dignity, and grace. She was a skilled and polished trial lawyer and a considerate and thoughtful administrator,” acting District Attorney Ann Bramsen, who took over for Stanley after her January 2010 retirement, said in a statement.
“Christie was a leader in California’s criminal justice system and in the community where she lived and served. She leaves behind a strong legacy for prosecutors who strive to be as exceptional as she was inside and outside the courtroom. Her death is a tragic loss to the criminal justice system and the community. She will be sorely missed,” Bramsen continued in the statement.
Stanley graduated magna cum laude from Ventura College of Law while raising two daughters. She then spent two years in private civil practice before joining the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office in 1980. She was the first female prosecutor in the District Attorney’s North County offices, where she went on to serve as assistant district attorney for more than 15 years.
In 2006, she became Santa Barbara County’s first female district attorney in a landslide election.
Throughout her career, Stanley held a near-perfect conviction record. She also worked to develop more preventative measures in the county, such as a truancy program.
According to the district attorney’s website, Stanley was inspired to become a lawyer because of the murder of her favorite uncle.
“Most profound of all was the trip, with my family, to Kansas for my uncle’s funeral,” Stanley said in her online biography. “While we were there, his murderer was caught and brought through the small town square where armed townspeople waited, intent on vengeance. The officers who had him in custody—friends and colleagues of my uncle— brought the killer in safely so he could be prosecuted.
“I was and am consistently impressed by law enforcement professionals who do the right thing, even when it is the hard thing to do,” she continued in the biography.
Stanley is survived by her husband Gary; her daughters, Renee Edman and Dawn Wright; her stepchildren, Mark Stanley, Ryan Stanley, and Tami Millican; her mother, Jeanette Claycamp; and her grandchildren.
This article appears in Apr 29 – May 6, 2010.