Fred James Hiestand, 1943 - 2023

Fred James Hiestand, an advocate for tort reform in Sacramento, and an advisor to an eclectic group of people including Gov. Jerry Brown Jr. and Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton died on July 2 following a short battle with cancer. He was 79.

"Fred has been the titan of civil justice reform in California over the last five decades," said Kyla Christoffersen Powell, president and CEO of Civil Justice Association of California. "He was a key architect behind many of California's landmark civil liability laws in the Legislature and at the ballot box, including the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975, the Napkin Deal, and Proposition 64, which addressed shakedown lawsuits under the Unfair Competition Law."

"The Napkin Deal," hashed out on a cloth napkin from Frank Fat's restaurant in Sacramento, was an agreement between manufacturers, trial lawyers, insurance companies, and doctors in the late 1980s. This deal summarily changed tort law in the state until it was repealed in 1997.

The 1975 MICRA law limited to $250,000 damages that could be sought in medical malpractice cases. That cap wasn't raised until last year. And Prop. 63 limited an individual's right to sue under the California Unfair Business Competition Law.

Hiestand, who was general counsel of CJAC, advised Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. during his first term in office on medical malpractice liability. He began working on tort reform issues in 1973 when then-Assemblymembers Henry Waxman and Howard Berman asked him to serve as a consultant to the Assembly Select Committee on Medical Malpractice.

He also advised former Sacramento Mayor and retired NBA star Kevin Johnson.

Johnson was more than a client to Hiestand. Growing up, Johnson was a close friend to Hiestand's own son -- also named Kevin -- who is now an attorney at the Law Office of Kevin J. Hiestand.

"I became really good friends with Kevin back in junior high school," Kevin Hiestand said. "Kevin had lost his dad when he was younger, so my dad kind of became Kevin's surrogate father figure during our early years."

In the 1990s, the elder Hiestand helped Johnson set up nonprofits to provide education and economic development opportunities in Sacramento's Oak Park neighborhood.

"My dad served on Kevin Johnson's initial advisory board when he established St. HOPE Academy in 1989," Kevin Hiestand said. "My dad had formed several nonprofits in the past and helped Kevin immensely in the early days of St. HOPE. In the years that followed, he served on the board of directors for several St. HOPE entities founded by Kevin."

Johnson said in an email that Fred Hiestand fed his imagination, opening his eyes to new ideas and experiences and that he feels blessed to have grown up with the Hiestands.

"Listening and watching Fred at the dinner table and recapping such things as daily events, asking about our days at junior high school, analyzing movie plots - he showed aspects of family life that I hadn't been exposed to before," Johnson wrote. "As a father figure, he advised, represented, and helped ground me throughout my personal and professional life. He was loyal beyond belief and a true friend. He was also a steadfast supporter of St. HOPE from its inception in 1989 to last month's board meeting, continuing to give of himself despite his recent illness."

"Fred's unwavering love and commitment to his community demonstrated what a special person we have lost," Johnson continued.

Hiestand was also an attorney for Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton.

In 1966, Newton founded the group with Bobby Seale. Newton soon found himself in the middle of many legal challenges. In 1967, Newton was charged with the murder of an Oakland police officer and the battery of another officer, and the kidnapping of another man. Newton had been shot by the police that day. He denied his guilt and failed to show up for court appearance, forfeiting $42,000 bail.

Newton fled to Cuba where he lived until Hiestand made arrangements for him to re-enter the U.S. to face charges. He was eventually convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to 2 to 15 years in prison. He was released after serving 22 months, after a state appeals court ruled that the jury had received improper deliberation instructions from the trial judge. People v. Newton, 8 Cal.App.3d 359, 87 Cal. Rptr. 394 (Cal. Ct. App. 1970)

"They bonded like two brothers," Kevin Hiestand said. "When Huey was essentially exiled to Cuba during his murder trial, my dad helped coordinate with authorities his return and, in fact, was the only person to accompany Huey back to the States, through Canada as part of the agreement with the authorities. Their friendship was extremely solid."

Newton's widow, Fredrika, said that Hiestand wasn't just her husband's trusted counsel; he was his devoted friend.

"Fred continued to honor that friendship with Huey by standing by my side and serving on the board of our foundation for the past 28 years. His wisdom, his insight, and his humor will forever be a guiding star for me," Newton said. "Mostly, for Fred, storytelling was an art form -- he simply had the best stories, and the way he told them would just bring so much joy. I will most surely miss those stories from Fred."

Hiestand is survived by his wife of 30 years, Peggy; his children, Kevin, Kerry, Alison, and Zane, and four grandchildren.

"As I got older, he became more like my friend than my parent," Kevin Hiestand said. "He was always my dad, but I saw him as more of a free fun-loving spirit who enjoyed food, travel, and just life in general. He really wanted to expose us to as many things as possible. He was a super dad."