Modesto lawyer's death shocks court

Just over six weeks ago, a Modesto defense attorney bought flowers to honor a beloved Modesto prosecutor who died suddenly and unexpectedly.

He went back to the same florist Monday, a tragic re-enactment a day after the death of a second deputy district attorney.

Family members said prosecutor and Turlock City Council candidate Shawn Barlow, 40, had no known medical problems when he died early Sunday at his Turlock home. Assistant District Attorney Carol Shipley said Monday that Barlow died of natural causes.

On Aug. 5, prosecutor Nate Baker, 42, died at the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center, where he was scheduled to undergo a heart procedure.

The deaths devastated an office already whittled to 36 deputy district attorneys including Barlow and Baker, as compared with a staff of 46 prosecutors in 2008.

Wendell Emerson, a Modesto prosecutor for 11 years, said walking past the two empty offices is a "truly somber experience."

"To lose two prosecutors in the prime of their lives for totally unforeseen reasons was unimaginable weeks ago -- yet it happened," Emerson said. "I know many of us in the office are still coping with Nate's passing. It has magnified the grief and shock we are feeling to lose Shawn so close in time."

In the downtown Modesto courtrooms after Baker's death, prosecutors and defense attorneys alike were in tears over the man known as a tireless advocate for victims of domestic violence who also had a penchant for office antics.

A similar scene played out Monday in Stanislaus County Superior Court, but attorneys said they felt almost numbed to the news. By this time, the drill had become all too familiar.

Superior Court Judge Ricardo Córdova said many attorneys seemed to be in a state of shock.

"The loss of two well-liked, rock-solid prosecutors in such a short period of time is a serious blow to the courthouse," Córdova said.

And Barlow's name still will appear on the Nov. 2 ballot, Stanislaus County Clerk-Recorder Lee Lundrigan said Monday.

"The ballots are printed," she said. "The code basically indicates that anyone on the ballot (88 days before the election) is in the election."

Should Barlow receive the most votes, he still would be considered the winner.

"There's not a second place in elections," Lundrigan said.

The City Council would have to decide how to fill the seat, by appointment within 30 days or another election.

If the council were to choose election, the next available date is in March. And, Lundrigan said, the city would have to call for an election Nov. 3 to comply with state law.

Bee staff writer Merrill Balassone can be reached at mbalassone@modbee.com or 578-2337. Follow her at twitter.com/modbeecourts.