Maurice Leon “Mel” Opotowski, a former newspaper editor and tenacious free press advocate who was known for helping advance First Amendment rights, has died.
According to his son Didier Opotowski, Opotowski died on April 18 at the Clermont Manor retirement community, where he lived with his wife, Bonnie Opotowski. He said his father’s cause of death was undetermined and that he had Parkinson’s disease. He was 92 years old.
Opotowski was a top editor at the Riverside Press-Enterprise when the newspaper brought two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, resulting in landmark decisions advancing the public’s right to watch certain legal proceedings. He later was a founding board member of the First Amendment Coalition, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the free press and preserving access to government records and meetings.
David Snyder, executive director of the First Amendment Coalition, said, “I don’t know of any single person in California who had such a positive and lasting impact on open government in our state.” Opotowski remained an active board member until his death, he said, and he emailed Snyder to suggest the organization could begin work a few weeks earlier. “His longevity, his tenacity and his tenacity are the stuff of legend.”
Opotowski joined the Press-Enterprise in 1973 after working as an editor at Newsday. He was known for fostering a culture that emphasized hard news and accountability journalism, said Dan Bernstein, a former columnist who worked at the Press-Enterprise from 1976 to 2014.
At the time, the news organization published two papers: the Morning Enterprise and the Afternoon Press, which were later merged. Opotowski eventually rose up the ranks to become managing editor of United Editions.
“He was everyone’s shoulder when it came to writing and reporting stories, because he was a very tough and aggressive editor who was skeptical of the government and skeptical of politicians,” Bernstein said. “And none of us wanted him to not ask the question he would have liked to have immediately.”
In January 1984, the newspaper won the first of two Supreme Court decisions that are still frequently cited by lawyers seeking access to court proceedings. Albert Greenwood Brown Jr. was on trial for the kidnapping, rape and murder of 15-year-old Susan Jordan, whose body was found in an orange grove near her Riverside High School. When it came time for jury selection, the judge closed the courtroom.
After challenging the move, Press-Enterprise successfully won 9-0, giving members of the public and the press the presumptive and constitutional right to participate in jury selection, said Bernstein, who spoke about the proceedings. Wrote a book titled “Justice in Plain Sight:”. How a small-town newspaper and its unlikely lawyer opened America’s courtrooms.”
After about two and a half years, the paper Won the second decision of the Supreme Court Reaffirming that preliminary hearings must be open to the public. This was after a challenge stemming from the case of Robert Diaz, a Riverside County nurse who killed at least 12 patients by injecting them with lidocaine.
Opotowski was involved in both challenges, Bernstein said – especially the second, for which he served as the Press-Enterprise’s point man. He often rewrote parts of legal briefs, he said.
He said, “He was known to know as much about constitutional law as many lawyers did.” “Whether it was government meetings, courts or records, he was adamant that all records should be open and all courts should be open.”
One or both decisions have been cited as precedent in several high-profile proceedings, including those related to the Oklahoma City bombing. 9/11Boston Marathon bombing, Aurora, Colo., theater shooting and martha stewart perjury caseBernstein said.
Opotowski retired as editor of the Press-Enterprise in 1999 and became an ombudsman, tasked with investigating and responding to reader complaints. In addition to his open records advocacy work, he taught at Cal State Fullerton.
He was known for being outspoken in the right way, said Chris Lovekin, a former education reporter for the Press-Enterprise. He recalled a story in which Opotowski demanded that a reporter expose a donor to UC Riverside who wanted to remain anonymous, thinking that a public university must disclose its supporters. When he resolved to engage a lawyer, then-publisher of the Press-Enterprise, Howard H. “Tim” HayesHe was forced to reveal that he was, in fact, the one who made the donation, Lovekin said.
Plus, Opotowski was kind when needed, he said. A keen historian of the world around him, he was producing journalism until the end of his life.
“He was still writing stories about the people at Clermont Manor, about the people he lived with,” Lovekin said. “He would post it on Facebook and we would read about it from other residents.”
Opotowski was remembered for his dry wit that sometimes turned sarcastic. He had a soft spot for practical jokes, his son said, and an even bigger soft spot for his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He enjoyed horseback riding, fox hunting and visiting different restaurants, she said.
Opotowski was born on December 13, 1931 in New Orleans. Didier Optowski said his mother was ill, so one of his sisters-in-law filled out the registration card and submitted it to the city to have a birth certificate made. The sister-in-law named him Maurice Lyon after his father, he said – contrary to the tradition of some Jewish people, which states that children should not be named after living relatives.
Didier Opotowski said, “My grandmother was so angry that she refused to call him Maurice, refused to call him ML.” “So he called it Mel.”
Didier Opotowski said his father did not know his legal name until he enlisted in the army.
True to his roots, Opotowski was also known for making huge batches of red beans and rice — enough to feed the entire family for weeks, his son said. “They were good,” he said. “But we will be tired after the fifth day.”
He is survived by his wife, Bonnie; son Didier; daughters Joelle Opotowski, Keturah Purcellin and Jamie Purcellin; 18 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by a daughter, Ariel Opotowski, who died as an infant.
A memorial service is scheduled for May 18 at Claremont Manor Hall.
