4450 Arapahoe Avenue, Suite 100
Boulder, Colorado 80303
(303) 415-2583
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BAR MEMBERSHIP:

International Criminal Bar, The Hague, May 2008
U.S. District Court, District of Colorado, December 2000
Colorado State Bar, March 2000
U.S. District Court, Central District of California, December 1990
California State Bar, December 1990

EDUCATION:

Officer Basic Course, JAG Corps, U.S. Army, April 2003
Commandant’s List (Graduated with Honors)
(Courses included international law, operational law, military criminal law and procedure, government contracts and civil law)
Pepperdine University, School of Law, J.D., May 1990
Member of the National Trial Competition Team
Assisted on Death Penalty Appeal
State University of New York at Albany, B.A., May 1987
(Majors in Criminal Justice and Sociology)

EXPERIENCE:

2000-present SOLO PRACTITIONER

Practice consists primarily of criminal defense cases in state and federal courts including homicide cases, drug cases, assaults, sex offenses and juvenile matters from court appearances to legal research, motion drafting and argument through plea or other disposition, including jury trial. Appellate matters are also handled from notice of appeal to legal research, brief drafting, through the presentation of oral argument to the exhaustion of state appellate remedies. Some cases involving issues of military law and civil rights law make up the remainder of the practice. Provide informal mentoring for numerous attorneys and paralegals on an ongoing basis.

2001-present INSTRUCTOR

University of Colorado at Boulder, School of Law

Intersession Trial Advocacy Course

Conduct clinical exercises with students in mock cases, both civil and criminal; critique students in their performances and offer input for improvement of trial advocacy skills; educate on techniques for preparation and presentation of trials.

2002-2004 OFFICER, JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL’S CORPS

1LT, 87th LSO, U.S. Army Reserve

Performed legal assistance tasks for deploying soldiers as reservist such as the drafting of wills, durable powers of attorney and advanced medical directives; Served on active duty as Trial Counsel, 1st Armored Division, U.S. Army Europe in 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (Germany); advised Commanders on issues of military justice; coordinated with law enforcement in the investigation of crimes providing legal guidance, assisting in interviewing of witnesses and victims, and consulting with experts; conducted legal research and prosecuted courts-martial.

1993-2000 DEPUTY PUBLIC DEFENDER III

Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender

• Successfully completed a variety of training assignments such as conducting hundreds of misdemeanor arraignments at the jail; handled countless preliminary hearings for felony cases; tried numerous jury trials in misdemeanor cases with charges of theft, keeping house of prostitution, possession of weapons, hit and run, resisting arrest, evading the police, reckless driving and driving under the influence.
  
  
• Once assigned to misdemeanor court, handled an average caseload of 300 cases at one time and represented clients at all stages of proceedings to include multiple jury trials in cases such as alleged forgery, fraud, brandishing firearm, and sexual assault.
  
  
• Assigned to juvenile court where approximately 250 trials to the court were presented, using lay and expert testimony for the defense in cases involving multiple counts of lewd conduct on a child, kidnapping, robbery, burglary, assault, and others.
  
  
• Once assigned to felony court, assigned an average caseload of approximately 50 cases at one time and represented clients at all stages of proceedings to include preliminary hearings, motions and jury trials in cases of alleged assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, burglary, carjacking, drug possession (three strikes) and homicide.
  
  
• Other felony court assignments allowed for further opportunity to litigate legal issues such as illegal search and seizure, coerced confessions and eyewitness identification, and to consult with and call at trial a variety of experts in forensic analysis; tried more jury trials including case types from carjacking to homicide.
  
  
• Plea bargained thousands of cases to the benefit of the client; successfully litigated numerous motions including suppression of evidence and statements in a variety of cases; obtained outright dismissals in multiple cases for violation of speedy trial and of murder charges due to prosecutorial misconduct and for failure of the evidence.
  
  
• Last assignment was as a Deputy in Charge; engaged in supervising of attorneys with misdemeanor caseloads and attorneys handling preliminary hearings and plea bargaining in felony cases; responsible for compilation of court statistics; drafting of personnel evaluations; and preparation and presentation of staff training sessions.

1990-1993 INDEPENDENT ATTORNEY

Practice consisted primarily of criminal defense; performed legal research and drafted motions and appellate briefs in criminal matters in both state and federal courts; assisted experienced and reputable attorneys in preparation of complex and serious criminal and civil forfeiture cases; Received mentoring from several trial attorneys.

1989-1990 LAW CLERK

Southern California Edison Company, Labor Law Department

Conducted legal research and drafted numerous legal memoranda and pleadings; assisted in the preparation of cases for arbitration hearings and court proceedings; attended and assisted lead counsel in the presentation of such arbitration hearings.

1989 CERTIFIED LEGAL INTERN

Office of the Los Angeles District Attorney

Conducted multiple felony preliminary hearings and motion hearings for the prosecution as a law student under the supervision of a licensed attorney; interviewed witnesses and assisted in preparation for trials in both misdemeanor and felony cases.

1988. LEGAL RESEARCH ASSISTANT

Los Angeles County Municipal Courts, Court Information System

Assisted in the training of court staff in the use of the newly implemented computerized case tracking system for the courts; provided assistance to system users and submitted feedback to system developers and conducted legal research.

1987 ASSEMBLY SESSION INTERN

New York State Assembly

Tracked legislation, researched and drafted bill memoranda, handled correspondence with constituents and maintained a calendar for Assemblywoman Helen Marshall from Queens, New York; Attended floor debates and committee hearings as well as lobby events related to legal issues of concern to the Assemblywoman.

1986-1987 CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESEARCH ASSISTANT

Michael J. Hindelang Criminal Justice Research Center

State University of New York at Albany, School of Criminal Justice

Only female and only undergraduate student hired on to a team of research assistants to conduct observations of police officers and their tactics in New York City (specifically in high crime areas); Accompanied officers for all calls during their eight hour shifts, five days a week for the summer; Continued with project once field work was complete to assist in the recording and compilation of statistical data as it related to the use of force exercised by officers on the street in possible conflict situations, which included contacts from traffic stops to domestic violence calls.

1986 CLINICAL INTERN

New York State Department of Corrections

Guidance and Counseling Unit, Director’s Office

Performed research and assisted in the organization and drafting of an updated handbook for prison counselors; visited multiple prison facilities to interview inmates and counselors to ascertain the needs of the client population and counselors assigned caseloads of prisoners with emotional and mental health issues; attended numerous seminars concerning sex offender treatment, violent crime and recidivism and provided feedback to the presenters of these programs.

AFFILIATIONS:

2002-present CJA (Criminal Justice Act) Panel of Attorneys

Appointed for indigent persons pursuant to Criminal Justice Act on Federal criminal matters including complex and serious cases involving charges of armed bank robbery, fraud, theft and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and others.

2008-present CJA Standing Committee Member

Appointed by the Chief Judge of the Central District Court of Colorado to participate in screening and selection of attorneys to be listed on the attorney panel, provide input on trainings for attorneys and participate in other relevant tasks to enhance the representation provided to the indigent clients accused in the federal court system.

2000-present Alternate Defense Counsel (ADC) Panel of Attorneys

Appointed for indigent persons accused in state criminal matters of charges including the most serious charges such as kidnapping, burglary, robbery and homicide.

2008-present International Criminal Defense Attorneys Association

2000-present National Association for Criminal Defense Lawyers

2002-present Association of Federal Defense Attorneys

2000-present Colorado Criminal Defense Bar Association

2000-present Colorado Bar Association

2000-present Boulder Bar Association

ACTIVITIES:

Served as a mentor to “youth at risk” in secure facilities and in the community in Los Angeles, California through the Los Angeles County Bar Association and also those “youth at risk” in the community in Boulder, Colorado through the Boulder County Partners program as referred by the Department of Social Services or the Courts.