Author: Federal Public Defender

ACLU Names Attorney Yasmin Cader to Lead Trone Center for Justice and Equality

Posted on July 28, 2021

We are excited to announce that former FPD-CDCA Supervising Attorney Yasmin Cader has been selected to lead the ACLU’s Trone Center for Justice and Equality. The official announcement is below, courtesy of the ACLU. The American Civil Liberties Union announced today that Yasmin Cader will lead the Trone Center for Justice and Equality, effective September 15. For nearly three decades, Cader’s career as a public defender and civil rights attorney has kept her on the front lines of the national struggle for racial and criminal […]..

Margo Rocconi Appointed as United States Magistrate Judge

Posted on March 19, 2021

We are excited to announce that the Chief of our Capital Habeas Unit, Margo Rocconi, has been appointed as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Central District of California. Below is the official District Court press release. The United States District Court for the Central District of California announces the appointment of Margo A. Rocconi as a United States Magistrate Judge. Judge Rocconi, who was sworn in on March 19, 2021, will sit in Los Angeles, the Court’s Western Division. Judge Rocconi succeeds former […]..

Governor Newsom Appoints former FPD-CDCA Attorneys Alicia Blanco and Ronald Kaye as Los Angeles County Superior Court Judges

Posted on November 13, 2020

Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the appointment of Alicia Blanco, former supervising attorney with the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of California, and Ronald Kaye, former Deputy Federal Public Defender with FPD-CDCA, as Los Angeles County Superior Court judges. Alicia Y. Blanco, 54, of Burbank, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Blanco has served as a Commissioner at the Los Angeles County Superior Court since 2015. She was a Sole Practitioner from 2014 […]..

A Tale From Two Cities: David Joseph Sutton ’08 didn’t think he’d go to college. He’s now the Los Angeles Trial Chief in the largest federal district in the country.

Posted on October 30, 2020

Los Angeles Trial Chief David Sutton was recently featured in University of San Francisco Law School’s fall 2020 alumni magazine. By: Annie Breen To a middle schooler growing up with a single mom in San Francisco’ s Western Addition in the ‘90s, success often meant staying out of trouble — and not much more. But even that sometimes seemed like a tall order to David Sutton ‘08. “Back then, the neighborhood     wasn’t known as ‘NOPA,’ there weren’t any nice restaurants, and no one had heard […]..

Cuauhtémoc Ortega Appointed as New Federal Public Defender for Central District of California

Posted on October 15, 2020

Source: United States Courts for the Ninth Circuit Public Information Office Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit have appointed Cuauhtémoc Ortega as the next federal public defender for the Central District of California. He began his four-year term today, October 15, 2020, following his oath of office. He succeeded Amy Karlin, who served as interim federal public defender after former FPD Hilary Potashner entered private practice in October 2019. “Cuauhtémoc Ortega is an outstanding addition to the federal defender […]..

COVID-19 Information for Families of Incarcerated Individuals

Posted on July 24, 2020

We know that this is a scary time to have a family member or friend in Bureau of Prisons custody. There’s a lot we don’t know about what’s going on inside the BOP right now, but here’s what we do know. Information for Federal Public Defender Clients with Pending Cases The Federal Public Defender’s Office remains open and operational during the pandemic.  We are doing our part to stem the spread of COVID-19 by working remotely.  If you have questions about your case, your loved […]..

Federal Public Defender, Central District of California Statement on The Death of George Floyd

Posted on June 30, 2020

The killing of George Floyd has brought the plight of Black Americans into public consciousness and galvanized a worldwide movement for criminal justice reform. The brutal and public nature of that killing, combined with the officers’ expressions of cold indifference as Mr. Floyd struggled for breath was reality, reminder, and metaphor for the fate of Black life in America. Our office’s initial silence in response to Mr. Floyd’s death only added to the pain and outrage felt by many of our colleagues and the community. […]..

Joint Statement from Federal Defenders on the Killing of George Floyd

Posted on June 3, 2020

The moral arc of the universe, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, bends towards justice. And yet, we all saw that arc snap again under a police officer’s white knee on George Floyd’s Black neck for eight minutes and forty-six seconds. That knee has been placed on too many Black necks before and too often without repercussions. This time must be different. While we can kneel in solidarity with Mr. Floyd, we also must stand up and demand that racism, overt and implicit, be […]..

Pedro V. Castillo Appointed as United States Magistrate Judge

Posted on January 24, 2020

We are excited to announce that former FPD-CDCA Deputy Federal Public Defender Pedro Castillo has been appointed as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Central District of California. Below is the official District Court press release. The United States District Court for the Central District of California announces the appointment of Pedro V. Castillo as a United States Magistrate Judge. Judge Castillo, who was sworn in on January 24, 2020, will sit in Los Angeles, the Court’s Western Division. Judge Castillo succeeds former Magistrate […]..