News & Events

The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors announced today that Jeffrey Aaron, Directing Attorney in the Eastern Division of the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Central District of California, has been appointed as their Public Defender. Mr. Aaron has been a public defender for over 25 years, 10 of which he spent with the FPD-CDCA. The Mendocino County of Board of Supervisors is pleased to announce the appointment of Jeffrey A. Aaron as Mendocino County Public Defender. Mr. Aaron joins the County of […]..

Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. today announced the appointment of Maria Stratton, the former Federal Public Defender for the Central District of California, as an associate justice to the California Court of Appeal. Maria E. Stratton, 65, of Los Angeles, has been appointed associate justice, Division Eight of the Second District Court of Appeal. Stratton has served as a judge at the Los Angeles County Superior Court since 2006. She served as Federal Public Defender for the Central District of California from 1993 to 2006 […]..

Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. today announced the appointment of Christopher Dybwad, the Chief Deputy with the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of California, as a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge. Christopher W. Dybwad, 43, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Dybwad has been chief deputy federal public defender in the Federal Public Defender’s Office, Central District of California since 2014, where he has served in several positions since 2005, including […]..

Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. today announced the appointment of Stephanie Thornton-Harris, an attorney with the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of California, as a San Bernardino County Superior Court judge. Stephanie E. Thornton-Harris, 54, of Pasadena, has been appointed to a judgeship in the San Bernardino County Superior Court. Thornton-Harris has served as a deputy federal public defender in the Federal Public Defender’s Office, Central District of California since 2012. She served as a bench officer at the San Bernardino County […]..

Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. today announced the appointment of Ashfaq (Ron) Chowdhury, an attorney with the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of California, as a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge. Ashfaq (Ron) G. Chowdhury, 43, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Chowdhury has served as a deputy federal public defender at the Office of the Federal Public Defender, Central District of California since 2010. He was an associate at Cole […]..

Federal Public Defender for the Central District of California’s DFPD Jonathan Libby successfully convinced the 9th Circuit that our client’s prior convictions for Alabama robbery and California second degree robbery were not crimes of violence under the Armed Career Criminal Act. The panel vacated a sentence and remanded for resentencing in a case in which the district court imposed an enhancement under the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1) (ACCA), on the ground that the defendant had four prior convictions for violent felonies. […]..

The Everychild Foundation announced today that its 2017 $1 million grant has been awarded to the Center for Juvenile Law & Policy (CJLP) at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. The grant, payable over three years, will help launch the Everychild Integrated Educational and Legal Advocacy Project.  The project aims to stop the school-to-prison pipeline for “crossover youth,” the name given to foster youth who are also involved in the juvenile justice system. The program anticipates serving 300 unduplicated such youth. When a child enters the […]..

The Muslim Public Affairs Council annual convention in Los Angeles held a series of panel discussions on bridging the divides in religion, race, and politics. This panel highlighted the challenges between balancing national security and law enforcement with the civil rights of citizens. Our very own Seema Ahmad  was a member of the panel...

Case remanded to Midland Court for review of alleged false testimony Los Angeles, CA. (October 18, 2017) – The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals this morning issued a stay of the October 26 execution of inmate Clinton Young and remanded the case to a Midland District Court to determine if his conviction was based on false testimony. The court’s order comes after the Office of the Federal Public Defender filed papers earlier this month challenging Young’s conviction and sentence. The filing included sworn affidavits from […]..

Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of California seeks a stay of October 26th execution. MIDLAND, Tex (Oct. 10, 2017) ­‑ Citing compelling new scientific evidence, a 34-year-old death row inmate has asked the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to vacate his scheduled October 26 execution for the 2001 murder of a man in Midland. Attorneys for inmate Clinton Young, also have asked the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to recommend that the Governor grant clemency or a reprieve, saying the new […]..