Education

Law School/Year: University of San Diego School of Law, 1983

College/Year: San Diego State University, 1980

Bar Admissions

California, 1984; California Supreme Court, 1984; U.S. Supreme Court, 1990; admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Southern, Central, Eastern and Northern Districts of California; and the Fifth, Ninth and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeal; and the U.S. District Courts, Detroit, Michigan and Denver, Colorado

Practice Areas

Appellate, Criminal Law, Discrimination & Civil Rights

Major Cases

U.S. v. Castro-Carbajal involved alleged violations of Title 46 USC 1903; 2,000 kilograms of cocaine in a speed boat seized off the cost of Colombia. Multi-defendant and complex legal issues jury trial; convictions reversed by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

U.S. v. Fanghella, a high-profile case described in the media as one of the largest investment-fraud cases in Southern California history; involved over $300 million in alleged fraud. Client was the CEO of PinnFund, USA.

U.S. v. Mason, et al: Memorandum Opinion, dubbed "The Alliance" case by the national media and described as the largest prosecution of lawyers in American history. Client was a highly experienced civil litigation attorney.

Professional Background

Cortez has been in private practice in San Diego since 1988. His national practice is devoted to the defense of all types of federal criminal cases, from the trial level up to U.S. Supreme Court, and all state and federal post-conviction litigation and related federal matters. The emphasis is on complex white-collar fraud cases.

Previously, he was a senior trial attorney with Federal Defenders of San Diego Inc. He represented indigent defendants through all stages of federal criminal proceedings, from initial arraignment through appeal, supervised and trained trial lawyers weekly, and lectured at trial tactics and evidence seminars nationally. He was also a contributing author to Defending a Federal Criminal Case.

Professional Affiliations

Board of directors, Federal Defenders of San Diego and Appellate Defenders Inc.; past member, Magistrate-Judge Selection Committee, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California; current member, Lawyer Disciplinary Committee, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California; former State Bar of California JNE Commissioner; former 9th Circuit lawyer representative; National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; San Diego Criminal Defense Lawyers' Club; alumnus, American Inns of Court, William B. Enright Chapter; American Bar Association, 1989 - present