Education

Law School/Year: Northwestern University School of Law, 1994

College/Year: Brown University, 1987

Bar Admissions

California, Illinois (inactive), New York, Washington (inactive)

Practice Areas

Appellate, Civil Litigation, Discrimination & Civil Rights

Major Cases

With able co-counsel, I spearheaded the case of Garrett v. City of Escondido, which successfully challenged a local ordinance prohibiting landlords from renting to unauthorized immigrants. I filed an amicus brief in Harper v. Poway Unified School District, defending the free speech rights of a conservative Christian student. I have appeared in several other First Amendment cases, including the court martial of a Marine for speaking to the press. I am co-counsel in cases challenging denial of medical care to immigration detainees, denial of due process to immigrants, and the City of San Diego’s confiscation and destruction of the property of homeless people.

Professional Background

After graduating law school, I clerked for the Hon. Dolores K. Sloviter on the Third Circuit. For two years afterward, I worked as a staff attorney with Office of the Appellate Defender in New York City. From 1997 to 2004, I was a public defender and a civil rights attorney in Spokane, Wash. I moved to San Diego in November 2004 and was in private practice, litigating civil and criminal motions and appeals, until April 2006, when I became legal director for the ACLU Foundation of San Diego & Imperial Counties. 

Professional Affiliations

I am a member of the San Diego County Bar Association and a member of the Southern District Lawyer Representative Committee. I serve on the board of the San Diego Lawyers Chapter of the American Constitution Society.