Michael Cardoza

Michael Cardoza
Born Michael Edmund Cardoza
(1944-07-06) July 6, 1944
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Education McGeorge School of Law, Juris Doctor, 1971
Occupation Attorney
Employer Cardoza Law Offices
Website http://www.cardolaw.com

Michael Edmund Cardoza (born July 6, 1944)[1] is a defense attorney in California. Prior to his criminal defense work, he worked in three of California's District attorney offices: Los Angeles County, San Francisco County, and Alameda County. Now he currently operates a private practice, Cardoza Law.

Background

In 1971,Michael Cardoza received his J.D. from McGeorge School of Law. He passed the California Bar the same year, and began practicing as a trial attorney in the District Attorney's Offices of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Alameda County. He worked as a prosecutor for 14 years before he opened his private practice in 1985. His current practice, Cardoza Law Offices, is located in Walnut Creek, California. Since opening his private practice, Cardoza has worked on many high-profile cases such as the Scott Peterson trial and the Barry Bonds steroid scandal. Additionally, he acts as a Judge Pro Tem in Santa Clara County and an arbitrator with the Superior Court of San Francisco. [2]

In addition to operating a private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area, he also acts as a leading legal consultant for radio and television broadcast stations. Previous appearances include: CNN's Larry King Live, 60 Minutes, HBO, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, NBC's Today Show, and 48 Hours.

Cardoza also volunteers time with the trial advocacy program at Stanford University Law School and acts as a guest lecturer.

Notable cases

Some of the most notable cases Cardoza has worked on include:

Cardoza represented Whipple's domestic partner, Sharon Smith, in her wrongful-death suit against Knoller and Noel, the dog owners. The case challenged the statutes that denied same-sex partners legal standing to bring such a claim. Cardoza helped Smith recover $1.5 million in damages.[3]
In 2010, the defendant Bey was charged with a felony assault in which the victim suffered various injuries. Bey, Cardoza's client, was one of a number of men allegedly attacking the victim. The jury found Bey not guilty because of lack of evidence.

Cardoza also worked as the lead attorney in the Christine Hubbs case.[12] Ms. Hubbs was charged with over 60 counts of unlawful sexual encounters with two 14-year-old males. Her bailed reached $4.3 million. Her case settled and she faces 5 years in state prison.[13] Cardoza continues to handle other high-profile cases such as that of Officer Norman Wielsch. As head of the drug task force team, he allegedly stole confiscated narcotics from Contra Costa County, California and later sold them for personal profits.[14] His bail was reduced from $900,000 and is currently set at $400,000.[15]

Publications

Beyond A Reasonable Doubt

Cardoza has also been featured in Diablo Magazine,[17] Time Magazine and Sports Illustrated.

Honors

Michael Cardoza is a Top 100 Trial Lawyer as deemed by the American Trial Lawyer's Association. Diablo Magazine also deemed Michael Cardoza's advocacy skills as the "Best in the Bay".

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, May 30, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.