Friday, August 17, 2018
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Ricardo Garcia Named Los Angeles Public Defender
By a MetNews Staff Writer
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RICARDO GARCIA Public Defender |
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has selected Ricardo Garcia, a supervising attorney in the San Diego County Public Defender’s Office, to be public defender here.
He will be the 11th person to hold the post since the office was founded in 1914, the first such office in the nation. Garcia will replace Ronald L. Brown, who retired Dec. 31, 2016.
The board has reportedly made at least two prior selections but the applicants withdrew during negotiations over the terms of employment.
It was announced late Wednesday that Garcia “is expected to begin his new role later this year.”
“After a thorough and exhaustive search, I look forward to having veteran trial attorney Ricardo Garcia serve as Los Angeles County’s new public defender,” Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said. “I am confident that he will be a strong partner in carrying out the Board of Supervisors’ criminal justice reform agenda and making the Office of the Public Defender the best it has ever been.”
Supervisor Kathryn Barger remarked:
“Ricardo Garcia is an exceptionally accomplished defense attorney who will elevate the L.A. County Public Defender’s Office as a model for holistic representation nationally, working collaboratively with the justice partners, service providers, community based organizations and other key stakeholders. The County of Los Angeles is very fortunate to have such a seasoned attorney lead the first and largest Public Defender’s Office in the nation.”
Garcia joined the San Diego County Public Defender’s Office in 1995; moved over to the Department of the Alternative Public Defender three years later; served from 2004-06 as criminal justice director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California; returned to the San Diego Alternative Public Defender Department in 2006; and moved to his current post in 2009.
He was named Trial Lawyer of the Year by the San Diego Criminal Defense Bar Association in 2015.
His law degree is from Boalt Hall.
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