Amarante, Erika L.

Most trial lawyers leave appeals to someone else. Not California Criminal Defense Lawyer Al Amer. In addition to felony and misdemeanor trials, Al handles writs and appeals in federal court as well as superior courts, courts of appeal and the California Supreme Court.

Having conducted over 70 criminal jury trials, the former deputy district attorney can "spot the issues for appeal…everything from constitutional violations to prosecutorial misconduct."

Al loves the courtroom and continues to represent clients in matters ranging from DUI to homicide. He's handled cases involving murder, sexual assault, home invasion robbery, gang crimes, carjacking, dissuading a witness, DUI/DWI, stalking, vandalism, narcotics offenses, juvenile crimes, identity theft and prostitution, to name a few.

In defending clients, Al draws on his background from having prosecuted criminal cases and having taken them up on appeal. Drawing on his prosecuting experience, he's able to "think like a D.A." and anticipate their strategies. Drawing on his appellate experience, he knows how to "build a solid record" in his cases...so that when a court makes a bad call, appealing the bad decision is more likely to be successful.

As a prosecutor with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, Al was assigned to the Victim Impact Program at the Norwalk Courthouse. VIP is a special unit that handles adult sex crimes, child physical and sexual abuse cases and domestic violence cases. Al also prosecuted cases in Texas for the Dallas County District Attorney's Office.

Before heading to law school, Al used his talents on behalf of children. With a degree in child development from California State University, Northridge, Al served as director of the Greater Watts Child Care Center and the West Wilshire Recreation Center.

A father of three children, Al also has been a fourth grade substitute teacher.

When he's not preparing for cross-examination or drafting a writ of habeas corpus, you can find Al with a surfboard, tennis racket or golf club. He maintains his spot on the LA County District Attorney's Office softball team.

For Al, surfing isn't confined to California's beaches. He also negotiates the legal waves of cyberspace. While a law student at Loyola Law School, he wrote Domain Name Cybernappers: Information Superhighway Robbery. More recently, he gave a presentation on cyberlaw issues at a conference in Cairo, Egypt.