Curran, Felicia C

Burton J. Francis is a Fresno County criminal defense attorney who represents men, women and juveniles in all criminal matters in state and federal trial courts and in the courts of appeal.  He has been a licensed attorney for over 27 years.  Starting out as a certified law student in the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, as a practicing attorney Mr. Francis became involved in civil litigation for 3 ½ years, including participating in the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel Fire case.   Mr. Francis returned to the practice of criminal law in 1988 when he joined the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office where he worked for approximately 24 years handling all levels of criminal cases.  Among his many assignments, he served on the Child Abuse and Sexual Assault team twice, the second time as the senior member handling the most difficult cases and serving as an advisor to younger attorneys.  Mr. Francis also restarted the Career Criminal Unit, serving as the lead attorney in cases involving those with long criminal histories.  In addition, he was the acting Chief of the Juvenile Unit for the Fresno District Attorney, directing the litigation of all matters involving juvenile offenders in Fresno County and training those attorneys assigned to the unit.

Mr. Francis has an extensive knowledge of the law of homicide, having served twice on the Homicide Unit for the Fresno County District Attorney.  On those assignments he handled many high profile cases including the Carrillo Bar massacre - one of the worst mass murder cases in Fresno County history, the Fresno State University ‘Playstation’ murder case, and the notorious Tarpey Double-stabbing murder in Clovis.  He was one of the first in Fresno County to handle gang allegations under Penal Code 186.22 and continues to be involved in those cases where gang allegations are prominent.  He has also had extensive experience in handling murder and other cases where DNA evidence has been a central issue.

Mental defenses are a complex area of the law that has been a feature of many of the cases handled by Mr. Francis over his long and varied career.  Mr. Francis is well versed in the areas of cognitive impairment such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as well asthe various mental disabilities arising from congenital or traumatic injury which may give rise to a defense in a criminal matter.  He has also been involved on an appellate level with mental retardation as a defense to the imposition of the death penalty.

A certified Criminal Law Specialist since 1998, he has consistently met the highest standards of the California State Bar in the practice of criminal law and in pursuing the continuing legal education requirements necessary to maintain this distinction.  Recently, Mr. Francis was selected by the Executive Committee of the Fresno Superior Court as one of only a few criminal defense attorneys in Fresno County qualified to handle the representation of indigent defendants accused of murders involving special circumstances, the most serious allegations possible in criminal law and exposing those so charged to life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.