Daniel J. DeRienzo has 27 years of legal experience and over 20 years of experience managing a law office. He founded and served as the first Chief Public Defender for Yavapai County from 1998 to 2004. He served as the first President of the Arizona Public Defender's Association and is recognized by his peers as a top notch attorney and litigator.
He is a recipient of the Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice William Rothstein Award and in June 2005 was presented with the Arizona Public Defender's Association highest honor, the Gideon Award.
Dan has served with the Arizona Association of Drug Court Professionals and is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys. He teaches Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Attorney Professionalism and Law Office Management.
He received his Law Degree from the University of Arizona in 1985 and began his career prosecuting securities fraud for the Arizona Corporation Commission. He then served as Deputy County Attorney in Pinal County, AZ, prosecuting DUI's, felonies, and homicide cases. His experience working for the state provided him with trial experience and a unique insight into prosecution, a valuable tool in defending people charged with criminal offenses.
In 1991, Mr. DeRienzo was appointed as Chief Public Defender for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. There he worked with Public Defenders from across the country and helped draft the rewrite the CNMI Criminal Code as well as successfully defended DUI and felony cases. In 1998, he established the first Yavapai County Public Defender's Office and served as Chief Public Defender until 2004.
Since 2004, he has been in the private practice of law representing individuals charged with everything from DUI to murder. In the last 5 years he has won numerous DUI trials and Appeals.
He also contracts with several counties to draft and argue appeals and post conviction relief cases before the Arizona Court of Appeals and Arizona Supreme Court.
