Robert Amparan
Robert Marlowe Amparan is an American criminal defense attorney currently based in San Francisco, California. He became notable for successfully defending former JonBenet Ramsey murder suspect John Mark Karr in his legal battle with the state of California on child pornography charges. After a series of defense motions, the case was eventually dismissed. He practices in the same office as famed defense attorney Tony Serra.
Education
Amparan attended University of California, Berkeley as an undergraduate majoring in Political Science. He received his J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco. On December 1, 1994, he was admitted to the California State Bar. [1]
Experience
He is a former member of the San Francisco Public Defender's Office and focuses mainly on criminal defense. He has practiced law in both California State and Federal Courts. Mr. Amparan has garnered local attention in San Francisco for his aggressive defense style. [2]
Ed Rosenthal
Amparan currently represents Ed Rosenthal who is facing criminal prosecution in Federal Court for allegedly distributing marijuana despite the fact that he was deputized by the City of Oakland to help administer medical marijuana under California's medical marijuana law. Amparan will represent Mr. Rosenthal in his retrial after his successful appeal.
John Mark Karr
In August 2006, an American teacher living abroad named John Mark Karr falsly confessed to the unsolved murder of JonBenét Ramsey, creating a media frenzy. Ramsey was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colorado, in 1996. Karr said he was present when Ramsey died and called her death an "accident". Karr was arrested in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 16, 2006, by Thai authorities, then released to U.S. agents and flown first to Los Angeles, California, then to Boulder for further investigation. On August 28, prosecutors announced they had decided not to pursue charges in connection with the murder after DNA tests failed to place Karr at the scene. Karr was held in Boulder until September 12, 2006, when he was transported to Sonoma County, California to face unrelated misdemeanor child pornography charges. Mr. Amparan agreed to represent him. On September 20, 2006 Amparan was quoted as saying of Karr that he was a "southern gentleman with a sense of humor." The case was dismissed on October 5, 2006. [3]
Notes
- ^ "Robert Amparan's Bar Record", The State Bar of California, October 2, 2006
- ^ "Cell Phoney", San Francisco Weekly, August 16, 2006
- ^ "Karr freed after child porn case crumbles", CNN.com, October 5, 2006