Todd W. Burns
Supervisory Attorney - Special Litigation Counsel
University of Virginia School of Law, J.D.
University of Minnesota, B.A.

Todd Burns began his legal career in 1996 as a law clerk for the Honorable James B. Loken, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. After his clerkship, he worked as an associate attorney at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, California. Todd first joined the Federal Defender team as a trial attorney in 1998, and now serves as special litigation counsel.

Since arriving at Federal Defenders, Todd has had over thirty-five jury and bench trials, and has argued at least as many appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Todd's practice now focuses on complex criminal cases, ranging from cases alleging large-scale drug trafficking conspiracies to white collar fraud. In addition, while not technically a part of our appellate division, Todd is regularly called upon to brainstorm appellate issues with attorneys, review appellate briefs before they are submitted to the Ninth Circuit, and act as a moot court judge in preparation for oral arguments. His own appellate victories include published opinions in United States v. Vallejo, 237 F.3d 1008 (9th Cir. 2001), and United States v. Ramirez-Martinez, 273 F.3d 903 (9th Cir. 2001).

Perhaps Todd's most lasting and immeasurable contribution to Federal Defenders thus far has been his advocacy on behalf of individuals detained indefinitely by immigration authorities. He founded and subsequently supervised Federal Defenders' habeas corpus unit advocating for the release of such people. Todd authored a NACDL-sponsored amicus brief on this issue for the Ninth Circuit in Ma v. Reno, 208 F.3d 815 (9th Cir. 2000), amended sub nom. Ma v. Ashcroft, 257 F.3d 1095 (9th Cir. 2001), and thereby helped gain the release of hundreds of indefinite detainees here in the Southern District of California. Unfortunately, this type of litigation continues to be a major part of Federal Defenders' practice.

Todd is well known for his extensive motions practice and is regularly called upon by the office to train our new attorneys in that area. He also conducts training for the local defense community through our CJA Seminars, and has been called upon by the Office of Defender Services Training Branch, as well as other national defender offices, to speak on a wide array of topics dealing with the substantive and procedural aspects of federal criminal court practice.

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