Stephen D Demik

Mr. Demik has handled nearly every variety of criminal case, from misdemeanors to felonies to extradition cases, from immigration court to Guantanamo Bay. He has tried over 50 federal jury trials, in three separate federal districts– from San Diego to Los Angeles to Rapid City, South Dakota. Mr. Demik is admitted to practice in South Dakota, California, the United States District Court for the Southern and Central Districts of California, the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota, United States Courts of Appeal for the Eighth and Ninth Federal Circuits, and the United States Supreme Court. 

He received the E. Stanley Conant Award for the “Unselfish Devotion to Protecting the Rights of the Indigent Accused” from the Board of Directors of the Defenders Programs of San Diego in 2008. He is a graduate of the National Criminal Defense College, Trial Practice Institute. And he has been a faculty teacher at Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyers College since 2009, teaching trial skills to civil plaintiff attorneys and criminal defense attorneys around the country.

Before starting his own practice, Stephen served fourteen years as a Deputy Federal Public Defender in the Southern and Central Districts of California, and in the District of South Dakota. Stephen is an aggressive litigator who fights tirelessly for his all of his clients, and has consistently secured amazing results. He has won many difficult jury trials, as well as dismissals as a result of his pretrial litigation. He has won numerous motions to suppress evidence, some resulting in the dismissal of charges, and persuaded prosecutors and judges to dismiss several serious felony cases. He is an adept legal litigator and negotiator.

Stephen also handled appeals from approximately 2004-2006, arguing before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He has authored several published articles, including for the Trial Lawyer’s College publication “The Warrior” and the South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association’s “Barrister” magazine. He presented on several topics, from “Education Not Incarceration” to “Detention, the Constitution, and Off-Shore Dealings: Detainees and Federal Habeas Corpus."