Timothy Allen Scott

 J.D., Stanford Law School

 B.A., Whitworth College, summa cum laude.

Consistently ranked by peers as a “San Diego Super Lawyer,” and “Southern California Super Lawyer” in both the criminal defense and appellate categories, Timothy A. Scott is the rare advocate who combines the skills of an accomplished trial lawyer, appellate attorney, and legal scholar. 

Mr. Scott maintains a vigorous trial practice, with approximately 60 jury trials to his credit. His recent victories include: United States v. An Individual, 14cr192-CJC (solicitation to murder federal judge, hung jury); United States v. an Individual, 08cr1094-WDK (tried in 2015) (acquittal on all charges in federal health-care fraud prosecution); United States v. an Individual, 13cr0885 (acquittal or dismissal of 16 of 19 charges in federal fraud case, client free on bond pending appeal of remaining counts); People v. an Individual, Case No. 3WA02116 (hung jury and dismissal on theft charges); United States v. an Individual, 12cr0918-BEN (securities-fraud, acquitted on six counts, hung jury on remaining counts); California v. an Individual, Case No. SCS242736 (obtained dismissal of murder charges following three-day preliminary hearing); United States v. an Individual, Case No. 11 CR 2611 (assault on a federal officer case, obtained dismissal during second day of jury trial); United States v. an Individual, (Navy Court-martial alleging double rape; all charges dismissed after Article 32 preliminary hearing); California v. an Individual, Case No. SCS242736 (acquittals on all counts in case alleging aggravated assault with great bodily injury); United States v. an Individual, Case No. 09 CR 3330 (obtained jury trial acquittal in case alleging alien-smuggling with alleged confession); United States v. an Individual, Case No 05 CR 0069 (obtained jury trial acquittals of first-degree murder and gang conspiracy charges).

       Mr. Scott’s success at the Ninth Circuit has been as broad and frequent as his trial court victories, and include: United States v. Spanier, 17-50128 (2018) (securities-fraud conviction reversed for jury-instruction error); United States v. Millan, 15-50445 (2018) (wire-fraud conviction reversed for erroneous admission of expert / summary testimony); United States v. Garcia, 14-50567 (government conceded error and dismissed appeal after opening brief filed); United States v. Spanier 14-50306 (securities-fraud conviction dismissed for Speedy Trial violation, remanded); United States v. Johnson, 10-50439 (9th Cir. 2012) (reversing federal bank-robbery conviction and twenty-seven-year sentence); United States v. Cardenas, 09-50472 (9th Cir. 2011) (reversing federal identity theft conviction); United States v. Caruto, 532 F.3d 822 (9th Cir. 2008) (reversing importation conviction and 14-year sentence for Doyle error in case of first impression); United States v. Rangel-Rodriguez, Case No. 06-50519 (9th ) (reversing federal alien-smuggling conspiracy conviction); United States v. Wells, Case No. 04-50296 (9th Cir. 2006) (reversing RICO/attempted murder conviction and 30-year sentence); United States v. Lombera-Valdovinos, 429 F.3d 927 (9th Cir. 2005) (reversing conviction in re-entry case); United States v. Bautista, 362 F.3d 584 (9th Cir. 2004) (reversing counterfeiting conviction for Fourth-Amendment violation); United States v. Juvenile (Christian O.), Case No. 03-50488 (9th Cir. 2004) (reversing importation case and obtaining acquittal on appeal).

Mr. Scott’s mastery of federal criminal law may also be assessed by his authorship of, in collaboration with a sitting federal district judge, The Ninth Circuit Criminal Handbook (Lexis-Nexis/Matthew Bender).  This restatement of criminal law is relied upon by practitioners and judges alike throughout the Ninth Circuit, and includes a Forward from the Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit.  Mr. Scott also contributed the Fourth-Amendment chapter to the 2010 edition of the nationally renowned treatise, Defending a Federal Criminal Case, published by Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc.

                Mr. Scott graduated from Stanford Law School in 2000, and received his undergraduate degree from Whitworth College in 1997 summa cum laude.  He began his career as a trial attorney with Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. before starting his own firm in 2004.  He is a frequent lecturer, speaker, and demonstrator for the bench and the bar