Carmela Frances Simoncini
Lead Appellate Court Attorney
Carmela Simoncini's professional practice has centered around criminal and juvenile law, including work in the trial court and on appeal. She has extensive trial experience in both criminal and civil cases, although most of her career has been devoted to criminal and juvenile appeals. In addition, since 1991, Ms. Simoncini has been an Adjunct Professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law (formerly Western State University School of Law, San Diego), where she has taught courses in Legal Writing 1, Legal Writing 2, Legal Drafting, Professional Responsibility, Juvenile Dependency, Appellate Practice, Civil Procedure Practice, and Remedies. Ms. Simoncini received her Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts (BFA) from Arizona State University, her J.D. from Western State University College of Law, San Diego, and her LL.M. from the University of San Diego. Upon admission to practice law, she engaged in general practice in the firm of Simoncini and Simoncini for four years, handling primarily domestic violence cases in the trial court, as well as criminal and juvenile cases in both the trial court and on appeal. Ms. Simoncini then became a deputy public defender for the County of Tulare for two years. Thereafter, she worked for 22 years as a staff attorney at Appellate Defenders, Inc., representing clients in criminal and juvenile appeals, before taking her current position at the California Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Two. "Ms. Simoncini has authored articles for The National Lawyers Guild Practitioner "DNA for the Defense," [Vo. 52, No. 1, winter 1995], as well as for the San Diego Lawyer Magazine "Foster Homes: Is the Cure Sometimes Worse than the Disease?" September/October 2003, p. 31. Additionally, she authored Chapter 3 of the “Juvenile Dependency Practice Manual” for CEB. Ms. Simoncini is also a frequent speaker or panel member at seminars and workshops around the state on topics related to Criminal Law, Juvenile Law, and Appellate Practice. In 1994, Ms. Simoncini received the E. Stanley Conant Award from the Board of Directors of the Defender Programs of San Diego for her pro bono work in the exoneration of Frederick R. Daye, who had been wrongly convicted. In 2003, she received the Outstanding Service by a Public Attorney Award by the San Diego County Bar Association, and in 2017, she received the Adjunct Faculty Award from Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Ms. Simoncini is a current member of both the San Diego County Bar Association and the Riverside County Bar Association, being active in the Appellate Law Sections of both. She was a Master Member of the San Diego Appellate Inn of Court from 2018 to 2021. Ms. Simoncini's volunteer activities have included participation in training workshops for Self-Represented Civil Litigants in both San Diego and Riverside Counties."
