Katherine Braner
Chief Deputy, Primary Public Defender
Katherine Braner is the Chief Deputy of the Primary Public Defender for San Diego County. With almost 30 years of criminal defense litigation experience, she has been a staunch advocate for protecting the constitutional rights of the indigent accused. Ms. Braner created the national award-winning Fresh Start Program, a comprehensive criminal record relief program designed to aid community members in cleaning up their records to remove barriers to employment, housing, educational opportunities, and other civil involvement. Ms. Braner received her Bachelors’ degree from Bowling Green State University, summa cum laude, with University Honors in 1990. She earned her law degree from Yale Law School in 1993, where she was an editor on the Law Review and a Student Director for the Prison Legal Services Clinic. Ms. Braner was admitted to the Washington, D.C. Bar in 1993 and the California Bar in 1994. Ms. Braner is the update co-author of “Felony Sentencing” (Chapter 37). She also has expertise in defending human trafficking victims and is on the Board of Directors for Free to Thrive, a non-profit organization designed to remove barriers and build opportunities for victims of human trafficking. Ms. Braner is a member of the California Public Defenders Association and the San Diego County Bar Association, Judicial Election Evaluation Committee.
