Firm Profile
Knut S. Johnson is an AV rated attorney who specializes in defending people and organizations that government agencies are investigating, prosecuting, or suing. He is listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, the 2005-2006 edition of Best Lawyers in Amercia, and is certified by the State Bar of California as a Criminal Law Specialist. He has defended virtually every type of criminal case at trial and on appeal, from complex white collar and regulatory offenses to violent crimes. In addition, he has been an adjunct professor of law at the University of San Diego School of Law and California Western School of Law. He has been on the faculty of the Institute for Criminal Defense Advocacy and the National Institute of Trial Advocacy. Finally, he has also taught trial advocacy in Azerbaijan and the Republic of Georgia as part of a program of legal reforms conducted by the American Bar Association-Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative.
Mr. Johnson has tried numerous state and federal felony jury trials to verdict. He has also tried cases before superior, municipal and administrative courts, as well as arbitration panels. His clients have been charged with virtually every type of crime, including murder, minor misdemeanor offenses, serious violent crimes, weapons offenses, narcotics crimes, environmental crimes, and complex white collar and regulatory offenses. He has represented defendants in some of the most notorious and complex cases in federal and state court in San Diego.
Mr. Johnson has also represented many clients before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, as well as in petitions for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court. Recent published opinions include United States v. Hebert, 201 F.3d 1103 (9th Cir. 2000); United States v. Garcia-Barron, 116 F.3d 1305 (9th Cir. 1997), S.E.C. v. Worthen, 98 F.3d 480 (9th Cir. 1996), and United States v. Soyland, 3 F.3d 1313 (9th Cir. 1993).
Mr. Johnson frequently lectures about criminal justice issues to bar associations and other groups of lawyers, including the American Bar Association and local bar associations. He has also authored many articles on topics related to criminal justice.