Ellen J. Eggers
Special Advisor
Since retiring from the Office of the State Public Defender, Ellen has dedicated her time to work exclusively pro bono on the cases of the wrongfully convicted. Ellen's work focuses on those who are factually innocent and incarcerated for serious crimes. Her work has led to the exonerations of six clients since 2014:
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In addition, Ellen has handled the parole board hearings of dozens of clients on a pro bono basis.
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Before retirement, Ellen was employed as a deputy state public defender for 24 years, handling post-conviction capital cases, both on direct appeal to the California Supreme Court and in investigating and preparing cases for the filing of petitions for writ of habeas corpus in state court.
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Ellen also spent many years as full-time staff counsel and chief of civil litigation for Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers, handling state and federal trials, and all forms of civil litigation, including appellate work.
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