Spanish Team - The Law Offices of the Pima County Public Defender


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Spanish Speaking Felony Trial Teams

The Pima County Public Defender's Office employs discreet teams of Spanish speaking lawyers that handle office felony cases with Spanish speaking clients as part of their team mission. This enables cases to be reviewed by more senior attorneys in the group and provides an opportunity for less experienced lawyers to be mentored by those with substantial experience.

Spanish Felony Trial Team Attorneys

Don Klein
Team Leader

Graduated cum laude from Claremont McKenna College in 1971; Graduated from University of Arizona College of Law, 1974; Law Clerk, former Judge Lawrence Howard, Arizona Court of Appeals, Division Two, 1974-75; private practice 1975-1980; Felony Trial Attorney, Pima County Public Defender’s Office, 1980-2005 (including work as Chief of the Felony Trial Section and Interim Public Defender); private practice, Chandler & Udall, 2005-2007; Felony Trial Attorney, Pima County Public Defender’s Office, 2007 to present. Recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award from Arizona Public Defender’s Association, 2004.

Darlene Edminson-O'Brien

Graduate of the University of Arizona College of Law, 1996; admitted to the State Bar of Arizona in 1996; Judicial Clerk to the Honorable Michael Cruikshank, Pima County Superior Court, 1996-97; substantial experience as a Defense Attorney in the Law Offices of the Pima County Public Defender since 1997.
Languages: American Sign Language

Jack O'Brien

Graduate of the University of Arizona College of Law, 1981; admitted to the State Bar of Arizona, 1981; lawyer in private practice 1981-85; substantial and extensive experience as a Defense Attorney in the Law Offices of the Pima County Public Defender since 1996.

Margo Cowan

Graduate of the Antioch School of Law, Washington, D.C., 1985; admitted to the State Bar of Pennsylvania in 1986; admitted to the State Bar of Arizona in 1995; substantial experience as an attorney in general immigration practice since 1986; General Counsel, Tohono O'Odham Nation 1993-2003; Of Counsel, Congressman Raul Grijalva, 2004; extensive pro bono work, mainly in the areas of border/immigration policy development and representation of undocumented persons and refugees; Defense Attorney in the Law Offices of the Pima County Public Defender since 2004. In March 2007, the National Association for Social Workers- AZ Branch II awarded Margo with the Cesar Chavez Hummanitarian Award for her dedication in advancing human rights for over thirty-five years. An example of this dedication is her co-founding of the group No More Deaths. This group provides assistance to migrants returning from the U.S. to the border towns of Mexico, and their sole puprose is to reduce the amount of deaths in the Arizona Desert.
Languages: Spanish

Walter Goncalves

Graduate of the University of Arizona College of Law, 2004; admitted to the State Bar of Arizona, 2005; practical experience as a Law Clerk, Civil Division, Pima County Attorney, 2003-05; Defense Attorney in the Law Offices of the Pima County Public Defender since 2005.
Languages: Spanish and Portuguese

Jamiel Allen

Graduate of the University of Arizona College of Law, 2005; admitted to the State Bar of Arizona, 2006; practical experience under Rule 38(e) in the University of Arizona Law College Criminal Defense Clinic, and as a Law Clerk, Pima County Public Defender ; Defense Attorney in the Law Offices of the Pima County Public Defender since 2006.

Matei Tarail

Graduate of the University of Arizona College of Law, 2005; Peace Corps Volunteer, Dominican Republic, 1996 – 1998; 2003 – 2005 member of the Student Advisory Board of the UA Law Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Program; Law Clerk, Tucson Police Department Legal Advisor, 2004; Intern and Law Clerk, Pima County Public Defender, 2004 – 2006; admitted to the State Bar of Arizona, 2006.
Languages: Spanish

Antonio Zapata

Graduated from the University of Arizona College of Law in 2004; admitted to the State Bar of Arizona and the United States District Court in 2004; practiced as a Spanish certified trial attorney in the Public Defenders Office for the City of Tucson from 2004-2007; Defense Attorney in the Law Offices of the Pima County Public Defender since 2007.
Languages: Spanish

Sandra Bensley

Graduated from Arizona State University College of Law in 2006; admitted to the State Bar of Arizona in 2006; practiced as an assistant city prosecutor for the City of Glendale from 2006-2008; Defense Attorney in the Law Offices of the Pima County Public Defender since 2008.
Languages: Spanish

Louis Fidel

Graduate of the University of Arizona College of Law, 2007; admitted to the State Bar of Arizona, 2007; practical experience in the UA Immigration Law Clinic, 2007, and as a law clerk with the Law Offices of the Pima County Public Defender, 2007-2008; Defense Attorney in the Law Offices of the Pima County Public Defender since 2008.
Languages: Spanish and French

Brian Metcalf

Graduate of the University of Arizona College of Law, 1985; admitted to the State Bar of Arizona, the Arizona Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Arizona, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals; substantial and extensive experience as a Felony Trial Attorney, and an Appellate Attorney in the Law Offices of the Pima County Public Defender since 1985.

Michael Mussman

Graduate of Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, 1979; admitted to the State Bar of Arizona, 1980, the United States District Court of Arizona, 1981, and the United States Supreme Court in 1988; Trial Lawyer, Pima County Public Defender, 1980-86; Chief Trial Deputy, 1986-87; Director, Pima County Legal Defender's Office, 1987-92; Attorney in private practice, 1992-95; substantial and extensive experience as a Defense Attorney in the Law Offices of the Pima County Public Defender since 1980.

Guenevere Nelson-Melby

B.A.: Brigham Young University M.Ed.: Harvard University; J.D: University of Arizona (Order of the Coif, James E. Roger Scholar.) Practice Experience: Clerkships in criminal, civil, family, and asylum law. Admitted to the Arizona Bar, 2007. With the Office of the Public Defender, 2009.
Languages: Spanish