Counsel

Mr. Klein is a former supervising attorney for the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. With more than a decade of experience in criminal defense and appellate litigation, Mr. Klein has represented individuals charged with crimes ranging from drug possession to serious sex offenses and homicide.

The central theme of Mr. Klein’s representation is attention to detail at every stage of a case, from initial discovery and investigation through trial—as well as at sentencing and on appeal, if necessary. Mr. Klein makes sure that he has personal knowledge of every case fact and a thorough understanding of the applicable law. Mr. Klein also pursues a creative motions practice, looking for any avenue to attack a case. Mr. Klein has had great success at both the trial and appellate levels. In 2010, Mr. Klein successfully defended two murder cases, gaining outright acquittals for his clients. Mr. Klein has also won appellate reversals in cases involving convictions for homicide offenses and other serious crimes.

Additionally, Mr. Klein has a broad knowledge of forensic science issues. He was a senior member of the Forensic Practice Group at the Public Defender Service and has received extensive training in DNA analysis, fingerprints, handwriting comparison, bloodstain pattern analysis, firearm and toolmark examination, and other areas of forensic science. Mr. Klein has served as lead counsel or co-counsel in several DNA-related cases and in 2010 tried a DNA database cold-hit case. Mr. Klein has also litigated the admissibility of handwriting comparison evidence as well as fingerprint evidence. Mr. Klein led the charge to have expert testimony admitted on the subject of eyewitness identification, and in 2006, he became the first lawyer in many years to have a District of Columbia judge allow such expert testimony.

Mr. Klein began his legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Jose A. Gonzalez, Jr., in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. He then served as an E. Barrett Prettyman Fellow at the Georgetown Criminal Justice Clinic. Mr. Klein spent a semester teaching as a visiting professor in the Juvenile Justice Clinic at Georgetown University Law Center.

Prior to law school, Mr. Klein served as an assistant agent at the Beverly Hills Sports Council, where he assisted senior sports agents in all aspects of client representation, including contract preparation and negotiation as well as salary arbitration. Mr. Klein personally recruited and represented nine minor league baseball players, almost all of whom eventually made it to the Major Leagues.

Mr. Klein is a member of the Criminal Justice Act panel for the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.

Education

J.D., Georgetown Law School, 1998
B.A., Dartmouth College, 1992

State Bar Admissions

Colorado
District of Columbia (Inactive)
Texas (Inactive)

Admitted to Practice

U.S. Court of Appeals:

• Tenth Circuit

U.S. District Courts:

• District of Colorado