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Mark Reichel

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Mark Reichel
OccupationAttorney
Known forCriminal defense, civil liberties, litigating before the U.S. Supreme Court
Websitehttps://reichellaw.com

Mark J. Reichel is a criminal and civil attorney in Sacramento, California and a partner in the law firm Reichel & Plesser, LLP. He is also the vice chairman of the Sacramento board of the American Civil Liberties Union. Reichel has been involved in several prominent criminal and civil cases including: United States v. Eric McDavid[1] and United States v. Grubbs.

Education and accolades

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Reichel attended college the McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California. He was selected as a Finalist for the Best Brief and Best Oral Argument Award as well as giving the commencement speech for his graduating class of 1991. Shortly after graduating from law school, Mark handled a civil rights lawsuit in a case that was featured across the nation and highlighted in the December 1992 issue of Life magazine. Reichel is also a 1995 graduate of the National Criminal Defense College in Macon, Georgia. Reichel has also been selected to the "Top Attorneys in Northern California" for 2008 by San Francisco magazine in their August 2008 edition, as well as the Top Attorneys of North America in their 2020-2021 edition.[2][3]

Career

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Reichel spent 13 years as a trial attorney for the Federal Public Defender in Sacramento where he was appointed to thousands of criminal cases.[4][5][6][7][8][9] One of the most celebrated cases in Reichel's career came as he took United States v. Grubbs all the way from arraignment to argument in front of the United States Supreme Court. Reichel argued in this case that the Fourth Amendment requires officers to provide a copy of the search warrant to the homeowner when conducting a search.

After leaving the Federal Defender, he entered private practice in 2005, founding the Law Offices of Mark Reichel. Reichel became law partners with Steve Plesser [1], a prominent Sacramento criminal defense attorney, in May 2010 with the founding [2] of Reichel & Plesser, LLP [3].

Soon thereafter, the firm, as part of a coordinated defense team, enjoyed a much publicized [4] victory when the U.S. Department of Justice issued a press release [5] announcing dismissal of all charges against prominent members of the Hmong community, (at one point the indictment included Hmong community leader and war hero, General Vang Pao), who were wrongly accused of plotting to overthrow the government of Laos. The failed prosecution had inspired massive rallies in support of the accused [6][permanent dead link‍] [7] and had been roundly criticized as a betrayal of the brave Hmong who had fought on behalf of the United States during the Vietnam War.[8]

Notable cases

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In 2006, while working for the Federal Public Defender's Office, Reichel defended Jeffrey Grubbs. His case was appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, then later to the U.S. Supreme Court where justices were asked to weigh in on whether the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution required police officers to hand criminal suspects a copy of a search warrant outlining the probable cause behind the warrant when it is executed on their homes.[10]

After joining Reichel & Plesser, he represented Isaiah Fowler, a 12-year-old boy accused of stabbing and murdering his 8-year-old sister in 2013. A jury convicted Fowler based on a police interrogation, but Reichel successfully appealed Fowler's case, and an appellate court found two of the police interviews violated his rights. In 2018, an appellate court vacated Fowler's conviction,[11] finding that the young man's confession was likely coerced. At his retrial, Fowler was convicted again by a different judge. Reichel told a local newspaper he intends to file another appeal.[12]

In 2016, Reichel represented Anthony Silva, the sitting mayor of Stockton, California, who was charged in connection with his work as a youth camp counselor. Prosecutors alleged Silva had secretly recorded several teenagers participating in a game of strip poker,[13] with one of the teenagers reportedly being a minor at the time of the recording. Prosecutors also alleged Silva provided alcohol to minors. While Silva denied the accusations at the time, he entered a plea of no contest the following year to the alcohol charges.[14] The charges related to the strip poker game were dismissed. Reichel was successful in convincing a judge to grant Silva a sentence of community service in lieu of jail time.

In 2017, Reichel represented one of five suspects accused of fighting with police officers in Davis, California during a local event known as Picnic Day. In an interview with an alternative newspaper, Reichel said his client and others involved in the melee were confused about the three police officers who approached them during the incident because they were wearing street clothes and did not identify themselves as law enforcement.[15] Reichel successfully arranged a plea for his client that led to the eventual dismissal of the charges.[16]

Media appearances

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Reichel is often asked by local and national news reporters to comment on cases of public interest, and he has become a media personality known for his television appearances in Sacramento where his law office is located.

During the Fowler case, Reichel made numerous appearances on local and national news and talk show programs, including HLN. In 2018, he was tapped to provide legal insight into law enforcement footage obtained by the Sacramento Bee related to the fatal shooting of Stephon Clark by Sacramento Police Department officers.[17]

Reichel has offered extensive legal insight on the case of the Golden State Killer and Joseph DeAngelo, a former police officer who was arrested in 2018 on suspicion of committing many of the crimes in the case.[18][19]

References

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  1. ^ "The Rise & Fall of the Eco-Radical Underground". Archived from the original on August 24, 2006. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  2. ^ Top Attorneys of North America
  3. ^ "Top Attorneys in Northern California". San Francisco Magazine. August 2008.
  4. ^ "Board of Directors". Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  5. ^ "The Tazz and Paula Show". Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  6. ^ Indar, Josh. "FBI arrests student at campus event". Newsreview.com. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  7. ^ "ELF Suspect Released On Bail". KRCR news channel 3. Archived from the original on 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  8. ^ laughlin, eric. "bomb conspirator gets 19.5 years" (PDF). sacramento Bee. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-09-05. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  9. ^ "Details emerge in local Eco-Terror suspects trial". News channel 13. Retrieved 2009-07-06. [dead link‍]
  10. ^ "United States v. Grubbs". Oyez. 2020-05-14.
  11. ^ Heise, Sarah (2018-02-23). "Brother's conviction overturned in case of Leila Fowler's murder". KCRA. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
  12. ^ Phillips, Roger. "Isiah Fowler sentenced again in sister's death". recordnet.com. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
  13. ^ Phillips, Roger. "Embattled Stockton mayor disputes charges". recordnet.com. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
  14. ^ "Former Stockton mayor pleads no contest to providing alcohol to minor". Los Angeles Times. 2017-08-11. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
  15. ^ "Sunday Commentary: Tying Police Incident to Picnic Day Was Inevitable". Davis Vanguard. 2017-04-30. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
  16. ^ "Case dismissed for 'Picnic Day 5'". Davis Enterprise. 2018-12-11. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
  17. ^ Kitagazi, Paul (2018-03-22). "Attorney Mark Reichel talks about Stephon Clark shooting". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  18. ^ "Golden State Killer suspect seeks plea deal". KHSL News. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
  19. ^ "A plea deal for the East Area Rapist? Mark Reichel weighs in..." ReichelLaw.com. 2020-03-05. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
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