Toni M. Blake has testified as an expert witness for change of venue motions and on jury selection for death penalty post conviction hearings. She has served on the faculty for the Monterey Death Penalty Conference for many years as well as the Defense Investigators Training Academy. She speaks several times a year for the California Public Defenders Association and the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice as well as several other other local and national bar groups. Her work on false allegations of child abuse has been featured in Discover Magazine, the Chicago Tribune, American Bar Journal and on TV documentaries. She has also served as a technical advisor on criminal pathology for books and movies.

Extensive Trial Experience in:

• Capital Cases (more than 25 Death Penalty Trials)
• Battered Women Syndrome Cases
• Murder Trials (40+)
• “Shaken Baby Syndrome” Cases (500+)
• Sexually Violent Predator Cases (30+)
• Diminished Actuality
• Insanity Defense Cases

Some of our more notable cases:

• Palillos jury deadlocks on death penalty – Kidnapping, murder trial has lasted more than a Year (San Diego Union Tribune, March 2014)
• How U.S. Became Stage for Mexican Drug Feud  (New York Times, March 2009)
• DA Drops Execution Phase of Child Murder Case (The Coast News, July 2009)
• March With Us To Free The California Twelve! (CSWL.edu, March 2013)
• SDPD officer found not guilty in road-rage case (San Diego Union Tribune, June 2009)
• Jury hands down life sentence; another deadlocks (San Diego Union Tribune, March 2009)
• Jury rules out death penalty for man who killed girlfriend (San Diego Union Tribune, August 2008)
• Man hired by boss to kill fiancée gets life (San Diego Union Tribune, April 2004)