NACDL - National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
News Release
Arizona Attorney CeCelia E. Valentine Elected to National Criminal Defense Bar Assn. Board of Directors
August 22, 2016
Washington, DC (Aug. 22, 2016) – CeCelia E. Valentine of Phoenix, AZ, was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) at the Association's 59th annual meeting in Palm Beach, FL, on August 13.
Valentine is a Deputy Legal Defender at the Maricopa County Office of the Legal Defender in Phoenix, AZ. Prior to beginning her public defender career, she worked as a Law Clerk at the Defender Association of Philadelphia for two years, and then as a federal law clerk in Tucson, AZ, for the Honorable Raner C. Collins at the United States District Court of Arizona. Valentine served as an Assistant Public Defender at the Pima County Public Defender's Office in Tucson from 2005-11. Her work there included representing clients at all court appearances and police interviews, engaging in plea negotiations with prosecutors, and handling more than forty felony jury trials. While there she received the 2008 Rising Star Award by the Arizona Public Defender Association. She went on to be an Assistant Public Defender at the Harris County Public Defender's Office in Houston, TX. Valentine moved back to Arizona to work at the Maricopa County Public Defender's Office in 2013 where she worked until transferring to the Legal Defender's Office in August 2015.
Valentine received her B.A. in 1995 from Sweet Briar College where she is a member of the Board of Trustees, and her J.D. from The Houston College of Law (formerly, South Texas College of Law) in 2001.
Ezra Dunkle-Polier, NACDL Public Affairs & Communications Assistant, (202) 465-7656 or edunkle-polier@nacdl.org for more information.
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL's many thousands of direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling up to 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal justice system.
