Board of Directors
John Burton
John Burton established his own law practice in Pasadena, California
in 1984. He has twenty-five years of experience as a plaintiff's
trial lawyer in the Los Angeles area and throughout California. He
was lead counsel for plaintiffs’ in a civil litigation arising
from the August 1988 Dalton Avenue raids by the Los Angeles Police
Department ($3.5 million recovered), and was vice-lead counsel in
the class action lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
Department arising from widespread misconduct at the Lynwood Substation
($7.5 million recovered in addition to compelled institutional changes).
Most recently, Burton served as co-lead counsel in the class action
cases challenging the systematic over-detention and unnecessary strip
searches of people held in Los Angeles County jails ($27 million
recovered and system changed). Burton has over 30 jury trials to
his credit, and is experienced in business, probate, employment,
personal injury and criminal litigation, as well as police misconduct.
In addition to his trial work, Burton maintains an active appellate
practice. His published decisions include Montiel v. City of Los
Angeles, 2 F.3d 335 (9th Cir. 1993) (Report of Christopher Commission
on LAPD misconduct admissible); Greenstreet v. County of San Bernardino,
41 F.3d 1306 (9th Cir. 1994) (section 1983 liability attached to
search warrant application unsupported by probable cause); and Streit
v. County of Los Angeles, 236 F.3d 552 (9th Cir.), cert. denied 2001
WL 690529 (2001) (California sheriffs manage local jails on behalf
of counties, not the state).
Burton has been profiled in Los Angeles Magazine and the Los
Angeles Times and is quoted often in the New York
Times and local newspapers. He has appeared frequently
on national and local television and radio addressing issues relating
to civil rights. He is also a frequent guest speaker at police
misconduct seminars.
In 1976, Burton obtained his undergraduate degree. He graduated
from Hastings College of the Law in 1978, following an externship
with California Supreme Court Justice Stanley Mosk. Burton
is a member of the Consumer Attorneys of California and the Consumer
Attorneys Association of Los Angeles. Burton was a member of Police
Watch: The Police Misconduct Lawyers Referral Service, from 1986
until its demise in 2001, and is a past president of its board of
directors. He was a professor of Torts at the University of West
Los Angeles from 1981 through 1989.
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