While no two cases are exactly alike and outcomes can never be guaranteed, our firm prides itself in its strong track record of winning major cases.
While no two cases are exactly alike and outcomes can never be guaranteed, our firm prides itself in its strong track record of winning major cases.
The criminal justice system treats defendants like dirt. We fight this trend by aiming to treat all clients—and their family members—with respect and dignity.
While no two cases are exactly alike and outcomes can never be guaranteed, our firm prides itself in its strong track record of winning major cases.
The criminal justice system treats defendants like dirt. We fight this trend by aiming to treat all clients—and their family members—with respect and dignity.
Spolin & Dukes P.C.’s founder, Aaron Spolin, is a former prosecutor and award-winning criminal appeals attorney. He is an author on various criminal law topics and has achieved successful outcomes on hundreds of criminal cases (which includes his time as a prosecutor), including numerous dismissals of major felony cases; non-criminal resolutions to complex fraud and insurance fraud defense cases; successful appellate outcomes from the Court of Appeal and the state Supreme Court; and multiple not-guilty jury verdicts at trial. Innocent Spolin & Dukes clients wrongfully accused of murder and other serious crimes are now free because of his work.
Before becoming a criminal appeals attorney, he served as an Assistant District Attorney in New York City, Bronx County. At the District Attorney’s Office, Aaron was assigned to the economic crimes bureau, where he managed some of the office’s more complex cases. He also served as trial counsel on a high-profile murder case, which he won, that was prosecuted in conjunction with the office’s Gangs and Major Cases bureau. Throughout his career, Aaron has also filed hundreds of legal motions regarding suppression of evidence and Constitutional rights.
Aaron received his B.A. from Princeton University and his J.D. from U.C. Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall). He is a former member of California Law Review. Aaron is also the author of the book Witness Misidentification in Criminal Trials and co-author of the Harvard Law School Public Interest Office’s advocacy guide Serving Immigrants and Refugees. Prior to serving as a prosecutor and criminal defense attorney, Aaron worked for the East Bay Community Law Center in Berkeley, California, and for federal judge Shira Scheindlin in the Southern District of New York. He is admitted to practice law throughout the states of California, Texas, New York, and Michigan, as well as various federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court.
Attorney Caitlin Dukes is a former prosecutor who handles criminal appeals, writs, and other post-conviction relief for the firm’s clients. She has a wide array of experience in state and federal courts. Besides having served as a Deputy District Attorney, her background includes work for multiple judges and government entities (including Federal District Court Judge James Knoll Gardner and the United States Department of Homeland Security) as well as private sector experience defending clients wrongfully accused of crimes.
Ms. Dukes’s primary goal on any given case is to identify the strongest arguments, clearly and succinctly present these arguments to the judge or fact-finder, keep the clients informed of the progress, and fight to win in court. One of her recent wins for Spolin & Dukes involved overturning a murder conviction for an innocent client. She received her J.D. degree from Widener Law School and her bachelor degree from the University of Buffalo. She is admitted to practice law in California, Pennsylvania, New York, and Texas.
Read the media coverage of Ms. Dukes’ promotion to partner and her track record in criminal appeals.
Attorney Erica Esquivel is a new addition to the Spolin & Dukes P.C. team. Prior to joining, she worked representing Plaintiffs in Personal Injury matters.
Ms. Esquivel understands that every client has their own unique set of circumstances which led them to seek the legal services provided by Spolin & Dukes P.C. It is with that understanding that her goal is to provide tailored representation to clients.
She received her BA from University of Phoenix and her law degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law where she was a member of the Criminal Law Fellowship Program. During law school she interned for a Family Law firm, assisting clients through contested divorce proceedings, restraining orders, child support issues and adoption filings.
Ms. Esquivel is licensed to practice law in California.
Attorney, Matthew Daher, is an experienced litigator with a track record of fighting difficult cases. Mr. Daher has extensive experience litigating both criminal and civil cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States. He brings the same cutthroat tenacity as a litigator to the work he does on criminal appeals.
Drawing from personal experience, as well as the experiences of his clients, Mr. Daher is deeply aware of the challenges everyone faces when navigating through labyrinthian court systems that often seem more concerned with efficiency than the truth. It can feel overwhelming understanding the processes at local, state and federal levels, as well as handling all the fear and anxiety stemming from the uncertainty ahead. During these times, clear and open communication between attorneys and their clients means everything. For Mr. Daher, this means ensuring that each client understands the post-conviction process, as well as what options are available, and the associated risks. This is particularly important when having hard conversations with clients and being honest about hurdles and potential problems with pursuing certain post-conviction options.
Mr. Daher received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Missouri – Columbia School of Law and his Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology from the University of Utah. He is admitted to practice law in Texas and Missouri state courts, as well as the District of Colorado, Northern District of Texas, Eastern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas, and Western District of Texas. Mr. Daher currently serves as the lead attorney for the firm’s Texas cases.
Spolin & Dukes P.C. has a team of dedicated staff and third-party contractors who help deliver high-quality service to the firm’s clients. We are committed to achieving the highest possible success rate for each client while also treating all clients with respect and dignity.
Danie McCreary, the firm’s Law Office Manager, has over ten years of experience working as a trial assistant and office manager in a criminal defense law firm. She is extremely capable, organized, and committed to Spolin & Dukes’s goals of client service and maximizing positive outcomes. Gina Faris serves as the primary paralegal for Spolin & Dukes P.C., assisting the legal research team in drafting and preparing legal documents and providing other support as needed.
Spolin & Dukes P.C.’s preferred investigators are Lisa DeBenedittis and Frank Mackey, who are independent contractors retained by Spolin & Dukes on a case-by-case basis. Mr. Mackey has testified in court for Spolin & Dukes P.C. clients on multiple occasions. He has over 30 years of experience investigating criminal cases and is a member of the Superior Court Panel of Licensed Investigators. Ms. DeBenedittis handles private investigation matters on various post-conviction cases throughout the country and is particularly skilled at locating and interviewing witnesses, collecting physical evidence, and drafting reports that can be helpful for writs of habeas corpus.
The criminal appeals lawyers at Spolin & Dukes P.C. contract with other outside investigators and experts when such help will strengthen a client’s case. Private investigators and analysts can examine crime scenes, interview witnesses, and analyze physical evidence to find material that the prosecution may have potentially withheld or material that can support an actual-innocence claim. Moreover, subject-matter experts (including, for example, psychiatrists or forensic accountants) can testify at hearings to counter the prosecution’s experts and provide a more balanced opinion of the issues at stake.
