John D. Forsyth, Attorney at Law
(415) 401-0729
The Practice
John D. Forsyth is a San Francisco native. His education is entirely local: St. Brendan Elementary, Saint Ignatius College Preparatory, U.C. Berkeley and Hastings College of the Law.
John is a tribally enrolled member of the Covelo Indian Community in Mendocino County. Family members still reside on the Hoopa Valley Reservation in Humboldt County. During law school John spent his summers working there for the tribal attorney and the environmental protection division. That experience instilled his desire to stand up for the rights of those who lack a voice against the government.
After graduation from law school, John spent two years with the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office assisting in the prosecution of white collar crimes. Since then, John has dedicated himself to defending those accused by both state and federal agencies. In the last 21-plus years, nearly 90% of this work involved accusations of sexual misconduct and other serious violent felonies.
John has served on the faculty at the Stanford Law School Trial Advocacy Program since 2001and has served as a guest judge at the Stanford Moot Court Trial Competition.
Process and Results
Every case and client presents unique challenges. The initial approach is to ascertain the defenses available and how to best present those defenses. A strategy is developed.
The next step involves assembling a team of professionals best suited to assist the defense. This may include an investigator to interview potential witnesses, a forensic psychologist to testify on behalf of the defense or to refute the prosecution’s expert testimony regarding so-called “victim syndromes”or a forensic toxicologist to address issues involving drugs or alcohol.
The next stage is to prepare the case for court and, ultimately, jury trial. Each case is prepared in this manner so as to present the strongest posture possible to the prosecution. This includes presenting any legal or constitution arguments and/or witness testimony. Essentially, leaving no stone unturned and letting the opposition know you are prepared to take them to task. This formula, combined with hard work, has achieved a high degree of success, as you will see from reviewing the record of case results on this web site.