Michael N. Burt

Michael N. Burt is a criminal defense attorney in San Francisco, California, with more than four decades of experience. His practice focuses on death penalty cases and other criminal matters, including sex offenses. He handles cases involving forensic science, mental health, and intellectual disability, bringing extensive trial experience to the defense of serious charges. His capital defense work spans federal and state courts, including cases involving murder and racketeering charges.

Michael earned a B.A., summa cum laude, from the State University of New York at Albany in 1974. He received his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1978. Admitted to the California Bar that year, he began his career representing clients in public defender offices. His early work covered misdemeanors and serious felonies.

Michael’s experience includes federal and state capital prosecutions, appeals, and challenges to scientific evidence. In United States v. Ronell Wilson, he successfully litigated an intellectual disability claim that prevented the death penalty. His work in United States v. Donald Fell included four years of litigation after an earlier judgment was reversed, followed by the government withdrawing its request for a death sentence. In People v. Robert Nawi, he challenged DNA, fingerprint, and handwriting evidence in a murder-for-hire case. The death penalty allegation was removed before a twelve-month trial. He also participated in the first trial of Lyle Menendez, which ended with a divided jury on guilt.

Michael N. Burt has been a Certified Criminal Law Specialist with the State Bar of California since 1985. From 2001 through 2025, he served as Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel, assisting defense attorneys nationwide. He serves on the editorial board of Forecite: Latest Developments in Criminal Jury Instructions and previously edited the California Death Penalty Defense Manual. His case history includes extensive pretrial litigation, challenges to forensic evidence, and defense work involving intellectual disability and mental health.

Law Office Affiliations

• Attorney, The Law Offices of Michael D. Burt
• Certified Criminal Law Specialist, The State Bar of California (1985 – Present)
• Editorial Board, Forecite: Latest Developments in Criminal Jury Instructions (1994 – Present)
• Member, Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel (2001 – 2025)
• Editor-in-Chief, California Death Penalty Defense Manual, CACJ & CPDA (1993 – 2003)
• Member, California Crime Laboratories Task Force (2007 – 2010)

Licensed State

• California

Education

• State University of New York at Buffalo
  Juris Doctor (JD) Cum Laude
• State University of New York at Albany
  Bachelor of Arts (BA) Summa Cum Laude

Awards & Badges