Kristi Peariso

I am criminal defense attorney Kristi Peariso. While serving as a public defender for Mendocino County, Santa Barbara County and Ventura County, I developed extensive courtroom experience defending individuals against all types of criminal charges. I left the public defenders office and founded my own criminal defense law firm in order to provide my clients with a higher level of personal attention.

As a criminal law professor at Southern California Institute of Law and an experienced trial attorney, I take great pride in my ability to clearly explain the law to my students and clients. I have extensive experience working with those who are mentally ill and commit crimes due to the mental illness.

I have spent my entire career fighting for the constitutional protection of my clients. Unlike many other private criminal defense attorneys in Ventura County, I have never worked for the District Attorney's Office, and have never prosecuted anyone. I began my career as a Deputy Public Defender in Mendocino County, before transferring to Santa Barbara County and ultimately to Ventura County in 2000, where I remained as a Deputy Public Defender for 7 years. As a tireless and passionate public defender for nearly 10 years, I gained experience in criminal defense that cannot be duplicated. I have tried numerous misdemeanor and felony cases, handled hundreds of preliminary hearings and argued numerous types of motions. I have worked in and am familiar with every criminal courtroom in Ventura County. After working in the proposition 36 courtroom for several years, I have extensive experience with drug and alcohol addiction. I am well acquainted with the District Attorney's Office and all of the criminal judges and commissioners in the County.

Although my time with the Public Defender's Office was positive overall, I felt that I could not give my clients the representation they deserved because of my large caseload. Therefore, I chose to leave the Public Defender's Office and become a private attorney. Due to my experience in criminal defense law, I have been contracted by the County of Ventura to handle and defend conflict cases.

I enjoy the individual time I am able to spend on each of my client's cases, and it is important to me that each of them is completely satisfied with my representation. I have built my reputation on the care and thoroughness with which I treat each client and on the passion with which I will defend them.