One of the Bay Area's most skilled criminal defense attorneys

About Marc

San Francisco Criminal Defense Attorney Marc J. Zilversmit is one of the Bay Area’s most skilled criminal defense attorneys and a specialist in California and Federal Criminal Appeals. Mr. Zilversmit is admitted to both the California and Washington, DC Bars, and he is one of only a few California attorneys who is a Certified Specialist in both Criminal Law and Appellate Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. He has been admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court and all state and federal courts in California. Mr. Zilversmit has over thirty years of experience in criminal defense practice, representing defendants in criminal cases and juvenile delinquency cases in state and federal appeals and writs of habeas corpus and mandamus, and in trials and DMV hearings. Mr. Zilversmit focuses on appeals and covers all types of criminal cases from simple drug possession and drunk driving cases to complex fraud and homicide cases. Mr. Zilversmit’s excellent work as a San Francisco criminal defense attorney has won him recognition as a Northern California Super Lawyer for 2007 thru 2019.

A graduate of Stanford Law School and Haverford College, Mr. Zilversmit was selected for a prestigious clerkship with Chief Judge Alfred T. Goodwin of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and served five years as a deputy public defender before entering private practice.

Marc's Bio

A Record of Success

He has argued cases in all state and federal courts in California, in the Hawaii federal district court, and he has appeared in the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Zilversmit has obtained numerous victories on behalf of his clients and many important published cases. Recently, Mr. Zilversmit won reversal of Jamal Trulove’s murder conviction and sentence of 50 years to life. Trulove was later acquitted at trial, and successfully sued the police for framing him. Mr. Zilversmit also won a writ in United States v. McIntosh where the Ninth Circuit held that medical marijuana dispensaries, growers and patients are immune and cannot be prosecuted in federal court so long as they comply with state medical marijuana laws. Also in In re Marcus W., Mr. Zilversmit successfully brought a writ to establish that juveniles in transfer hearings have the right to challenge the reliability of the evidence presented, and that transfer hearings must be based only on reliable evidence. Mr. Zilversmit successfully kept Marcus in juvenile court and later won his acquittal of murder charges. These and other cases are highlighted in the Notable Cases and Press Coverage page.

Cases and Press Coverage

Testimonials

I was lucky that my family found an appellate attorney, Marc Zilversmit, who not only attacked the strength of the prosecution’s case but reopened the investigation.

-- Jamal Trulove, conviction for murder and sentence of 50 years to life reversed, and later exonerated.

Your legal skills were superb, and you were very persuasive in the courtroom… You managed to get the jury verdict dismissed, a new trial order, and ultimately outright dismissal of the charges.

-- J.F., domestic violence conviction reversed and charges dismissed.