Dawnese Hustad is a Capital Trial Attorney for the Maricopa County Public Defender’s Office. Before moving to trial work, Dawnese spent 8 years doing felony and capital appeals. Dawnese has represented indigent felony defendants in Maricopa County for all but one of her 19 years as an attorney. Dawnese began her career in social work as a case manager for Child Protective Services. Although she loved serving Arizona’s dependent families. Dawnese was compelled to attend law school and become a public defender after reading Actual Innocence by Barry Scheck, Peter Neufeld, and Jim Dwyer.
A recovering alcoholic, Dawnese is active in the Arizona State Bar Member Assistance Council and in mentoring new attorneys through the State Bar Member Assistance Program. She credits her strong negotiation skills to keeping peace between her three sons: two who divide the house between ASU and U of A, and one serving as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. In her free time, you will find Dawnese and her partner (also a capital trial attorney) traveling to concerts and music festivals.
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