Gary Burcham

Mr. Burcham graduated with a B.A. from U.C. San Diego in 1993, and a Juris Doctor from Hastings College of the Law in 1997. After law school, Mr. Burcham worked as a trial attorney at Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc., where he began his federal trial and appellate practice. Mr. Burcham is fluent in the Spanish language.

Along with Mr. Zugman, Mr. Burcham formed Burcham & Zugman in 2000. Over the past 23 years, Mr. Burcham has tried more than 25 felony cases, and has handled in excess of 100 Ninth Circuit appeals. Mr. Burcham’s trial and appellate practice has resulted in a myriad of wins at both levels. At the district court level, Mr. Burcham has obtained jury acquittals in cases involving drug importation, alien smuggling, and illegal entries into the United States, as well as mistrials which resulted in subsequent dismissals of charges. Through his motions practice, Mr. Burcham has obtained a host of rulings suppressing both evidence and statements.

In his appellate practice, Mr. Burcham has argued in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on more than fifty occasions, and his work has resulted in dozens of published opinions. His trial and sentencing reversals in the Ninth Circuit have included cases involving federal drug charges, conspiracies, assaults, RICO conspiracies, bank robberies, felon-in-possessions, illegal entries, supervised release revocations, and child pornography. In his federal habeas matters, Mr. Burcham has obtained reversals of a state murder conviction, and impositions of procedural bars. In the U.S. Supreme Court, Mr. Burcham obtained a defense grant of a petition for a writ of certiorari in a case involving Fed. Rule of Evidence 609. Recent appellate successes include: Martinez v. Cate, No. 15-16433, (ordering the granting of section 2254 petition as to murder conviction); United States v. Ochoa, No. 18-10383, (reversing district court finding of supervised release violation); United States v. Cortes, No. 12-50137 (reversing conviction and 20-year sentence for drug conspiracy); United States v. Dominguez-Maroyoqui, No. 13-50066, (reversing sentence for assault on a federal officer conviction); United States v. Ferguson, No. 07-50096 (reversing 40-year sentence for possession of child pornography).

Mr. Burcham has served on several boards in San Diego, and is an active member of the criminal defense community. He is a past-president of the San Diego Criminal Defense Bar Association, and a member of the San Diego Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Club.