Frank Barone

San Diego County Primary Public Defender's Office

Frank Barone is the Supervising Attorney of the Juvenile Justice Division of the San Diego County Primary Public Defender’s Office.  He has practiced criminal defense since 1997 and became a deputy public defender in 1998.  He has represented adults and children, as both a trial and appellate attorney.  He supervises a team of attorneys, paralegals, investigators, licensed mental health clinicians, youth & family services coordinators, client advocates, and legal support staff who practice a holistic model of juvenile defense.  He leads the team representing dual status youth and oversees the county-wide SB 395 program.  He has served on the Restorative Community Conferencing Steering Committee, Alternatives to Detention Task Force, TERM Advisory Board, Crossover Youth Practice Model Guiding Coalition Workgroup, County-wide CSEC Steering Committee, and San Pasqual Academy Advisory Board.  He is also a voting member of the San Diego County Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council.  In 2017, he wrote the original draft of AB 529 which expanded record sealing under WIC 786 to include dismissed petitions.  He is certified by the Gault Center (formerly the National Juvenile Defense Center (NJDC)) as a Juvenile Training Immersion Program (JTIP) Trainer.  He served on the board of directors of the San Diego County Bar Association and the Public Defenders Association of San Diego County.  He was also a co-founder, board member, and president of the San Diego County Public Defender’s Community Outreach Committee.  Mr. Barone received a B.A. from the University of California, Irvine and J.D. from California Western School of Law.  He shares a son with his wife, who is also an attorney.