William Carlos Makler | Santa Barbara Criminal Lawyer | California

William C. Makler has more than 20 years of experience working in both the State and Federal criminal justice systems (both as a lawyer and a member of law enforcement). He is an accomplished trial attorney and very experienced defending nearly every kind of criminal charge (e.g., DUI’s, assaults, batteries, Domestic Violence, Drug Sales & Possession, Gun Crimes, Homicides, Sex Crimes, Thefts, as well as all varieties of alcohol offenses including, MIP’s, Fake ID’s, Furnishing Alcohol to Minors, and Public Intoxications).

Mr. Makler has defended as many as 2,000 DUI defendants on the Central Coast and elsewhere and, in so doing, he has achieved mastery in every aspect of DUI defense including, but not limited to, jury trials and DMV hearings. Mr. Makler is a former member of the faculty of the Santa Barbara & Ventura College where he taught Evidence (2006-8). Mr. Makler is licensed to practice law in all the courts of the State of California, and the Eastern and Central Federal District Courts of California. He is a graduate of the University of California at San Diego and Pacific McGeorge School of Law.

He has worked for the University of California Police as well the Palo Alto Police, the American Civil Liberties Union and Death Penalty Focus. He has worked as a courtroom litigator and research attorney for the Federal Public Defender in Sacramento and was a Felony Deputy Public Defender for both the Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz County Public Defenders. Mr. Makler is an active member in good standing, and with no disciplinary history, of the California Bar Association, the California Public Defenders Association, the Santa Barbara Bar Association, the Santa Barbara Criminal Defense Bar Association, the National College for DUI Defense, Inc., California Attorneys for Criminal Justice and California DUI Lawyers Association. He has for years running been rated 10.0 “Superb” by the leading online lawyer rating website. As well, Mr. Makler is listed by Martindale Hubble as Distinguished and of very high legal ability and ethical standards according to his peers and the judges before whom he practices. To read commentary by Mr. Makler on a variety of criminal justice topics, visit his Santa Barbara Lawyer Blog.

School	Degree	Major	Graduation
University of California	B.A.	N/A	1991

State / Court	Date
CA	1996

• California DUI Lawyers Association         
  National College of DUI Defense         
  Santa Barbara County Bar Association         
  California Public Defenders Association         
  State Bar of California
  National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
  Better Business Bureau.

•     “Know Your Rights”, Embarcadero Hall, Hosted by Associated Students at UCSB, October, 2004.
      “DUI Defense”, Santa Barbara College of Law, Guest Lecture, Summer 2005.
      “Scientific Evidence in DUI Defense”, Santa Barbara College of Law, guest lecture in Advanced Evidence, Fall 2005.
      “Avoiding and Minimizing DUI Consequences”, Bench & Bar Conference, given at Santa Barbara City College for MCLE credit for lawyers and judges, January 2006.
      ³Law of Evidence², Santa Barbara College of Law, Law School Course, October, 2006 ­ May, 2008.
      “Know Your Rights”, Embarcadero Hall, Hosted by Associated Students at UCSB, October, 2007.
      “Know Your Rights”, Embarcadero Hall, Hosted by Associated Students at UCSB, October, 2008.
      “Know Your Rights”, Embarcadero Hall, Hosted by Associated Students at UCSB, October, 2009.
      ³DUI From a Defense Perspective², Santa Barbara College of Law, guest lecture in a course on the law of Driving Under the Influence, July 2010.
  

• Lawyer Profile
• Santa Barbara Lawyer Blog