Since earning her J.D. in 2004, Darlene Bagley Comstedt has worked as a criminal defense practitioner. In recent years, in addition to representing the indigent accused in federal court, she has also focused on clemency work. She served as Resource Counsel for Clemency Project 2014, and also worked on many CP14 petitions as front-line counsel.
Currently, she serves as a consultant and member of the Advisory Committee for the NACDL/FAMM State Clemency Project. Darlene also maintains a solo criminal defense practice in San Francisco, California. Prior to that, she held the position of Special Counsel at Sideman & Bancroft, LLP in San Francisco; and, before that, she was an Associate at Ridley, McGreevy & Winocur, PC, in Denver, Colorado. She began her legal career serving as a Deputy State Public Defender in the Denver trial office of the Colorado State Public Defender’s Office.
Darlene earned her J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, where she was admitted into the Order of St. Ives for graduating in the top ten percent of her class; and she earned her B.A. from Western State College of Colorado, summa cum laude, with a major in English and a minor in Elementary Education.
