About Edward James Davis
Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney
Serious & Violent Felonies | Sex Crimes | Juvenile Defense
Serious & Violent Felonies | Sex Crimes | Juvenile Defense
Bilingual: English & Spanish
“Edward James Davis served as my press secretary when I was mayor of Los Angeles. No one works harder. You can count on him to fight for you.”
— Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
Edward James Davis is an award-winning criminal defense attorney and partner at Kilts & Davis, where he represents individuals facing serious and violent felony charges throughout Southern California. He defends clients accused of homicide, sex crimes, complex juvenile matters, and a broad range of other major felony offenses.
Davis has secured complete case dismissals for clients falsely accused of a wide range of felony offenses — everything from aggravated assault to assault with a deadly weapon, from criminal threats to shooting at an occupied vehicle, and from workers’ compensation fraud to grand theft of $250,000.
A major focus of Davis’s practice is defending people falsely accused of serious sex offenses. In one case, Davis represented a man falsely accused of assault with intent to commit rape. Davis uncovered evidence the accuser had made prior false accusations, and the client received no sex conviction and no sex offender registration. In a separate child molestation case carrying the possibility of life imprisonment, Davis used cell phone data to secure dismissal of every charge, leaving his client with no conviction and no requirement to register as a sex offender.
Davis is known for successful motion practice in high-stakes criminal matters. In one murder prosecution, he persuaded a judge that police violated the defendant’s Miranda rights during interrogation, barring the prosecution from using an alleged confession in its case-in-chief. In another case involving the alleged transportation of 40 pounds of methamphetamine, Davis identified a Fourth Amendment violation arising from an unlawfully prolonged traffic stop and moved to suppress the resulting evidence; the case was dismissed.
In two separate attempted murder cases where the client was facing life in prison, Davis obtained dismissal of those charges at the preliminary hearing. Both clients resolved their cases on substantially reduced charges and avoided prison. In a third attempted murder case, Davis established that his client was not guilty by reason of insanity.
Davis brings a long record of civic involvement to the courtroom: he began his career as Special Assistant to the Governor of California and later served as Press Secretary to the Mayor of Los Angeles.
Davis went to college and law school in Washington, DC, earning degrees from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law. He later served as an Unruh Fellow at USC helping to prepare students for careers in public service.
He is married to Dr. Marialena Anagnostou Davis, a Ph.D. scientist from Athens, Greece.
They are the proud parents of a four-year old boy.
Davis is fluent in English and Spanish.
Admissions:
Edward James Davis is admitted to practice before the following jurisdictions and courts.
State Bars:
California
Georgia
District of Columbia
Georgia
District of Columbia
Federal Courts
Supreme Court of the United States
United States District Court for the Central District of California
United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
United States District Court for the Southern District of California
At a Glance
- Former Special Assistant to the Governor of California
- Handles Serious & Violent Felony Cases
- Proven Record of Dismissals and Charge Reductions
- Bilingual in English and Spanish
