Janet Gaard has been a member of the California Attorney General’s Office since 1984. For 14 years, she was a Deputy Attorney General in the Appeals, Writs and Trials Section of the Criminal Law Division. In 1999, she was appointed as a Special Assistant Attorney General and Director of Legislative Affairs.

Janet has handled more than 400 criminal cases on appeal or collateral review, appearing in the state trial courts, all six courts of appeal, the California Supreme Court, federal district courts, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. She specialized in sexual assault and child abuse cases, but her caseload consisted of matters involving all crimes and issues, including capital cases and state and federal habeas corpus proceedings.

Currently, she directs the Department of Justice’s Office of Legislative Affairs; she provides legal and policy advice to the Attorney General and the Chief Deputy Attorney General on a variety of issues, including those relating to criminal law, criminal justice information systems, law enforcement, and forensics; she represents the Attorney General on various boards and task forces; and she provides legal advice to programs within the Department of Justice.

Janet has a B.S. in Criminology from California State University at Fresno, and a J.D. from the University of California at Davis.