Stephanie Leanne Wargo

Stephanie Leanne Wargo

Department of Police Accountability, San Francisco
  • Gov & Administrative Law
  • California
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Biography

I bring 18 years of litigation experience to the Department of Police Accountability. For the last four years, I have practiced plaintiff's personal injury law and criminal defense in private practice. I served as a deputy public defender in the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office from 2002 until 2014. As a deputy public defender, I helped to defend thousands of people who could not otherwise afford an attorney, and was trained to lofty standards of excellence in criminal defense.

I am a proud graduate of the University of California Los Angeles School of Law in 2001, with the distinction of Order of the Coif. While at UCLA, I was a board member and volunteer at the UCLA Free Legal Clinic, held every other Sunday at the FAME Renaissance Church in South Central Los Angeles.

Practice Area
Gov & Administrative Law
Administrative Law, Election Law, Government Contracts, Government Finance, Legislative & Government Affairs
Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice
California
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Professional Experience
Attorney
Department of Police Accountability, San Francisco
- Current
Department of Police Accountability The mission of the Department of Police Accountability is to promptly, fairly and impartially investigate complaints against San Francisco police officers, make policy recommendations regarding police practices and conduct periodic audits of the San Francisco Police Department. Civilians who have never been police officers in San Francisco staff the Department of Police Accountability. Our brochure is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Arabic. The Department of Police Accountability was originally the Office of Citizen Complaints which was created as a separate city department by an amendment to the San Francisco City Charter (section 4.127) in 1982 and placed under the direct supervision of the Police Commission. In 2016, an amendment to the San Francisco City Charter (section 4.136) renamed the Office of Citizen Complaints the Department of Police Accountability, removed the Department of Police Accountability from the police department’s budget and provided to the Department of Police Accountability the power to conduct periodic audits of the San Francisco Police Department.
Education
Vassar Coll
Undergraduate Degree
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UCLA School of Law
Law Degree
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Professional Associations
California State Bar  # 217422
Member
- Current
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Websites & Blogs
Website
Contact & Map
Department of Police Accountability
25 Van Ness Ave., Suite 700
San Francisco, CA 94102
Toll-Free: (415) 241-7711