About Michael C.
Michael C. Lukehart earned his J.D. from Southwestern University School of Law in 1979 after beginning his legal studies in 1977. His legal education set him on a direction towards public protection work and private practice in California. The record shows an early commitment to courtroom work and to the establishments that manage felony cases.
He started his professional profession as a solo attorney in Encino in 1980, running under the call Michael C. Lukehart, Lawyer at Law. Within two years he moved into public service, joining the Kern County Public Defender’s office in Bakersfield. By 1982 he used to be serving as Deputy Public Defender V, a position that placed him regularly in trials and hearings throughout the county. He remained related to Kern County practice for decades and later established the Law Office of Michael C. Lukehart, where he is indexed as Chief Lawyer starting in 2008.
Those years within the public defender’s workplace formed the cases he took and the court skills he developed. He treated a variety of felony matters at the county level and worked on both misdemeanor and criminal dockets. The shift back to private practice brought a blend of public-sector courtroom experience and the needs of operating a small regulation office. His record displays lengthy-term involvement in felony protection organizations and local bar activities.
Lukehart’s professional affiliations track a career centered on defense work. He joined the California Public Defender Association in 1984 and has maintained that connection. He became a member of the Kern County Bar Association in 2002 and later joined the board of directors for its Criminal Defense Section in 2008. He used to be a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers beginning in 2009. He additionally belonged to California Lawyers for Criminal Justice from 2011 till 2016. These memberships indicate sustained engagement with organizations that address criminal defense practice, ethics, and policy.
Over 4 many years he has mixed public defense experience with personal practice. That combination informed how he strategies case preparation, client counseling, and trial work. Colleagues and clients have encountered an attorney who moves between courtroom calendars, evidence evaluate, and plea bargaining sessions.
He continues to practice in California as the head of the Law Office of Michael C. Lukehart and handles felony defense matters on the trial and pretrial levels.
