Who Is Cliff Gardner? Meet Danny Masterson’s Lawyer Fighting for Appeal: Past Clients Include Scott Peterson

Former actor and convicted rapist Danny Masterson hired high-powered attorney Cliff Gardner to handle the appeal of his 30-year prison sentence. Get to know more about the lawyer and his connection to convicted murderer Scott Peterson, as well as the Menendez brothers.

What Is Cliff Gardner’s Legal Specialty?

Cliff is a post-conviction specialist in criminal cases. He started his own law firm in 1981, based in Berkeley, California.

“We provide appellate representation, as well as state and federal habeas corpus representation. Our skilled and experienced lawyers have appeared repeatedly in the state and federal trial and appellate courts, and in the California and United States Supreme Courts; we are experienced at every level of the state and federal court systems,” Cliff’s “about us” section of his law office’s website reads.

It continues, “Because of our depth of experience, we represent some of the highest profile cases in the country. And because of our national reputation, we assist in training criminal defense lawyers around the country in all facets of post-conviction representation.”

Cliff has personally argued more than 20 times before the California Supreme Court, according to his bio, in addition to successfully representing capital punishment defendants in California, Idaho, Montana and Arizona.

In addition to his practice, Cliff has been an adjunct professor of law at the University of California’s Boalt School of Law since 2008.

Where Did Cliff Gardner Go to School?

Cliff graduated from the UCLA School of Law in May 1980. He received his undergraduate degree in Anthropology from the State University of New York at Binghamton in June 1977.

How Is Cliff Gardner Helping Danny Masterson?

Cliff was hired by the former That ’70s Show star after he was found guilty on May 31, 2024, by a Los Angeles jury on two out of three counts of rape. It was a retrial from his 2022 case that ended in a hung jury.

The legal eagle’s participation in Danny’s case was reported on by writer Tony Ortega in his Substack account, The Underground Bunker, on October 22, 2024. Tony noted that on October 21, 2024, Cliff requested and was granted a 30-day extension in Danny’s appeal process after “several months of back and forth” with Judge Charlaine Olmedo’s court regarding a complete record of Danny’s trial, “including some transcripts filed under seal.”

Cliff’s next move will be to determine if Judge Olmedo made any mistakes during his client’s trial.

Cliff Gardner Got Scott Peterson’s Death Sentence Overturned

The attorney represented Scott, who was convicted and sentenced to death in 2004 for the murder of pregnant wife Laci Peterson, in 2020 during an attempt to get his conviction reversed.

Cliff argued to the California Supreme Court that Scott didn’t get a fair trial, claiming a juror lied in her jury questionnaire and that the former fertilizer salesman’s case was prejudiced by extensive publicity.

In August 2020, the court unanimously ruled that Scott had been unconstitutionally sentenced to death as a result of “a series of clear and significant errors in jury selection that … undermined [his] right to an impartial jury at the penalty phase.”

“We are grateful for the California Supreme Court’s unanimous recognition that if the state wishes to put someone to death, it must proceed to trial only with a fairly selected jury,” Cliff said after the decision. “Prosecutors may not rely on a jury specifically organized by the state to return a verdict of death.”

Scott was resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Cliff Gardner Is Trying to Help Free the Menendez Brothers

Cliff is part of the legal team that presented new evidence in the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were convicted in 1996 of first-degree murder for killing their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez.

He filed a habeas petition in May 2023, citing a letter Erik wrote to his cousin detailing alleged sexual abuse at the hands of his father, as well as an affidavit by former Menudo member Roy Rossello accusing Jose of sexual abuse as new evidence proving the brothers’ convictions should be vacated.

Cliff and fellow attorney Mark Geragos held a news conference outside the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office on October 16, 2024, along with 20 family members of Erik and Lyle, urging that the brothers’ case be reconsidered in light of the new evidence.

L.A. District Attorney George Gascon previously announced at an October 3, 2024, news conference that his office was reviewing the new evidence and would decide whether the brothers’ case warranted a resentencing. A hearing in the matter is scheduled for November 29, 2024.