Attorney Dennis James Balsamo received his law enforcement degree from Palm Desert’s College of the Desert in 1977. He went on to work as a police officer and later as a criminal investigator for the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s office before returning to school to obtain his law degree from Santa Barbara College of Law. In 2002, Dennis opened the doors of his own firm, The Law Offices of Dennis James Balsamo, APLC.
Dennis actively served as a military police officer in the US Army during the Vietnam War (1972-1975). He was honorably discharged at the rank of sergeant E-5. As a member of the California Army National Guard, Dennis completed Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia in 1980, receiving a commission as a 2nd lieutenant. In 1983, Dennis was honorably discharged from the National Guard after achieving the rank of captain.
Dennis began serving as the Riverside County Deputy Sheriff in Indio, California in 1977. Four years later, he went to work in Pismo Beach as a police sergeant. It wasn’t long before Dennis became a criminal investigator for the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office, a position he would keep for the next 18 years. During this time, Dennis was involved in thousands of cases involving child support, child abduction, political corruption, consumer fraud and various misdemeanors and felonies, including homicide. As an investigator, Dennis maintained a conviction rate of 98% — an exceptional number by any measure — and also managed to exculpate many innocent Californians wrongfully accused of crimes.
Dennis was admitted to the California bar in 1999 but waited until 2002 to enter into private practice, at which time he retired from the District Attorney’s office. He is well-known and respected by prosecutors and legal personnel throughout Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, fostering relationships that are often beneficial to the clients that he represents.
Education
- Santa Barbara College of Law, Santa Barbara — J.D. (1999)
- College of the Desert, Palm Desert — A.S. Criminal Justice (1976)
Admissions
- California (1999)