Born in Cleveland, Robert Sheahen attended the University of Notre Dame, the Ohio State University and Case Western Reserve University. After receiving his juris doctor degree from Case Western Reserve in 1969, Mr. Sheahen went on to the study of advanced criminal law at the University of Southern California.
On the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), Mr. Sheahen placed above the 98th percentile with a legal aptitude score of 689. His writing ability score of 74 at the time was above the 99th percentile. He received a full academic scholarship to study law.
While at Case Western Reserve, Mr. Sheahen was named a Member of the Law Review and he published an analysis of current developments in the juvenile justice system. He was elected President of the Student Bar Association by a margin of 70 - 30. As SBA president, Mr. Sheahen helped to create the Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law -- which now has been a thriving legal journal for more than forty years. In 1969, a joint faculty-student vote named him the Outstanding Senior of his graduating class.
In 1970, Mr. Sheahen moved to Los Angeles and joined the Law Offices of Barry Tarlow as a federal appellate specialist. Their first case together was a Miranda victory -- United States v. Garcia, 431 F.2d 134 (9th Cir. 1970) -- and many more came after that. In 1973, Mr. Sheahen helped Mr. Tarlow publish a major work on search warrants which became the paradigm research source for practitioners for at least two decades.
In 1974, Mr. Sheahen opened his own office in Century City for the practice of criminal law and he began an extraordinary run of victories in homicide cases, most notably the Calhoun, Choi and Kefurt cases from the late 1970s. The Kefurt case was an astonishing achievement -- a complete dismissal of all charges for a young man who had faced the death penalty for the double murder of his mother and father.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Mr. Sheahen successfully represented hundreds of defendants and he established himself at the highest tier of criminal trial lawyers in Los Angeles. In 1982, he defended the woman accused of the murder of John Belushi. In 1984, he won a hung jury for a Korean murder defendant in a 92-day jury trial in Norwalk. In 1987, he managed to get all charges dropped in the arson case of the man accused of burning down the Los Angeles county library.
In 1991, Mr. Sheahen represented R & B icon Rick James -- accused of torturing a young woman with a crack pipe. In 1996, he won a dismissal of murder charges for a Korean missionary accused of the torture murder of his wife in the now-famous "exorcism" case in Malibu.
He has represented many members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club, including its long-time president George Christie. In 2003, Mr. Sheahen successfully defended Jamie Cid, a transgendered prostitute, accused in Ventura of murder for the purpose of robbery.
In more recent years, Mr. Sheahen has represented a number of persons and corporations charged with white collar crime. These cases generally involve discretion and very limited publicity. In addition, Mr. Sheahen continues to represent federal and state drug and homicide defendants on a selective basis.
From 2007 to 2010, Mr. Sheahen represented an attorney charged with filicide and won a dismissal of the murder charge in 2010.
Mr. Sheahen and his family live in Sherman Oaks, California. Mr. Sheahen plays ice hockey at least twice a week and has played for the Wolves for the past 35 years. He devotes many hours to helping those afflicted with drug and alcohol addictions.
On the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), Mr. Sheahen placed above the 98th percentile with a legal aptitude score of 689. His writing ability score of 74 at the time was above the 99th percentile. He received a full academic scholarship to study law.
While at Case Western Reserve, Mr. Sheahen was named a Member of the Law Review and he published an analysis of current developments in the juvenile justice system. He was elected President of the Student Bar Association by a margin of 70 - 30. As SBA president, Mr. Sheahen helped to create the Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law -- which now has been a thriving legal journal for more than forty years. In 1969, a joint faculty-student vote named him the Outstanding Senior of his graduating class.
In 1970, Mr. Sheahen moved to Los Angeles and joined the Law Offices of Barry Tarlow as a federal appellate specialist. Their first case together was a Miranda victory -- United States v. Garcia, 431 F.2d 134 (9th Cir. 1970) -- and many more came after that. In 1973, Mr. Sheahen helped Mr. Tarlow publish a major work on search warrants which became the paradigm research source for practitioners for at least two decades.
In 1974, Mr. Sheahen opened his own office in Century City for the practice of criminal law and he began an extraordinary run of victories in homicide cases, most notably the Calhoun, Choi and Kefurt cases from the late 1970s. The Kefurt case was an astonishing achievement -- a complete dismissal of all charges for a young man who had faced the death penalty for the double murder of his mother and father.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Mr. Sheahen successfully represented hundreds of defendants and he established himself at the highest tier of criminal trial lawyers in Los Angeles. In 1982, he defended the woman accused of the murder of John Belushi. In 1984, he won a hung jury for a Korean murder defendant in a 92-day jury trial in Norwalk. In 1987, he managed to get all charges dropped in the arson case of the man accused of burning down the Los Angeles county library.
In 1991, Mr. Sheahen represented R & B icon Rick James -- accused of torturing a young woman with a crack pipe. In 1996, he won a dismissal of murder charges for a Korean missionary accused of the torture murder of his wife in the now-famous "exorcism" case in Malibu.
He has represented many members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club, including its long-time president George Christie. In 2003, Mr. Sheahen successfully defended Jamie Cid, a transgendered prostitute, accused in Ventura of murder for the purpose of robbery.
In more recent years, Mr. Sheahen has represented a number of persons and corporations charged with white collar crime. These cases generally involve discretion and very limited publicity. In addition, Mr. Sheahen continues to represent federal and state drug and homicide defendants on a selective basis.
From 2007 to 2010, Mr. Sheahen represented an attorney charged with filicide and won a dismissal of the murder charge in 2010.
Mr. Sheahen and his family live in Sherman Oaks, California. Mr. Sheahen plays ice hockey at least twice a week and has played for the Wolves for the past 35 years. He devotes many hours to helping those afflicted with drug and alcohol addictions.