Dario D. Diaz

Dario D. Diaz was born in Tampa, Florida, on June 26, 1967. His father immigrated from Cuba as a political exile first seeking asylum in Venezuela. His mother was the child of Spanish immigrants and a lifelong resident of Tampa. Diaz graduated from Tampa‚s Jefferson High School and enrolled at the University of Florida. Shortly after joining the firm Diaz immersed himself in high profile litigation assisting partner Ralph Fernandez. In 1997 Fernandez and Diaz assumed the representation of three alleged Cuban skyjackers, Adel Regalado, Jose Bello Puente and Leonardo Reyes, on the night before testimony began in United States District Court. At the conclusion of trial the three defendants were acquitted of air piracy. Immediately the Immigration Service proceeded with detention and removal proceedings. In a highly publicized case in 1998 the Immigration Court ruled in favor of the three men granting them political asylum and withholding of removal. The government appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeal. A massive appellate process was undertaken. In October of 2002 the BIA affirmed the decision of the lower court. Fernandez and Diaz also assumed the representation of Jose Dionisio Suarez Esquival, implicated by the United States in the assassination of former Chilean Ambassador Orlando Letelier in Washington D.C. in 1976. During the process Suarez became entangled in the extradition proceedings of General Augusto Pinochet by the Kingdom of Spain and the ancillary investigation by the Republic of Chile. In August 15, 2001, Suarez was freed after nearly a decade of detention. Diaz walked Suarez Esquival out of jail. The photo grabbed headline news around the world. Diaz later directed the successful defense in State of Florida v. Noe Ramirez, at one time identified as the individual that tossed a boulder off the I-75 overpass in Bradenton, Florida, tragically killing a well known and respected University of Alabama professor. In August of 2000, Diaz was asked to speak at DEFCON, the largest conference for computer security, cryptography and hacking held in the United States. His lecture dealt with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and the legal aspects of the law. A Russian programmer and citizen, Dmitri Sklyarov, who was also a conference lecturer, was arrested by federal authorities for criminal charges stemming from the DMCA. In news stories the national media identified Diaz as the leading expert in the area. Diaz'‚ trial practice involves civil, criminal, and family law cases. He has tried cases in criminal, personal injury, negligence, and select family law matters. Diaz is married to his high school sweetheart, Lisa. They have three children.

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