“In her declarations and testimony, [the Witness] lists a parade of horribles about Paris and [Ms. Barth’s client], claiming she was isolated, impoverished and abandoned. None of it is true. [The Witness] admitted on cross examination nearly all of her complaints about living in France were not as she presented them...Finally, [the Witness’s] direct testimony sounded rehearsed and a little too neat – she remembered every detail perfectly and not an event was out of place. On cross examination she was argumentative and willful, refusing to answer or avoiding the question when her previous testimony was impeached. ”
— Order by the Hon. David B. Oberholtzer, An Individual v. An Individual, Case No. D507581 (Super. Ct. CA 2007) (citing Ms. Barth's cross-examination in finding for her client in a civil case involving the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction)

About

Michelle Anderson Barth is a criminal defense attorney in private practice since 2003.  Although Ms. Barth's office is now located in Vermont, her career began in California where she attended law school at the University of California, Davis.  In law school, Ms. Barth was offered a grant for her public interest work and received a scholarship awarded to exceptional students pursuing a career in criminal defense. 

In 1999, while a second year law student, she also argued and won her first federal appeal - a case of first impression before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals brought on behalf of prisoner litigants.  That experience, coupled with three years as a trial attorney with the federal public defender office in San Diego, solidified her career commitment to serving vulnerable population groups. 

Ms. Barth has tried many cases in federal court, both as primary counsel and as supervisory second counsel to new attorneys.  She has also been brought on as second counsel to assist other attorneys with difficult cases.   

Ms. Barth has been a speaker at federal criminal defense and new attorney training seminars.   Further, Ms. Barth has taught trial advocacy to law students at California Western School of Law and coached competitive moot court trial teams. 

In 2010, Ms. Barth relocated her office from San Diego to Burlington when her husband, also a federal criminal defense attorney, accepted a position with the Office of the Federal Defender in Vermont.   

Currently, Ms. Barth maintains a busy national trial and appellate practice.  She is barred in California and Vermont.  Ms. Barth devotes her practice to offering quality representation to the indigent accused in district and appellate courts.  Ms. Barth has been chosen as a member of CJA Appellate Panels for the Second and Ninth Circuits.   

In 2015, Ms. Barth was selected to contribute to the chapter on federal sentencing in the book “Defending a Federal Criminal Case” (“DFCC”).  The DFCC is a three-volume, hardbound publication used by federal criminal defense attorneys nationwide.  In 2021, Ms. Barth was selected to co-author a new chapter in the latest edition of the DFCC about RICO and Continuing Criminal Enterprise offenses.

When Ms. Barth isn't busy litigating cases, she enjoys beekeeping, traveling, and spending time with her family.