Rebecca Montoya is a former Public Defender with the Maricopa County Office of the Public Defender. She was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Rebecca earned her law degree from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. While in law school she received the Arizona State Bar Criminal Justice Section’s Future Practitioner Award and was selected for the Order of the Barristers honor society.During law school, Rebecca was also President of the Criminal Law Association, on the Mock Trial Team, and was a senior fellow for the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project. She completed internships at the Arizona Supreme Court’s Administrative Office of the Courts, Community Legal Services, Maricopa County Office of the Public Defender, and the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Arizona. Rebecca also completed the Public Defender Clinic with the Maricopa County Office of the Public Defender, during which she represented clients in various hearings – including but not limited to, change of plea hearings, sentencings, preliminary hearings, evidentiary hearings, oral arguments, and a felony jury trial.Rebecca is passionate about criminal law and fighting for her clients’ rights. As a former Public Defender, she has extensive experience advocating for clients accused of a variety of criminal offenses, from misdemeanors to felonies. She prides herself on being result-oriented and in her ability to create and maintain good working relationships with all parties in a case. Rebecca is able to obtain positive results for her clients by fostering relationships and coordinating with various agencies and individuals, including investigators, health care professionals, probation officers, MVD personnel, court staff, law enforcement, prosecutors, victims, clients, and clients’ loved ones.