Autobiographical Statement
For 35 years, I have practiced criminal defense law in the state and federal courts of Florida. My main goal in taking a criminal case is either to get the case dismissed or to resolve the case so my client suffers no permanent stigma from the experience.
Some of my most rewarding cases are those in which I am able to clean a past blotch off of someone’s background and help them move forward with their life. To me, this is what providing professional legal services is all about. I read somewhere that the three most traditional professions are medicine, the ministry, and the law. My grandfather was a doctor, by father a Presbyterian minister, and me an attorney, so I hope am carrying on a family tradition.
As the father of a ten-year-old daughter, I know how important education is in today’s world and have tried to help others by contributing to scholarship funds and other learning-bases charities. I am a member of the Southern Poverty Law Center and the American Friends Service Committee. Over the years, I have won awards from the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office for assisting in its pro bono defense program and the Consulate General of Mexico for hosting and moderating a seminar entitled, “Death Penalty Practice in the United States and Florida Under International Conventions and Treaties.” I also moderated a Judicial Panel discussion in December 2011, sponsored by the National Business Institute—“What Criminal Court Judges Want You to Know.”
I was born in North Dakota and lived in three states before graduating cum laude from the University of Illinois in 1979. I began practicing law after passing the Florida Bar Exam in 1982. That same year, I graduated from New York University School of Law and moved down to Florida to take a job with the Miami-Dade County Public Defender’s Office. I worked at the PD Office for six years before going into private practice where I have been ever since. My practice is almost exclusively criminal defense representation at the investigative, trial, appellate, and post-conviction levels.
I have been practicing criminal law since 1982, when I began my career as an Assistant Public Defender in Miami, Florida. During that time, I have represented close to 2500 clients and have done over 150 jury trials and written over 250 appellate briefs. In 2003, the Florida Bar certified me as a criminal trial specialist. In 2007, James Publishing released my book, Florida Criminal Trial Procedure. I enjoy what I do and look forward to speaking to you about your criminal issues.
Appeals and other forms of post-conviction relief are intricate legal matters, often involving complex questions of law, fact or both. Such matters are also very time sensitive, which means that any delay in pursuing an appeal or other appropriate form of relief could be disastrous.
For more than 35 years, attorney Clayton R. Kaeiser has handled criminal appeals and motions for other types of post-conviction relief for clients across Florida and throughout the United States. Thoroughly committed to helping his clients improve their situations, Mr. Kaeiser does a painstaking review of the trial record and all other relevant records and documentation in each case, searching for judicial mistakes, unanswered questions, misinformation from the lawyer initially handling the case, improperly withheld evidence, police impropriety and other issues. He also works with professional investigators, forensics specialists and other experts, as needed on a case-by-case basis, to assist him in this process.