At the Annual Meeting of the CDLA Board of Directors held last weekend as part of the 2022 Annual Kuwatch Conference, Manny Daskal was elected President of the CDLA Board of Directors.

Manny is originally from Detroit, Michigan. He graduated with a B.S. from Wayne State University,

After graduation, he moved to California where he spent several years involved in community organizing Manny became involved in the initial start-up of a community food co-op that now numbers about 30 thousand members. He also helped start a very successful rural Health Center and the local hospital district. Manny describes this public service background as well as having gone to an urban college in the 60’s in the heart of downtown Detroit, as giving him an affinity to the “counter-culture”.

Manny moved to Humboldt County in Northern California, recognized by many as the center of the United States marijuana culture. After spending a number of years in this isolated rural environment he broadened his horizons by setting forth on world travel and resided in Switzerland, Spain and Morocco. Returning to the United States he then began law school.

Manny earned his J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law and worked for the Massachusetts Public Defenders office while in law school. He handled the entire arraignment calendar as well as an assigned caseload, as a third year student.. Manny then opened a solo practice in Boston handling primarily Federal drug cases.

Returning to California, Manny practiced with and took over Robert Cogen’s practice. At that time Robert was considered one of the top criminal defense attorney s in the country. He was recognized nationally as the attorney who developed the “species defense”

Manny’s expertise in DUI includes training in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Standardized Field Sobriety Tests a both a student and instructor,, as well as completion of the Drug Recognition Expert course, He also hash technical training on the several different breath test devices used in California. He has lectured a number of times and is published on marijuana, particularly as related to DUI, He consults regularly with attorneys across the country. He enjoyed the opportunity to hear Dr. Marilyn Heustis at our recent seminar in San Francisco. He also enjoyed the opportunity to discuss her findings.

Manny has been a member of CDLA since the mid-90s after meeting a fellow rural California member, “Fast Eddy” Kuwatch. He has been member of the National College of DUI Defense since 1997. He has also been a staff member and lecturer for NCDD. He has been a member of NORML and NACDL for over 20 years.

Manny and wife Denise (“the love of his life”) have a daughter Lilian who graduated from Brandeis University having been awarded the Cunningham Award for excellence in writing. .

Manny states, “My favorite part of lawyering is the unbelievable connection with people ranging from the challenged to the amazing intellectual capacity of our members. I love trying to follow the thoughts and thought patterns of CDLA members, truly the brightest and most gifted of lawyers. It is this intellectual stimulation that keeps me young and continually striving to bring my ‘A’ game for my clients. I am continually astounded by how much I learn from CDLA members.”