Peter E. Quijano

PETER ENRIQUE QUIJANO

Peter Enrique Quijano is a partner at QUIJANO & ENNIS, P.C. A litigator specializing in federal criminal defense and appeals, Mr. Quijano has tried more than 130 felony cases to verdict, and has briefed and argued numerous cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. In 2017 Mr. Quijano was the recipient of the Second Circuit American Inns of Court Professionalism Award. In U.S. v. Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, Mr. Quijano served as lead and learned counsel for the first Guantanamo detainee brought to the United States for trial in a civilian court; Mr. Ghailani, accused of the bombings of U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, was acquitted of 282 of 283 counts in the indictment. In 2012, the New York State Bar Association honored Mr. Quijano for courageous efforts in promoting integrity in the criminal justice system, in connection with his defense of Mr. Ghailani. In U.S. v. Lemrick Nelson – III, a retrial of civil rights violations arising out of days of rioting in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Mr. Quijanos representation of the defendant led to a substantially lesser verdict and a significantly reduced sentence. Mr. Quijano is member of the Merit Selection Panel for Magistrate Judges for the Southern District of New York. As a creator and co-director of the Southern District of New Yorks Mentoring Program, the first such program in the nation, Mr. Quijano helps to train and prepare experienced state practitioners to be viable candidates for the federal Criminal Justice Act Panel. Mr. Quijano is also a creator and co-director of the Southern District of New York Capital Mentoring Program. In 2012, the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission of New York State honored Mr. Quijano for his commitment and dedication to promoting diversity in the legal profession by establishing the lawyers mentoring program for the Southern District of New York.