Joshua Lynn

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Joshua Eric Lynn, born December 14, 1969, in Santa Barbara, California, was the Chief Trial Deputy for Santa Barbara County from 2008 to 2010. He led the prosecution of Jesse James Hollywood, who was convicted of kidnapping and murder and sentenced to life in prison on February 5, 2010. Lynn was fired in June 2010 after losing the county district attorney election to Joyce Dudley. He earned a BA from UC Santa Cruz and a JD from the University of San Diego. He began as a prosecutor in 1996, headed the Domestic Violence unit, and later worked on gang and violent felony cases. As Chief Trial Deputy, he supervised all criminal prosecutions in South Santa Barbara County and even served as acting District Attorney when Christie Stanley was ill. He also taught Advanced Evidence at the Santa Barbara School of Law and won the Thomas Guerry Award in 2006.

In the Jesse James Hollywood case, Hollywood kidnapped Nicholas Markowitz in August 2000 and, to cover up the crime, ordered his friends to kill the boy. Lynn's job was to prove Hollywood’s guilt, even though he wasn’t at the murder scene. The trial took place nine years after the crime. Hollywood was defended by James Blatt. Lynn had replaced Deputy D.A. Ronald J. Zonen, who had been removed for sharing confidential files with movie producers.