James Eckart

James Eckart is a partner with Dapeer, Rosenblit & Litvak, LLP, where he has worked for 25 years serving as a City Prosecutor for approximately 50 municipalities throughout California enforcing the Cities' municipal codes and applicable state laws through administrative, civil, and criminal remedies.

Mr. Eckart serves as the primary City Prosecutor for the Cities of Downey, Norwalk, Culver City, Covina, Industry, West Hollywood, Bell Gardens, Beverly Hills, Rancho Cucamonga, and Montclair, as well as several other clients.

Mr. Eckart has drafted ordinances for municipalities on a wide array of topics, including, but not limited to, adult oriented businesses, massage establishments, live entertainment, graffiti, public nuisances, sidewalk vending, smoking restrictions, theft of catalytic converters, cost recovery, and administrative citations.

Aside from providing legal assistance to his city clients, Mr. Eckart has trained police officers, Sheriff's deputies, District Attorneys and local prosecutors, City Attorneys, code enforcement officers, building inspectors, Health Department inspectors, and other governmental personnel on a myriad of topics including techniques for general investigations and specialized investigations (e.g., establishments illegally used for gambling, narcotics, and prostitution); search and seizure issues; report writing; criminal prosecutions; judicial and administrative procedures (including testimony); homeless encampment clean-ups; sidewalk vending enforcement; cannabis enforcement; Health & Safety receiverships; and COVID-19 Order enforcement.

Mr. Eckart has been a lecturer for numerous organizations including League of California Cities; California Association of Code Enforcement Officers (CACEO); Southern California Association of Code Enforcement Officers (SCACEO); Community Officer Resource Exchange (CORE); Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department; Los Angeles County Fire Department; Orange County Fire Prevention Officers Association; and Code Enforcement Workshops.

Mr. Eckart is also an adjunct faculty member with the Santiago Canyon College in the Public Works/Business & Career Education Department – focusing primarily on teaching legal aspects of Code Enforcement and Law Enforcement. Mr. Eckart has also taught several mock trial courses at multiple middle and high schools in Los Angeles County.

In 2010, Mr. Eckart authored, “Anatomy of a Successful Criminal Code Enforcement Prosecution”, a handbook for attorneys who criminally prosecute cases involving violations of local municipal codes.

Prior to working for DRL, Mr. Eckart worked at the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, where he was assigned to both the adult and juvenile courts, handling misdemeanors and felonies.

Mr. Eckart received his law degree from Loyola Law School and his undergraduate degree in philosophy from the University of California, Los Angeles.