Never Hire a Lawyer Off the Internet For years I have been saying the same thing over and over again. Never Hire a lawyer over the internet. Only hire a lawyer you were referred to by someone you trust. Talk to the actual lawyer your are going to hire, before hiring them.  Don’t hire a lawyer who spends all his time creating a huge internet site simply to gather clients.  Don’t talk to a sales rep, secretary, case manager or otherwise.  Even if the sales rep says they are a lawyer, they may not be your lawyer.  And, never hire …

What Happens After My Preliminary Hearing? Felonies get filed two ways in California State Courts. People can be indicted by a grand jury or far more often is the case that a complaint is filed by the District Attorney. After the complaint is filed, the client sees the judge and enters a not guilty plea. We have the right to a speedy preliminary hearing or probable cause determination before a judge. This occurs within 10 court days and not more than 60 calendar days of our arraignment unless we waive our rights to a speedy hearing. Many felonies in California …

Can You Get My DUI Reduced? A common question for me is whether or not I can get DUI charges reduced. This could be in the case of first offense DUI and it could be a felony causing injury. Most often, the circumstance is a first or second offense, misdemeanor DUI with a blood alcohol test above .10. When a client blows over .10, the prosecutors tend to feel that their case is more “provable” and are far less likely to reduce the charge. By contrast, a DUI with a .08 or .09 is quite often reduced. What can be …

Felony DUI’s and the Three Ways to Get There Many people in California know someone who has been arrested for or convicted of a DUI. Some people even know a bit about felony DUI’s. Most commonly a DUI becomes a felony when an injury is caused. California Vehicle Code Section 23153 covers the felony DUI from injuries. These cases can be either misdemeanors or felonies depending upon the extent of the injuries. In extreme cases, the offense can even be a strike where there is great bodily injury or death. As a misdemeanor there is still mandatory jail time and …

Mental Health Diversion May be a Great Option to Resolve a Criminal Case A potential client called me last week. She had two theft cases with one open and one closed. Her lawyer pled her guilty to a trespassing misdemeanor with the understanding that after completing a formal diversion program, the case could be dismissed. Client asked me if that was as good as Mental Health Diversion. Client was asking if I could get her Mental Health Diversion (MHD) on the new case or both of the cases. Client also said that her present lawyer told her MHD was only …

Multiple DUI Arrests and Scared? Cases seem to come to me in bunches.  This year seems to be my year for Crane operator clients.  I’ve had three this year.  I’ve also had several clients this year who were arrested more than once in a very short period of time.  Three were DUI’s, two were driving on suspended licenses after DUI’s and one was simply a juvenile with a bad attitude.  What they all have in common is they all are very scared and the courts and prosecutors tend to be very unhappy with this type of behavior. So how do …

Veteran’s Court Can be a Fantastic Option I had a client graduate from Veteran’s Court this past Thursday.  It was a very long road for him and for me, but it was very much worth the trip.  My client LH was charged with felony vandalism.  This was not is first criminal charge or conviction.  It was not even his second.  But it was his first felony.  After 13 years in the Air Force reserves, including some time in active service in Afghanistan, LH wanted to stay in the service and retire from the reserves.  A felony conviction would have meant …

In a first offense prostitution case, the prostitution diversion program or “PDP” often sounds like a great option.  For many people it is a great option.  Take an educational class, submit to an HIV test, wait a year and get the case dismissed.  Sounds pretty good right?  Yes, but not to everyone.  I’ve been practicing law in California for over 2 decades.  During that time I have handled so many prostitution cases, I have lost count.  The case run from soliciting acts of prostitution, to full blown human trafficking and everything in between.  The thing that I cannot lose sight …

I am a criminal defense attorney. I’m not a doctor, I’m not a therapist and I’m not a social worker. My job is very clear. I am tasked with doing everything possible to try and get criminal charges dismissed or reduced and to minimize any punishment my clients might be facing. I do this in a variety of ways and by using a variety of different tools. Often, I am simply able to negotiate favorable settlements for my clients. Sometimes, there are legal reasons why we can get cases dismissed or reduced. On rare occasion we have jury trials to …

Unsatisfied judgments can lead to criminal charges. That’s right. If you get sued and you do not resolve the law suit, this can lead to the loss of your driver’s license, contractor’s license or other state issued license. It can cost you your job, income, or lead to criminal charges. The same is true if you fail to pay child support. Don’t ignore that summons and complaint (lawsuit) because it won’t go away. It will only get worse. I recently had a client get served with a lawsuit. He didn’t call me. In fact, he didn’t call me until the …