Trial and Why it Might be the Right Thing for You Many criminal defense and DUI defense lawyers want to talk to you about a plea. Plead guilty, often straight up to the charged crime. What good does this do? Good question. If pleading guilty to the charges does not sit well with you, you’re not alone. It doesn’t sit well with me either. A win for me can take several different forms. First, a dismissal of all charges or an acquittal of all charges is certainly a win. But that’s not the only way to win. A reduction of …

Domestic Violence is on the Rise Domestic violence is on the rise. It appears to be another negative biproduct of the pandemic. Normally, in my business, we hear about domestic violence cases on the rise about Thanksgiving time and they stay up in numbers through the new year. This reoccurring phenomenon seems to have two main triggers. First, the holiday times generally means there is a lot of time with family. There is often a great deal of vacation taken and a lot time spent in the home with relatives and friends. Next, there is traditionally more alcohol consumption around …

Now is the Right Time to Expunge Your Conviction Many of us have time on our hands right now. Let’s use it wisely. Many of us are unemployed or underemployed right now. What do we do about it? Now is a great time to clean up your criminal record and make yourself more hirable. Expunging your criminal conviction in California can be a career saver. Under California law (Penal Code Section 1203.4) if we successfully complete probation, we can expunge most criminal cases. Once we expunge a case we can honestly tell a potential employer that we have not been …

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 …