CRIMINAL DEFENSE

Our criminal defense attorneys handle misdemeanor, felony, DUI and juvenile cases throughout Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura, Riverside, San Diego, Orange County, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Our staff of criminal lawyers includes three former prosecutors and two former career police officers. Together with our private detectives and forensic experts, we work as a team, drawing on more than half a century of law enforcement experience.

We know firsthand how cops and district attorneys put together cases. We used to be in their shoes. We have the playbook. Now we use this insider knowledge to your advantage in fighting your criminal charges.

An Aggressive, Proactive Approach to all Cases

Some criminal defense lawyers take a wait-and-see approach. They stall until the first court date, or until they receive the police reports, before investigating and working up your case.

By contrast, we believe there’s no time to waste. The most critical window for defense work may be the first few days following an arrest, or even prior to formal charges being filed. By getting to work immediately, often we can locate favorable defense evidence and witnesses, and get a “head start” towards defeating the charges.

Private Defense Investigation by Former Police

Make no mistake. Cops concern themselves mainly with aiding the prosecution and building up a case against you. They should not be relied upon to gather favorable evidence that helps exonerate their suspect. They are not on your side.

Our private defense investigators are all former career police officers. But now their job is to find evidence that will benefit you. We assign them

to re-interview and locate witnesses,
to canvass neighborhoods,
to obtain surveillance tapes,
to do background checks on key prosecution witnesses, and
to locate evidence to corroborate our client’s version of the events.

Knowing the Local Courts

Close Personal Contact with Your Attorney

Facing criminal charges traumatizes people. Nothing compounds the stress more than the inability to reach your attorney.

Here our Law Group, we put a premium on the accessibility of our Texas criminal defense lawyers and support staff. We are here to provide moral and emotional support as well as legal representation. To do this, we observe two policies:

Every client phone call, email, or text is returned the same day; and
Every client gets the personal cell phone number of his/her attorney and the lawyer’s assistant

Not only does this provide you the assurance of knowing you can reach your lawyer at critical times. It also helps us to do our job more effectively.

We find that close client interaction is pivotal to our work. Our clients are the best resource for understanding what happened and who the key players are in the case. We want to hear from you. And you will definitely be hearing from us as together we map out the story and put together the best defense possible.

Early Intervention Before Charges Get Filed

Sometimes it is possible to stop criminal charges from ever being filed.

After making an arrest or investigating a suspected crime, the police take their evidence to the district attorney. The D.A. evaluates the potential case and decides what criminal charges (if any) to file. Usually, the prosecutor makes this decision based solely on what the police present. But often there is much more to the story.

Many times our Texas criminal lawyers can also meet with the D.A. during this same time period. We can present our witness statements, our evidence, and our information.

Knowing your side of the story may affect the D.A.’s calculations. When the prosecutors see the whole picture, not just what the police (or the alleged “victim”) have to say, they may decide to file lesser charges (a misdemeanor rather than a felony, for example) or not to file criminal charges at all (we call this a “D.A. Reject”).

Legal “Second Opinions”

Perhaps you already have a Texas criminal defense lawyer. Your case has been pending for awhile. Your attorney advises you on a certain case strategy, such as accepting the D.A.’s offer or taking the case to trial. Now you face a major life decision. And you are just not sure what to do.

We can evaluate your case and offer our independent judgment as to your various options and the merits of each. Much like a patient may see another doctor for a “second opinion” before deciding whether to undergo an elective surgery, we can give you a legal second opinion.

In the end, we may concur with your present attorney’s position. Or we may not. Or we may suggest a totally different approach. But our advice to you will be

unbiased,
independent,
looking only to your best interests, and
based on a careful analysis of all the facts and law.

Bail & Release Help

If your loved one is custody, our Texas criminal defense attorneys can often arrange a “bail hearing” to get bail reduced or to secure an “OR release.” We assist inmates in custody at any of the state’s jails, including the Twin Towers Jail, the Los Angeles Men’s Central Jail, the Orange County Central Jail, the Ventura County Jail, the West Valley Detention Center, the Robert Presley Riverside County Jail and the Clark County Detention Center (Las Vegas Jail).

Types of Cases We Handle.

DUI Defense Lawyers

Our DUI defense attorneys are former DUI prosecutors and law enforcement officers with decades of experience both prosecuting and defending cases brought under DUI laws.

Texas Violent Crime Charges

Prosecutors and judges take violent crimes the most seriously. Texas’s mandatory sentencing laws can lead to harsh prison sentences.

But many people accused of violent offenses are truly innocent. Often the situation is justified by Texas self-defense laws, accident, misidentification, false accusations, or mental illness. Our Los Angeles criminal attorneys can help you explore these defenses and fight the charges. We also defend clients prosecuted under Texas’s Three Strikes Law and Texas’s gang enhancement.

Among the violent crime charges we defend against are:

Penal Code 148 PC – Resisting Arrest
Penal Code 187 – Murder and Attempted Murder in Texas
Penal Code 207 – Kidnapping
Penal Code 211 – Robbery
Penal Code 215 – Carjacking
Penal Code 245 – Assault
Penal Code 422 PC Criminal Threats
Penal Code 451 – Arson
Vehicle Code 20002 – Hit and Run in Texas

Texas Sex Crimes Defense Lawyers

A conviction for a criminal sex offense can lead to years in Texas State Prison, getting ostracized from the community, and having to register for life as a sex offender. But many innocent people get falsely accused of sex crimes, especially date rape, lewd acts with a child, and sexual assault.

Our Texas criminal defense lawyers start by scrutinizing the accuser’s background. We look to see if the accuser has a history of telling lies and a bias against our client. We independently investigate the case with our own private detectives and forensic experts. Often times we can get charges reduced or dismissed or secure an acquittal at trial.

We defend against all sex crimes charges, including

Penal Code 243.4 – Sexual Battery
Penal Code 261 PC – Rape (Sexual Assault)
Penal Code 261.5 PC – Statutory Rape
Penal Code 288 PC – Lewd Acts with a Child
Penal Code 290 Failure to Register as a Sex Offender
Penal Code 311 PC – Child Pornography
Penal Code 314 Indecent Exposure
Penal Code 647(a) Lewd Conduct in Public
Penal Code 647(b) PC – Prostitution Solicitation

Texas Financial Crime Charges

Most people accused of theft or financial crimes are good citizens with minimal records who simply took a wayward path. And some are factually innocent. In any case, our Texas criminal defense attorneys can help you fight the charges, often times keeping the stigma of a criminal conviction off your record.

We represent clients as to all financial and property crimes, such as

Penal Code 459 PC – Burglary
Penal Code 487 PC – Grand Theft
Penal Code 484 PC – Petty Theft
Penal Code 496d PC – Receiving a Stolen Vehicle
Penal Code 503 Embezzlement
Penal Code 530.5 PC – Identity Theft

Texas Domestic Violence Attorneys

More people get wrongfully accused of domestic violence than any other type of crime. Sometimes a person strikes his wife or girlfriend by accident or in self-defense during a mutual struggle.

Other times the accuser lies to the police and makes up false allegations of abuse. Accusers fabricate stories out of anger or jealousy or to gain the upper hand in divorce or child custody proceedings. Whatever the case, our Los Angeles criminal attorneys can help you fight back.

We defend clients against any accusations of domestic violence, spousal battery, or spousal abuse, in particular

Penal Code 243e1 PC – Domestic Battery
Penal Code 273a Child Endangerment
Penal Code 646.9 PC – Stalking
Penal Code 273d PC – Child Abuse
Penal Code 273.5 PC – Corporal Injury to a Spouse or Cohabitant
Penal Code 236 PC – False Imprisonment

Texas Drug Crimes Attorneys

Police frequently use unreliable informants, defective warrants, and other illegal methods to make drug busts. Our Texas criminal lawyers can challenge these unconstitutional searches and search warrants, in an effort to get evidence and cases thrown out of court.

For clients struggling with addiction problems, we can often help you get Proposition 36, PC 1000 pretrial diversion, drug court or other treatment programs as an alternative to jail.

We represent clients in all misdemeanor or felony narcotics charges, including

Health & Safety Code 11350 HS Possession of a Controlled Substance
Health & Safety Code 11351 HS Possession for Sales
Health & Safety Code 11352 HS Sales or Transportation of a Controlled Substance
Health & Safety Code 11377 HS Possession of Methamphetamine.

Contact us for help

We like to start every case the same way: By listening. We sit down with you (and your witnesses) to hear exactly what happened. The police and the accusers are going to have their story. We will be presenting yours. So we want to start by hearing and understanding your side of it. Call us at (855)-JUSTICE or email us to schedule a consultation to see if we are the right Texas criminal defense lawyers for you.

We have local criminal law offices in Burbank, Glendale, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, Palm Springs, Pasadena, Pomona, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Ana, Torrance, Van Nuys, Ventura, and West Covina. Read our criminal defense blog.

Please contact our Las Vegas Nevada criminal defense attorneys and Las Vegas DUI lawyers for cases anywhere in Nevada. Our Denver Colorado criminal defense lawyers defend clients throughout Colorado. Our Texas personal injury attorneys and car accident lawyers can assist with any type of injury or mass tort case, including a hernia mesh lawsuit a Zantac lawsuit or a Truvada lawsuit.