Los Angeles Attempted Murder Attorney – PC 664 Attempted Murder Defenses
Have you been charged with attempted murder?
If you are accused of attempted murder, you need an experienced murder lawyer fighting for your freedom. Our Los Angeles attempted murder attorneys have a proven record of 35 years of successfully defending clients charged with attempted murder in Southern California.
Let us show you how we protect our own
Wallin & Klarich forms your defense strategy around the most important aspect of your case: You. When you call us, we will need to know everything about you and your history. We investigate every aspect of your case in order to explain why you should not be convicted of attempted murder. Once we have the full picture of your case, we will formulate the best strategy for you.
Your defense begins long before the day of your trial. The attempted murder defense attorneys at Wallin & Klarich will use the entire criminal process to get you the best possible outcome. In fact, we often get favorable results by negotiating with prosecutors before the case goes to trial. If we can make the prosecutor understand why the allegations against you are improper, we can resolve your case without a trial. While each case is unique, there are several major defense theories that commonly apply.
Our Los Angeles attempted murder attorneys attack the elements of the charge
Our Prosecution Page outlines the two elements a prosecutor must prove to convict you:
- You took at least one direct step toward killing another person (or a fetus); AND
- You intended to kill that person.
We can attack either or both of these elements at all stages of your case. When we argue that you did not take a direct step towards the killing of another person, we will argue that you never took an overt action to accomplish the killing. Without that overt action, the prosecutor cannot win.
As for intent, the prosecutor must prove that you intended to kill. If he merely proves that you intended to hurt, harm, or injure, but not kill, then you cannot be convicted of attempted murder.
Our murder defense lawyers can argue affirmative defenses
Self-defense and defense of others are two defenses we commonly use in attempted murder cases. California’s self-defense laws allow you to use reasonable force to defend yourself against a threat of violence. So, if you are faced with deadly force, you can defend yourself with deadly force. By using this defense, we may be able to have your charges reduced or dismissed.
Abandonment is a complete defense to attempted murder, so long as you did not take a direct step towards accomplishing the murder. To use this defense, you must have freely and voluntarily abandoned your plan to kill someone without taking a step toward accomplishing it.
We can argue to mitigate your punishment
In some cases, we can mitigate attempted murder charges to a lesser charge of attempted voluntary manslaughter. In these cases, the prosecutor can usually prove that you (1) took a direct step and (2) intended to kill the person. However, the charge is reduced because you were provoked into a heat of passion or acted out of an unreasonable belief that you were justified in defending yourself—known as imperfect self-defense.
The heat of passion defense occurs if:
- You are provoked;
- An average person would act rashly and without deliberation when faced with that provocation; AND
- You did in fact act rashly and out of extreme emotion.
Imperfect self-defense occurs where:
- You believed that you were in imminent danger of being killed or suffering great bodily injury; AND
- You believed that you needed to use deadly force to defend against that danger; BUT
- Believing that was unreasonable.
If one of these defenses applies, we may be able to mitigate your attempted murder charge to attempted voluntary manslaughter.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Attempted Murder Defense PC664
What is imperfect self-defense?
For a defendant to claim that he has acted in self-defense the defendant must show that he used force in response to a threat and that the amount of force the defendant used was not more than a reasonable person would have used. Imperfect self-defense describes situations where the defendant believed he was acting in self-defense, but the belief was unreasonable.
For instance, James sees a man approach him with a shiny object in his hand. He believes the man is trying to rob him and pulls out his gun and shoots the man. However, it turns out that the man was only holding his keys and had no intention to rob James. In that situation, James may be guilty of the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter because although he thought he was being threatened, this was not reasonable.
What is a situation where a heat of passion defense could occur?
Consider the following example: Rob is sitting in his car when he is approached by a man who points a gun at him and demands his money. After giving the money to the robber Rob follows him and gets into a fistfight where he punches the robber several times, killing him.
This situation could constitute a heat of passion defense because Rob’s actions were due to the stress of having just been robbed; a situation that could cause a person into intense emotion that obscures reasoning or judgment.
What is abandonment of attempted murder?
Because the crime of attempted murder occurs when a person completes a substantial step toward the commission of the act of murder, a person can act to abandon the crime and therefore be not guilty of attempted murder. For example, Tony, a drug dealer, plans to detonate a bomb planted in the car of a rival drug dealer. However, when he sees the intended victim enter the car with his kids he abandons the plan because he does not want to hurt the children. This is an example of abandonment of attempted murder.
Our team of attorneys is ready to help you now
The sooner we can evaluate your case, the more effective your defense will be. We have offices in Orange County, Los Angeles, Torrance, Sherman Oaks, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, West Covina and Victorville.
Give the Wallin & Klarich team of Los Angeles attempted murder attorneys a call today at 1(877) 4-NO-JAIL or 1(877) 466-5245.
We will get through this together.
