If I plan to plead guilty to the charge do I need a lawyer to assist me?

Definitely the answer is YES. You should never go to court and plead guilty without having an experienced criminal defense lawyer helping you. If you walk into court and plead guilty then you are facing the maximum punishment allowed by law and you could likely receive it. With a criminal defense expert working on your case he or she can work with the judge and the prosecutor to obtain the…

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If I was arrested for a crime and the District Attorney “rejected my case” can I later be prosecuted for that crime?

The answer is yes. Often a District Attorney will reject a case because he doesn’t think that the police have brought him enough evidence to obtain a conviction. He will send the case back for “more investigation”. Many times in those cases the police will do more work and then the District Attorney will decide to file the charges. If the charge is a misdemeanor then he has in most…

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I was arrested for a felony offense and after I bailed out the District Attorney refused to prosecute. Is there anything I can do to seal my criminal record?

YES. Under Penal Code Section 851.8 you can retain an experienced criminal defense law firm to represent you to file a motion to have your arrest record sealed and they destroyed. This is not an easy process. First you must bring the motion within two years of your arrest. In some cases if we can show good cause for a longer delay in filing the motion the court may still…

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I was arrested for possession of cocaine when the police officer stopped my car for speeding and then searched my car and found the cocaine in the trunk? Was it legal for him to search my trunk?

The police officer has to have probable cause to search your vehicle. IF he only stopped you for speeding and there was no other “smell” of illegal drug use and no other evidence to support “probable cause” then the police officer likely violated your constitutional rights when he searched your trunk. This assumes you did not give him consent to search your trunk. You should immediately retain an experienced criminal…

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My husband plead guilty to a felony charge and was not found guilty by a jury. Is there any “difference” in terms of his criminal record because he plead guilty and was not found guilty by a jury?

There is no difference at all between the two. As far as his criminal record is concerned it will appear as a conviction for a felony crime. The “exact” same language would appear on his criminal record if he had been found guilty by a jury. The main reason defendants plead guilty for a felony crime and do not go to trial is often they are offered a “better deal”…

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If the judge sentences me to one year in county jail how much “actual jail time” will I serve?

The new law change in California as of October 1, 2011 states that you will receive a 50% credit off of your sentence. So this means the maximum amount of actual time you will serve is six months out of a one year sentence. However, many of the counties in California are “heavily impacted” as it relates to overcrowding in the local county jails. So how much actual time you…

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Can police question my 16-year-old son during an investigation without notifying me first?

Unfortunately the answer is yes. The law in California is that the police do not have to get the parents permission to speak to a minor about an alleged crime. The police can speak to the minor without his parents being present. Hopefully some day this law will change.

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My husband has had 3 different public defenders in 4 court appearances. I'm afraid he isn't getting an adequate defense. What can I do?

Unfortunately, we hear stories like this just about every day from family members of persons accused of crimes that can send them to prison. Due to present economic conditions the volume of cases that most public defenders are required to handle is extremely high. This does not give the public defender as much time has they would like to properly represent their clients in many cases. When your husband is…

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The police asked me a bunch of questions and they never read my “Miranda rights”. Can what I told the police be used against me in court?

The answer is very likely YES. The police are not required to read you your Miranda rights unless you are in “police custody”. This normally means you have been identified as a suspect and you are not free to go. When you are stopped by a police officer who smells alcohol on your breath the law allows the officer to ask you how much you had to drink and to…

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I was arrested for a DUI and I live in another state and I do not have the time to come back and forth for the court hearings. What can I do?

If you retain a DUI law firm to represent you then they can appear at your arraignment and you will not have to appear. They can likely appear at all of the court hearings for you and resolve your case without your need to ever appear. However, there is always a small chance your case could go to jury trial and if a jury trial was necessary that would be…

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