Santa Ana Criminal Attorney

There are many good reasons to choose Orange County Criminal Attorney over the competition. One prime indicator is our 99% customer satisfaction rate and our overwhelmingly positive online reviews at Yelp and elsewhere.

We also have a perfect 10 Avvo score (very rare), and have successfully handled over 18,000 criminal cases in California during the many years we have served local communities.

We have decades of combined experience on our legal team, and that experience is both deep and wide, putting top-tier expertise in numerous legal practice areas at your disposal.

Additionally, we put a high premium on excellence in customer service because we know that you do as well. We always treat every client with the utmost dignity and respect and exhibit the fullest degree of true professionalism. We quickly  communicate with our clients to always keep them informed of developments in their case, and above all - we fight tenaciously in your best interests from beginning to end. We put ourselves in your shoes and fight for your future as if it were our own.

Finally, we keep ourselves available 24/7/365, offering truly free and no-obligation initial consultations. And we offer service in Spanish for the large Hispanic communities residing in the area.

Our legal staff at Orange County Criminal Attorney is adept in a wide range of practice areas. We don't attempt to list them exhaustively here; but here are some of the main points on our main criminal defense practice areas:

1. DUI OR DUID

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI) is an extremely common charge in Santa Ana and Orange County. You can be charged based on a BAC of .08 or higher, .04 for commercial drivers, or .01 for drivers under the legal drinking age of 21.

You can also be charged with DUI based on demonstrating by your conduct that your driving ability has been impaired by alcohols or drugs even without a specific BAC. But that is more difficult for prosecutors to prove.

After a DUI arrest, you are given a 30 day temporary license and you must request a DMV hearing within 10 days of the arrest date or lose the right to one. Administrative penalties are faced at the DMV hearing, while criminal penalties would be faced at an actual DUI trial.

You face losing your license for anywhere from 4 months to 4 years or longer, along with heavy fines, DUI School, a possible IID (ignition interlock device) requirement, jail or prison time, community service, years-long DUI probation, higher car insurance premiums, difficulty in finding gainful employment with a DUI on your record, and other severe consequences if convicted.

At Orange County Criminal Attorney, we know how to challenge the DUI charge brought against you (including blood test results), and how to win a charge reduction, lighter sentence, deferred judgement, restricted license, or other concessions even where a dismissal or acquittal may not be possible.

2. OTHER DRIVING CRIMES

There are many other driving crime charges besides DUIs that you may need professional legal defense to successfully oppose. 

Vehicular manslaughter, hit and run accidents, evasion of a pursuing police officer, reckless driving, driving on a suspended license, driving without a valid California license, and more are all common charges.

All of these charges require an experienced attorney to defeat or to secure a favorable plea deal for. And many of these other driving crimes have consequences as severe as DUI and could threaten your license, so you should never underestimate your need for representation in such cases.

3. DRUG CRIMES

Under Health and Safety Code Section 11350, it is illegal to possess a "controlled substance" as defined under the Federal Controlled Substances Act. And this can include illegally possessed prescription drugs as surely as illicit narcotics like cocaine or heroin. Simple possession is a misdemeanor in California, and under Prop 36 and Penal Code Section 1000, many can enter a drug diversion program to avoid a criminal conviction on their record.

HSC 11351 prescribes harsher penalties for "possession with intent to sell." And no drug diversion is possible for intent to sell convictions, which is why a charge reduction if not a dismissal or acquittal is so important here.

HSC 11352 covers sale and transport of illegal drugs; HSC 11364 possession of drug "paraphernalia;" HSC 1137 possession of meth; and HSC 11379.6 manufacture of illegal drugs.

Long jail/prison terms and heavy fines apply to drug crime conviction of all sorts, but a good defense attorney can often prevent a conviction by showing you did not possess the drugs or intend to sell them. Or, a reduced charge/sentence, possibly with drug diversion can drastically improve the outcome of your case.

4. ASSAULT & BATTERY

Assault is any willful attempt to use force on another person so as to inflict bodily injury. Battery is the actual use of such force.

Quite often, assault and battery are charged together, but understand you don't have to have even touched a victim to be guilty of "assault" and even the slightest touch can be the basis for a "battery" charge. If any injury was inflicted, the penalty would be greatly enhanced.

In many cases, if battery/assault is committed against a domestic partner or child, it can become domestic violence or child abuse or a similar crime. These classes of crimes will be punished more harshly than a simple assault/battery charge.

But there are viable defense that can defeat any false or exaggerated charges you may be facing. For example, self-defense, defense of others, accidental touching/injury, or exercise of your parental right to discipline a child are all common defenses against assault, battery, and similar charges.

5. THEFT CRIMES

In California, there are a great variety of theft crimes, varying greatly in how severely they are punished as well. The defense strategies best used against each class of theft crime charge and in each particular case will also vary, and it takes an experienced criminal defense lawyer to know how to build you a solid defense.

Here are some of the most common theft crime charges you may be facing:

• Petty theft, PC 484/488. Taking of property not rightfully yours valued at $950 or less. This is a misdemeanor but Petty Theft With a Prior (PC 666) can be a felony.
• Grand theft, PC 487. This is the taking of property not yours valued at over $950. This can be either misdemeanor/felony depending on the amount and type of property stolen and the defendant's past criminal record. Grand theft firearm and grand theft auto are special classes of grand theft.
• Burglary. This is entering a structure of almost any kind with the intention to commit theft or any felony once inside. Residential burglary is punished more severely than commercial burglary, and shoplifting is commercial burglary during regular business hours. Also note that auto burglary is breaking into a car to steal contents stored inside.
• Robbery. Robbery consists of stealing property off someone else's person or out of their immediate possession. It need not be armed robbery to be robbery, so long as force or threat was used to take the property. Robbery of a vehicle is "carjacking."
• Fraud, embezzlement, and other "white collar" crimes are a special class of theft crimes. When credit cards, checks, or information associated with them is stolen or altered OR when a trust is violated in order to commit a theft, it falls into this broad-brush category.

6. SEX CRIMES

In California, crimes involving sexual acts of all sorts can result in lifetime registration as a sex offender besides in incarceration, fines, and other sentencing elements. And sex crimes are easily among the most ruinous charges to face as to one's reputation.

Whether it be rape, child sex abuse, indecent exposure, prostitution or solicitation, sexual battery, possession/distribution of child porn, or another sex crime, we have the experience to build you a solid defense and protect you future and your reputation.

Whether you are facing a DMV hearing or a criminal jury trial (or both), Orange County Criminal Attorney can guide you step by step through the entire process.

Here is a brief overview of a typical California criminal trial to give you an idea of how we can help you in your case every step of the way:

• Arrest, charges filed, and possible bail set and paid. You are back out of jail and have contacted a good lawyer. It's time to prepare your case through thorough research and investigation.
• The arraignment. This is where you first appear before a judge and can enter a plea of "guilty" "not guilty" or "no contest." Unless a plea deal has already been arranged, you enter a "not guilty" plea.
• Next is the pretrial phase. Most cases are resolved here, before an actual courtroom battle. There may be motions we can file to suppress illegally gathered evidence to win a dismissal. We may be able to file a pitchess motion to expose past police misconduct of your arresting officer. Or we can press to set aside some/all of the charges against you due to lack of probable cause that a crime occurred or that you were the one who perpetrated it. An exchange of relevant evidence (discovery process) and a possible negotiation for a plea may also take place pretrial, leading to resolution during the preliminary hearing.
• The jury trial or bench trial. A judge-only trial is called a bench trial, but you may request a jury trial if any serious criminal charge is at issue. We can present arguments, evidence, and testimony in your favor; challenge the case of the prosecution; and bring forward mitigating evidence where totally exculpatory evidence is lacking. Again, we will fight first and foremost for a full acquittal but know how to negotiate where appropriate.
• The sentencing hearing is also important. Even if you are found guilty, we may be able to win you a less severe sentence by presenting factors in your favor to the presiding judge.