South Bay criminal defense attorney

Gardena Criminal Law

Last Updated on Thursday, 01 September 2011 10:37

Gardena, California Criminal Law Lawyer

Each criminal law case is unique. The rules and regulations are not consistent and depend on many different factors. For example, criminal cases tried in Federal Court have much different procedural rules and have different laws than criminal cases tried in State Court. This is why it is absolutely critical for you to hire an attorney who knows all of the fine details of the law in both State and Federal courts. It is just as important that your attorney have the type of experience defending the kind of crime that you are charged with.

Mr. Newman has a plethora of experience and an exceptional record in virtually all types of criminal cases in Gardena. He has fought for both companies and individuals in Federal and State courts for over 30 years with unprecedented success.

Criminal law cases, as opposed to civil cases, threaten your liberty and freedom with the possibility of jail-time coming into play. In criminal cases, the government (State or Federal) decides whether or not to prosecute. A case commences against you when the government issues a formal document which accuses you of a crime. Criminal law cases can deal with felonies or misdemeanors.

Criminal Law – Jail Sentence

The largest possible jail sentence that you can get for committing a misdemeanor is one year. Felonies, on the other hand, have no maximum sentence. If you are convicted of a very serious felony charge such as murder, you could potentially be looking at a life sentence. There are also minor infractions, such as speeding, or jay walking. There are fines, but no jail time for committing an infraction.

Civil cases, on the other hand, are cases in which a plaintiff seeks monetary damages; there is no jail time at stake in civil cases. The majority of civil cases are dealing with some sort of injury that one party has suffered at the hands of another party. These cases result from disputes and quarrels that are not able to be settled by alternative means.

You Have the Right to Trial by Jury

The right for you to be tried by a jury is a basic right that is given to you as a defendant in every single criminal case, no matter the extent of the crime. If you are charged in a criminal case, you have the right to obtain a lawyer and a right to be tried by a jury of your peers. You also have the absolute right to remain silent at every stage of the case. If the case goes to trial, you retain the right to remain silent and do not have to testify before the court if it is to your advantage not to do so.

When you are arrested by police or another type of law enforcement agency, the police agent(s) will file a report and give it to a prosecuting office. Depending on the crime being reported, the report will go to either a local prosecutor, a District Attorney, or a United States Attorney. While the police can lawfully arrest you only if they have probable cause to believe that you committed a crime, they aren't the ones who ultimately decide whether or not to charge you with a crime. Rather, it is the prosecutors that decide whether or not to bring formal charges against you. Nonetheless, prosecutors will file charges against you most of the time if they receive a police report that alleges your participation in criminal activity.

Arrested in Gardena, California?

If you are arrested in California, you have the right to be summoned to court and learn what crime(s) you are being charged with. This notification process by law has to occur within 48 business hours excluding weekends and holidays. The one exception is if you are being charged with a federal crime in Federal Court. If this happens, you will be brought before a Federal Magistrate at the quickest available time. If you are brought before a Federal Magistrate in Federal Court, the Magistrate will determine whether or not to set bond and what amount/type of bond must be met. Depending on the what the Magistrate requires, you may have to either promise to appear in court at a certain time, pay a specified amount of money, or put up your personal property in order to make bond. If you are arrested for a federal crime and within the jurisdiction of a Federal Court, the court must bring you to trial within 70 days of your arrest. If you are under the jurisdiction of a State Court and you post bond, the government has 48 hours to bring you to court for an arraignment hearing. It is of the utmost importance that you contact a criminal law attorney IMMEDIATELY if you or one you love is accused of a crime and/or arrested. Only a criminal attorney can fight to ensure that you are granted the rights that are given to you by the Constitution.

After you are arrested, your first court appearance is what is known as an arraignment (a "Detention Hearing" is the Federal Court equivalent). You will be notified of the charges against you, advised of your rights, and given the actual police reports from the time of your arrest at the arraignment. You will enter a plea of "not guilty". In felony cases, dates for a pre-preliminary conference date and a preliminary hearing are determined. If you are charged with a felony, it is your right to have your preliminary hearing within ten court days of the arraignment. If your case is in Federal Court you will be notified of the charges against you and informed that a preliminary hearing date will be set; however, if you are indicted by a Grand Jury, there will not be a preliminary hearing.

Preliminary Hearing – Gardena

At a pre-preliminary hearing conference, the defense lawyers and the prosecution meet face to face to see where each side stands and to discuss the possibility of settlement and pre-trial resolutions. A good defense lawyer will use this hearing to acquire as much additional information as possible. The lawyer will find out more details about the witnesses, and explore how your arrest was conducted. A good lawyer will also know what to do in various specific situations. For example, if the prosecutor has eye-witnesses that claim that they saw you commit a crime, a good defense lawyer might order a line-up to see if the witness can make a conclusive identification.

A felony trial begins with the preliminary hearing itself. At this hearing, a prosecutor presents witnesses and preliminary evidence to a judge. All the prosecutor is trying to do at this hearing is to convince the judge that there is enough evidence of probable cause for the case to go to trial. This is a very low threshold for the prosecution to meet. While there are exceptions, by the time a case gets to this stage, a judge will usually find that the case does have enough evidence to go to trial. The only way a judge would not allow the trial to proceed is if the prosecution's case is very obviously too weak to prove.

Even though cases are not often dismissed at a preliminary hearing, a good lawyer will use the preliminary hearing to find deficiencies in the prosecutor's case. The lawyer will cross-examine adverse witnesses, call supportive witnesses, and present evidence to dispute the charges. If the defense lawyer can conclusively establish that the prosecution does not have a viable case, the judge will dismiss the case. However, if the prosecution establishes that they have enough evidence to go to trial, the judge will let the case go to trial.  Judges can also dismiss certain charges or parts of a case while leaving other parts to be decided at trial.

Criminal Law – Federal Grand Jury

If the case goes to a Federal Grand Jury, a group of citizens will listen to the Federal Prosecutor (United States Attorney) present his/her case. If you appear before a Grand Jury, your rights are more limited. You do not have a right to be present at the hearing nor do you have to right to have your attorney present. The Federal Prosecutor presents his/her case and if the jury is convinced by the prosecutor's case against you, you will be indicted.

If the judge orders a trial at the preliminary hearing, the case will proceed to trial court. About two weeks after the preliminary hearing, a second arraignment happens in the trial court. At this arraignment, a pre-trial will be arranged close to thirty days later and trial must be set within sixty days. There is a pre-trial hearing that occurs in state cases; at this hearing, the prosecutors and defense lawyers once again meet to try to determine if some sort of settlement can be reached before going to trial. Information about witnesses and evidence may also be exchanged. If the case cannot be resolved, it proceeds to trial by a jury.

Misdemeanor cases do not have preliminary hearings at all. Misdemeanor cases have their pre-trial and trial dates set at the arraignment. If you are charged with a misdemeanor, you are entitled to a trial within 30 days of being arraigned. If you are out of custody, a trial must be assigned to you within 45 days.

Again, it is absolutely imperative that you contact a criminal attorney immediately upon being arrested. You have the right to an attorney as soon as the police come into contact with you. Remember that you always have the right to remain silent and once you contact an attorney to represent you, your attorney can answer any questions that the police might have of you. Consequently, any good lawyer will always advise you to remain silent because your silence is never allowed to be used against you in court.

Gardena, California Criminal Law Lawyer

For expert advice on any question related to criminal law, The Law Offices of Brian A. Newman are available. We will personally take your call at (310) 316-6622. Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney Brian A. Newman is a Criminal Law Attorney with over 30 years of proven expertise in Federal and State criminal law. Areas of practice include RICO offenses, fraud, narcotics offenses, wire taps, money laundering, extraditions, white collar offenses, homicides, search warrant cases, DUI/DWI, domestic violence charges, assault, juvenile, immigration consequences resulting from a criminal conviction and all other serious Federal and State criminal cases.

Call us today at 310.316.6622 and talk with an experienced Gardena Criminal Law defense lawyer that will fight for you!

Serving South Bay Cities:

South Bay Criminal Defense Legal Resource Links

Criminal Law Arrest

Experienced criminal defense attorney in Gardena
Call Mr. Newman directly at (310) 316-6622