Month: February 2019

When you have been charged with or arrested for a crime, you can expect the criminal process to follow the below steps. For expert legal representation in any criminal law or DUI case, contact attorney Ross Erlich.

Misdemeanor vs. Felony Offenses

A misdemeanor is an offense that is punishable by up to one year in county jail and/or a fine. A felony is punishable by fines and more than a year in a county jail or a state prison.

Arraignment

When one is arrested they must be arraigned within 48 hours. This means that they must be taken before a judge, advised of the charges against them and given an opportunity to plead guilty or not guilty. At arraignment several other things occur. First, bail is usually set by the judge. Bail can range from nothing to millions of dollars. In some cases like first offenses or simple misdemeanors, the defendant may be released based upon his/her promise to return to court and not have to post any bail. In other cases such as serious felonies, bail may be set at millions of dollars. In most counties the court has a bail schedule which sets a specific bail for each specific offense. Normally, at the arraignment, the defendant’s lawyer will be given a copy of the charges against the defendant and a copy of the initial police reports which have been prepared to date.

Pre-Trial Conference

In the case of misdemeanors, after a defendant pleads not guilty his case is often set for a pre-trial conference. This is an opportunity for the defense attorney to discuss the case and possible settlement with the prosecutor and/or the judge prior to setting the case for trial. In the case of a felony, many courts offer an early disposition conference or early settlement conference before the case is set for a preliminary examination. This is often a good chance to talk to a judge or a district attorney about an early and favorable settlement of the case.

Preliminary Examination or Preliminary Hearing

In the case of felonies, after a defendant pleads not guilty he has the right to a preliminary examination within ten court days of his arraignment. A preliminary examination or preliminary hearing, as it is often referred to, is a probable cause determination. At this stage, the prosecutor has the burden of proving that there is a reasonable likelihood that a crime was committed and that the defendant was the one that committed the crime. If the judge finds that probable cause exists then the defendant is held to answer on felony charges and the case may proceed toward trial.

Arraignment in Superior Court

In felony cases, after the defendant has been held to answer on felony charges, he is arraigned again in Superior Court. Thereafter a trial date is set approximately sixty days later.

Trial

A defendant in any criminal case has the right to a trial. In a trial twelve members of the community are called upon to hear all of the evidence in the case. When the evidence has been heard, the jury is called upon to determine if the defendant is innocent or guilty. If he is found innocent, or acquitted, then he goes free. If he is convicted then he will face sentencing before the trial judge.

Probation and Sentencing

At the time of the defendant’s sentencing, the judge decides if the defendant will be granted probation or if sentence will be immediately imposed. In misdemeanor cases, informal probation is normally imposed. In felony cases, probation can be granted in many cases. However, just because probation is granted, defendants can still be sentenced to jail time. Remember, probation in felony cases simply means that a state prison sentence will not be imposed right away.

Violations of Probation

If a defendant violates probation, the judge could impose up to the maximum sentence for which the defendant has been convicted. This applies to both misdemeanors and felonies. For example, if a defendant pled guilty to a case with a maximum of three years in prison, the judge could impose up to three years in prison, even if the defendant received probation for the original sentence.

Appeal

If a defendant has been wrongly convicted they may have the right to appeal. A notice of appeal should be filed immediately upon sentencing in many cases. Beware that there are strict time limits set for filing a notice of appeal if you plan to appeal a criminal conviction. Appeals require great skill and knowledge of the law. Appeals are very different than trial and utilize different standards of proof and can be quite complicated. There are many different types of appeals, some occur before the case is over and some occur after. Appeals, writs and other post-conviction relief is often subject to strict rules and timelines. Failure to understand these rules can compromise your rights. Call a skilled appellate lawyer immediately if you have questions about an appeal.

Post-Conviction Remedies

The law allows us to expunge our convictions in many cases where probation is granted. This applies to both misdemeanors and felonies. If a defendant has been convicted of a felony, typically that charge can be reduced to a misdemeanor and then expunged. Expungement is the process where we ask the court to allow the defendant to withdraw their previously entered plea of guilty or no contest or otherwise set aside their conviction and dismiss the case entirely. This process can be very beneficial to many people. If you have previously been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor, you may consider speaking with a lawyer about reducing your felony conviction to a misdemeanor or expunging any conviction you have suffered. An expungement allows you to tell any non-governmental entity that you have never been convicted or even arrested for the crime that was expunged. If you or a loved one has been arrested, charged with a crime or are currently involved in criminal proceedings, contact Ross Erlich today for a free case evaluation.  There may be several different ways to handle your case and confront the evidence against you and it is important that you are aware of all of those ways.

One of the most common questions I get from people seeking to hire an attorney is “why should I hire you and not just use the public defender?”  Well, it is a good question and is something that should be explained in detail to someone before they make their decision about legal representation.

First off, most all of the public defenders I know are good lawyers.  They are in court all day, everyday.  They are often in the same courtroom for weeks, months, even years, thus, they know the judge and the judge’s proclivities very well.  They handle lots of cases and get lots of good experience handling a variety of cases and legal issues very quickly.

That being said, public defender’s all have an extremely large caseload.  While they gain great experience handling many cases, if you are represented by a public defender, you might be one of 30 clients they have to see, talk to, and conduct a hearing for that day.  That being said, I cannot tell you the amount of times I’ve heard people call my office, who were being represented by a public defender or who had one before, tell me that they only got about 2 minutes talking time with their lawyer and then their case was called.  I’ve also heard my fair share of “there was a different public defender each time I went to court” or “they just seemed to shuffle my case down the line” or “they never went over the police report with me.”  I understand the problem of a county employee not having enough time in the day for all of their clients, but that is something you should consider before making that choice.

The service that I am able to offer involves, to be honest, quite the opposite of the public defender’s “dilemma.”  Anyone who calls my office at (323) 222-4529 gets me answering the phone.  That person also gets a free case consultation, in-person or over the phone, whichever is preferred.  That person, if they decide to hire me, gets regular updates about court proceedings, the ability to come into the office to talk about the police report word-for-word, talk about discrepancies, false facts and possible defenses.  My clients value the ability that I have to offer “creative resolutions” to their cases, which might involve rehabilitation treatment, volunteer work, mitigation packages, counseling options, etc.  My clients value having the ability to pick up their phone, dial a number, and actually get me on the phone, not a secretary who takes a message that never gets returned.

In addition, if you have other cases pending or on probation for, and those might include other courthouses, oftentimes I hear people talk about how their public defender didn’t take those other proceedings into consideration when resolving the case they are handling.  That can spell trouble for someone who might be subject to a probation violation or other consequences.

If you have any questions regarding your choice of a defense attorney, contact me at rosserlich@gmail.com, www.rosserlichlaw.com, or simply call me at (323) 222-4529.  One call can save it all!

If you are living in 2019 and use a computer (which is obviously you if you are reading this), you know that people use the internet to find all types of products and services.  We shop online for clothes, household supplies, cars, and lawyers.

Ask yourself, “if I found myself in a predicament and needed to find an attorney, where would I start?”  Well, you would either ask whatever lawyer you might know (family friend, previous attorney you have used for an unrelated matter), or you would go to Google.  Once you enter your search into Google, something along the lines of “criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles”, you’ll notice that there are the normal search results, ads on the sides, ads on the top, picture box ads, Google ads, etc. and you might seem overwhelmed.  Thoughts of “which one is good?”, “who should I call?”, “are all these claims true?”

Here is what you should know.  Nearly all criminal defense attorneys in Los Angeles use some form of paid advertising or placement online.  Nearly all of those criminal defense attorneys in Los Angeles who advertise online, make claims that are, in many instances, not exactly true.  You might hear of one calling themselves “top rated defense attorney in Los Angeles”, but rated by who?  You might hear one claim that they were “Harvard educated”, but when you check their bio on the California State Bar, there is no record of them obtaining a degree from that school.  How about “most trusted criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles.”  Well, when you go to their website, there is no mention of what group or organization awarded them with the “most trusted attorney” award.

The truth of the matter is that any lawyer can pay an organization or company to place their name at the top of Google, or present them with a “top rated” plaque or “most trusted” award.  Choosing a criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles should be a careful and thoughtful process by you or your loved one.  If you have been charged with a crime and are looking to pay someone to represent your life and liberty, you should hire someone you can trust.  It seems to me that those attorneys you find at the top of the list on Google, making claims that are not substantiated, are starting off on the foot of not being trustworthy.  How can you enter into a trust relationship with someone who has been misleading?

What I would recommend is to look at the attorney’s reviews on websites that offer client and peer reviews.  Check out Avvo and Yelp to read what the attorney’s former clients and peers have to say about them.  Call the attorney directly, my personal phone number is available 24/7 (323) 222-4529, and talk to the attorney about your case.  I offer, and will always offer, a free 60-minute case consultation.  You should hire someone that you feel comfortable with and that you can trust.  You shouldn’t hire someone simply based on how quick their website pops up on Google or based on the claims they make.

Hope this helps, feel free to contact attorney Ross Erlich by calling (323) 222-4529.