Criminal Defense

Drunk Driving / DUI
Petty Theft
Grand Theft
Post Conviction Relief
Expungement
Fraud/Misrepresentation


DUI

Losing your driver’s license can have a severe impact on your life, making it difficult to get around and perform daily tasks.

Did you know that many people who have been charged with a DUI are able to beat the charges? If the police failed to follow certain procedures, you may be eligible. In order to find out if you qualify, it’s important to speak with a criminal defense attorney. Complete a free DUI evaluation in order to have your case reviewed by an attorney now.

With a FREE DUI/DWI evaluation, you get:

  • An explanation of your options
  • Solution tailored to your situation
  • A DUI/DWI defense attorney will handle your evaluation

Petty Theft

Californialaw defines theft as the unlawful taking of another’s property.Californiapetty theft (shoplifting) will be charged when that property is valued at $950 or less. The crime (which is most commonly based on a shoplifting offense) can be committed in one of four ways:

  • by larceny (stealing and carrying away another’s property without consent. This is the most typical form of petty theft, usually seen in a shoplifting prosecution.)
  • by trick (for example, changing the price tag on an item to pay a lesser amount for it)
  • by embezzlement (this occurs when you decide to deprive another of something after it was entrusted to you. For example, if your boss, the owner of the retail store that you work for, gives you some merchandise to put in the storage room — and instead you put it in your bag to take home — you have embezzled the merchandise), and
  • by false pretenses (making false representations to obtain possession and title to money, labor, personal property or land).

Grand Theft

You commit grand theft under California Penal Code 487 PC when you unlawfully take another person’s money or property that is valued above $950. This is what separates grand theft from petty theft, as you commit petty theft when the amount is $950 or less. Additionally, there are certain California theft offenses that will always constitute grand theft, regardless of the value of the property stolen, such as stealing a firearm (known as grand theft firearm), an auto (known as grand theft auto), property carried by another person (known as grand theft person), certain animals and certain foods.

Grand theft may be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony, subjecting you to probation, fines, incarceration and a potential “strike” on your record pursuant to California’s three strikes law. Fortunately, we know the most effective legal defenses to present on your behalf to help you fight your theft charges. Our article on grand theft offers an in-depth discussion as to these as well as many other grand-theft related issues.


Post Conviction Relief

Post conviction relief is what is sometimes used to cure immigration deportation issues. Although, often there are different ways to save a client from deportation, sometimes, none of the reliefs offered by the immigration laws would cure the problem. That is when you should look to see if you could go back to the criminal court, reopen the criminal proceedings against you, set aside the judgement and try to negotiate a better outcome of your criminal matter so that it would have a lesser effect on your immigration status or make you eligible for relief under immigration laws.

All said, this is not the easiest venue but sometimes it is the client’s only chance. Not everyone needs post conviction relief and not everyone would be a good candidate for it. An attorney experienced both in immigration and criminal law must evaluate every aspect of a case before concluding that such action is warranted and possible.


Expungement

Although you may use expungement to dismiss some of your criminal record, expungement does not save you from the immigration consequences of your old conviction.


Fraud/Misrepresentation

Crimes involving fraud and/or misrepresentation may be some of the most troubling cases when it comes to the consequences they may have on a person’s immigration status. A fraud case can, for example, bring you before the immigration court and into immigration custody not only for being a crime involving moral turpitude but also a crime classified as an aggravated felony with much harsher immigration consequences depriving you of any possible relief.