"Dan could find a defense in an empty broom closet."

--  Bryna Holland, Marin County Deputy Public Defender 

Proven Results

In my legal work over the years with the Offices of the Public Defender in San Francisco, Monterey, Marin, and Fresno Counties, I have had the honor of representing and successfully defending hundreds of individuals charged with misdemeanor or felony crimes.  Of those, I assisted in representing more than 50 persons charged with felonies, including serious and violent crimes.

A successful defense of your freedom, with all of the advantages of hiring a private criminal defense lawyer, is not only possible.  It is also affordable.

Released From Jail.  No Bail Needed.

A significant number of the people I represented were in jail at the time they were brought to court.  Frequently I won their release on the spot without having to post bail.  I knew what was needed to persuade the court that these clients would return to court on their own, and would not pose a danger to the community if they were released.    For others, I often won major reductions in bail. 

Depending on the facts and circumstances of your case, I may be able to do the same for you.

Charges Reduced.

In many cases on their way to trial and in others on different paths, I negotiated much better sentencing terms than my clients were offered when they first appeared in court for arraignment.  I persuaded courts in some felony cases, which carry maximum jail or prison time of more than a year, to reduce charges to misdemeanors, where possible jail time is a year or less.

In several others, I succeeded in persuading prosecutors to reduce misdemeanor charges to infractions which, like traffic tickets, are not punishable by jail time at all but by small fines only.

In still others, clients went free after I persuaded prosecutors to dismiss charges if my client showed that he or she could stay out of trouble for a certain number of months, and take a class in a subject related to the alleged offense, after entering a plea of not guilty.  In additional cases, charges were dismissed and guilty pleas withdrawn after clients satisfied other conditions.   

Charges Dropped.  Case Dismissed.

In some of my cases, charges were dropped after I persuaded judges that police had obtained evidence against my clients unlawfully.  In others, charges were dropped when I proved that evidence of guilt was inadmissible in court because police had confronted my clients without real justification.  In still others, charges were dropped after I pointed out that prosecutors had no good reason for failing in their duty to bring my clients to court in a timely manner. 

In a notable case,  all evidence supporting drug-posssession and credit card fraud charges was suppressed after I showed the court that police had conduted an illegal inventory search of a wrongfully impounded vehicle. 

Bound for Trial.  Case Dismissed.

Charges have been dropped in several cases I have handled just days before jury selection was to began after my clients and I forced prosecutors to bring our cases to trial and attempt to prove the truth of the charges they had brought against us.  They couldn't do it.  Looking more closely into the facts before them, they found, as I knew, that critical prosecution witnesses could not be located, did not want to cooperate with district attorneys, or were otherwise unrealiable. 

In another case, charges were again dropped right before trial because the facts clearly showed my client was innocent of the charges brought against him.  Prosecutors simply did not have a case.  But they did not realize it until we forced them to look into the facts more closely when we exercised our Constitutional right to trial before a jury.  My client started out looking at as much as six months in jail.  He ended up free to resume his normal life without dragging a fresh criminal conviction behind him.

In yet another case bound for trial over alleged drug-DUI and hit-and-run driving offenses, all charges were dropped after I persuaded the court that the arresting officer illegally forced my client to comply when he falsely told her that she had no Constitutional right to refuse to give him a sample of her blood.  (When police take a blood sample, the law treats this as a search of your person.)  In almost every circumstance, we all have an absolute Constitutional right to refuse to give our consent to a warrantless search of our person, possessions, home, and vehicle.  We didn't let law enforcement get away with it.  

Depending on the facts and circumstances of your case, I may be able to do the same for you.

Of course, not all cases have the merits to support similar outcomes.  Charges can be alike, but facts and people are different in every case.  Past successes are no assurance of similar outcomes in the future for different cases.

But we will not know which cases have the merits to succeed in this manner without conducting a fair and thorough review not only of the charging document and police report, but also of the strengths and weaknesses of all of the other evidence police and prosecutors have collected against us.  

And it cannot stop there.  A thorough review and full legal analysis includes all of the evidence obtained from listening to you and coming to an understanding of your version of the incident by a defense attorney who is willing, able, and prepared to take your case all the way to trial if you choose to do so.  

Every one of my clients receives all of the time and expertise necessary for a thorough understanding of legal options and the possible and likely consequences of the choices to be made in winning the best possible outcome for your case.  As I already have done for many others, I will stand up and fight proudly and vigorously for you every step of the way. 

That is the kind of lawyer I am.  That is why I am in private practice as a criminal defense lawyer.

Call to discuss your case or to make an appointment to see me personally in my office.  There is no charge for initial consultations, and all charges, if any, are fair and reasonable. 

Your defense, with all of the advantages of hiring a private criminal defense lawyer, is affordable now.

To see what the defense of your case may cost, go to An Affordable Defense.  

 

.