Can a Defense Lawyer Prevent Charges from Being Filed?

How Your Attorney May Prevent Any California Criminal Charges from Being Filed Against You

In Los Angeles county, whenever somebody is arrested for a crime, the police take the police report and give it to the prosecutors.

The prosecutors are then responsible for making a decision as to whether actually file the criminal case.

A lot of times the police do a sloppy job of investigating the case and do not provide all of the information to the prosecutors. Sometimes cases are very close call as to whether or not the defendant actually committed a crime and should be prosecuted.

Pre-filing Mitigation

Can a Defense Lawyer Prevent Charges from Being Filed?

Our law firm may be able to prevent charges from being filed against you.

So, if you have a good defense lawyer by your side, that defense lawyer can do what's called pre-filing mitigation on your behalf:

talk to the prosecutor,
give the prosecutor which is called a filing deputy in Los Angeles county all the information about the case that the police may have missed.

Trust me, the police miss things all the time.

I've had a number of cases where I've sent a letter to the prosecutor, to the filing deputy, laying out all of the mitigating circumstances, giving a full account of what happened, giving some background on my client.

Even witness statements can be given to them, along with character letters. A lot of times, especially in a close case, the prosecutors may decide not to file that case, and that's exactly why you're hiring that attorney pre-filing.

Convincing a Prosecutor Not To File a Criminal Case

You want that attorney in a close case to really fight for you and see if they can convince the prosecutors not to file the case.

You're definitely in a much stronger position if there's no case filed against you versus a case is filed against you.

Then, now your attorney has to try to fight the case, convince the prosecutors to dismiss it or even go to a jury trial. Obviously, that's going to cause you more money. That's more risky.

It's more time-consuming, and it's really a situation where you're going to be very nervous and scared for many months while you wait for your trial to occur.

So, pre-filing intervention is crucial in criminal cases. In the right case, not in every case, but in the right case, it can be the difference between charges being filed and charges not being filed.

I'm hired all the time for pre-filing situations,. When it's it's the right case and if it's a close call and if I feel that maybe the prosecutors do not have certain information because the police did not give it to them.

Then, obviously, I'm going to do everything I possibly can to convince the prosecutors not to file the case. I will send a letter. I will encourage them to call me. I will present any mitigating factors.

If there's evidence that the police did not gather, obviously, I'm going to get that to the prosecutors immediately.

Presenting Mitigating Factors to the Prosecutor

The point is, I'm going to be talking for you, even before the prosecutors make the decision.

So, a lot of times, even if you can't prevent a filing, you can get some mitigating factors in front of the prosecutors and this can do a lot of things:

number one, it can change the charges to less serious charges;
number two, as indicated, it could cause them not to file the case against you; and
number three, those mitigating factors are going to be in there even if they file a case.

When your attorney, who is going to be me, goes in and meets with them and talks to them, they're going to see some good things about you right from the beginning.

You need a champion. You need an advocate on your side right from the beginning. Don't put yourself in the position where you're just at the mercy of the police. You're just at the mercy of the prosecutors.

California Criminal Lawyer for Pre-filing Intervention

Call the Hedding Law Firm If you were accused of a California crime.

Pick up the phone. If you or a loved one is being investigated, if the police have contacted you, if it's a pre-filing situation, even if you've been arrested and there's no charges filed against you and you have a court date pending, get an attorney right away. Don't wait.

Let the attorney make some moves on your behalf before the police get to the prosecutors. Don't forget, the police are not that smart. They're not that sophisticated.

They're not allowed to file charges. They don't have the authority. They're not lawyers. It's only the prosecutors who can do that.

Don't let them just rely on what the police gather. Let your attorney weigh-in to try to get you the best result.

If you need help, if you're facing criminal charges, or a loved one is, pick up the phone. Ask for a meeting with Ron Hedding. I'm prepared.

I've been doing this for 27 years in the criminal arena. I've worked for the prosecutor's office. I've worked for a Superior Court judge. I know what it takes to win.

I know what it takes to do what needs to be done when pre0filing intervention is the right thing to do.

Hedding Law Firm is a criminal defense law firm located in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County at 16000 Ventura Blvd #1208 Encino, CA 91436.