When it comes to defending a criminal case in Los Angeles County, it's crucial to understand that it's not an exact science. Predicting the outcome based solely on the charges and the stage of the case is unrealistic. The likelihood of a not guilty verdict in a jury trial, for instance, cannot be accurately determined without a comprehensive understanding of the case.
Unfortunately, this is ridiculous if there are attorneys who are making these types of predictions.
Many times, when you come to the attorney, you haven't even appeared in court yet, so the attorney doesn't have all the evidence related to the case.
Before having the evidence, it's important to remember that rushing to predict the outcome of your case can be counterproductive. Patience is key in navigating the complexities of the legal process.
Criminal Defense Depends on Many Different Factors
That's where criminal defense in Los Angeles is not an exact since. In other words, you have to look at a lot of different factors:
- what are the charges?
- is there violence involved?
- was there a victim impacted?
- you have to look at your client's circumstances, including;
- their criminal record;
- do they have a job;
- do they have a family?
- you have to look at the totality of where the case is pending;
- Which courthouse is it in?
- Which judge is going to handle the case?
- Which prosecutor is going to be in charge of prosecuting it?
There are so many factors to consider in a criminal case that, in my opinion, it is reckless to start making predictions without all the evidence.
Review Evidence and Circumstances in Your Criminal Case
I don't do it. If you come in and tell me what you're charged with, which court your case is in, and what your criminal record is, I can give you an idea of what you're looking at.
But I can't, in many cases, especially serious felonies, tell you exactly how everything is going to go because, again, it's not an exact science.
You have to get all the pieces of the puzzle. Once you have all the pieces of the puzzle:
- you've got the evidence,
- you've talked to the prosecutor,
- you've talked to the client,
- you've used your experience to evaluate it.
Even then, you still don't know exactly how things are going to go because the case is being dealt with by people, human beings who have biases, prejudices, mistakes, and different ways of seeing things.
Jury Trials in Los Angeles
So, when it comes to a jury trial, for example, in Los Angeles County related to a criminal case, you never know what a jury is going to do. And that goes both ways.
Sometimes, I've had cases where my clients decided to take the case to trial, and I knew it was a very tough case. We were able to get a not-guilty verdict.
You sit there scratching your head, but the bottom line is that you never know how the evidence is going to be portrayed to a jury, and you don't know who all your jurors are. Sometimes, you get great defense jurors.
Of course, the opposite is true. Sometimes, there are cases where you go into a courtroom, and all the jurors who are brought in are very conservative, and you get conservative, tough jurors who evaluate a case.
The bottom line is that when you're dealing with such a complex criminal justice system, it's important to remember that it's designed to be fair and just. While the outcome may not always be clear, the system is built to ensure a fair process.
You can't start telling people this is going to happen; that's going to happen. You can only give them general information until you have all the facts and details.
Criminal Defense for California Crimes
Once you have the facts and details, then you can begin to start to deal with the case logically. That's why it's so crucial to have a defense attorney like me, who's been doing this for 27 years.
I started working for prosecutors in 1992, then for a Superior Court judge in 1993. In 1994, I opened my own criminal defense firm, and I have been practicing exclusively criminal defense since then.
That's somebody with a complete background who can really give you a feel for how your case will go. But I make sure that I tell the truth.
I tell the clients what they're really facing because that's the only way to do this successfully, achieve a fair result, and ensure that the client is completely informed about their criminal case.
So, the answer is that criminal defense is not an exact science, but if you get a great criminal defense attorney by your side, you'll have the best chance of achieving the best resolution.
Pick up the phone. Ask to speak to Ron Hedding. Set up a meeting with me. We'll help you and your loved ones get through this and ensure that justice is done for you.
