Defense of Lewd Acts on a Child
The downtown Los Angeles courthouse at 210 West Temple handles most of the PC 288 lewd acts on child prosecutions. This court is called the Clara Shortridge Foltz Court.
They handle these cases because the prominent prosecutors and the sex crime division are housed in downtown LA, where most cases are filed.
If you or a loved one is charged with PC 288, you may face many issues, such as prison time, lifetime registration, and other problems that you don't want to get involved in.
When we defend these cases, we must first decide whether the prosecutors can prove the case against you or your loved one. If they can and have the evidence, we will take a specific approach that involves [specific approach details]. This approach will be tailored to make the most sense for you and your loved one.
If, on the other hand, you're innocent, they don't have the evidence, and it's a weak case against you, you're going to want to fight that case. You'll probably be at a downtown Los Angeles courthouse jury trial.
Rest assured, the downtown LA court is one of the most severe courthouses, but the jury panel is fair and will give you a fair trial. You're in a better position than other courthouses in LA County.
With over 26 years of experience in criminal defense in Los Angeles, I've handled thousands of criminal cases, including many PC 288 lewd acts with minor cases. You can trust my expertise and the experience of my team at Hedding Law Firm.
I also worked for a Superior Court judge as his research attorney, so I think that gives me a pretty good idea of how to defend a sex crime case like a lewd act upon a child.
Preparing a Defense Strategy for the Best Outcome
When we talk about these types of cases, we're also going to have to be able to defend against the stigma that comes with a PC 288 charge.
This means that people automatically think someone charged with that crime is guilty and look at the person differently than other offenses.
It casts a shadow over a defense. We need to realize that right from the get-go when we devise our strategy in the downtown Los Angeles court to defend a lewd act upon a child case.
Another big thing that you will see in these types of cases is that the prosecutors, if they can, will try and find other evidence and other witnesses against the defendant who can claim that that individual was involved in some sex act upon them.
This will stack the deck against a defendant in a criminal case because it poisons the jury when many witnesses say similar things about a criminal defendant.
This evidence is called 1108 evidence. It's terrible character evidence, and it's used in these lewd acts upon a child case to poison a potential jury against a criminal defendant.
So, before you take one of these cases to trial, you want to talk to your attorney about it. You need to ensure that you have a good chance of winning the case because the penalties can be very severe if you're convicted.
This includes lifetime sex registration, many years in prison, and, of course, everything that goes along with a sex crime in the Los Angeles courthouse.
So, if you or a loved one is charged with Penal Code Section 288 and your case is in the downtown courthouse, 210 West Temple, or any of the courthouses in Los Angeles County, pick up the phone.
