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Hiring a Los Angeles Criminal Attorney While You’re Out of the Country

Posted by Ronald D. Hedding, ESQ. | Mar 24, 2020

I do have a lot of people who retain me from an out of country position.  A lot of times they're doing it for a family member who is here in custody in the country or in Los Angeles or maybe they're out of custody but the family member is trying to hire the attorney.

I do that a lot.  In fact, I've had a lot of people hire me from being in an out of country position.  A lot of times we're able to communicate through the WhatsApp and various other forms of communication like e-mail.

Various Forms Of Contacting My Office

It really just depends on where you are and what your circumstance is.  You can either contact me through my email: [email protected].  Obviously, you can call my office number.  A lot of times I'll give you my cell number and I do have the WhatsApp that can be used in order to communicate.

In fact, I just handled a case in Van Nuys where my client was charged with attempted murder and we were able to get her out of custody.  I was able to communicate with her mom the whole time.  Her father flew in from Russia.

So, I do handle a lot of out of state and out of country matters where family are trying to get in contact with me and then hiring me.  A lot of times they can just wire money into my back account or use a credit card, depending on what means you want to use to pay for the legal representation.

So, if you or a family member is out of country and you need to hire criminal defense attorney from an international position, call my office.  You can email me at my personal email or once you retain me, you'll obviously be able to communicate with me through the WhatsApp or whatever form of communication is necessary.

Dealing with Warrants While Out of the Country

If you've got a warrant and you're out of the country a lot of times what we can do once I'm retained on a case, I can go into court, have the warrant taken out for a period of time to allow you to travel back into the United States and appear in the Los Angeles court.

Hiring a Los Angeles Criminal Attorney While You're Out of the Country

Sometimes judges will do that, especially when they see that you've retained an attorney and they realize that it's almost impossible to travel into the United States from an international position without getting arrested because of the warrant because there's such high security at the airports.

So, if you've got a warrant in Los Angeles and you need help and you're out of the country, contact my office.  We can talk about it.  It just depends on what type of case you have.

A lot of times I can go into court for what's called a minute order which will say everything about the case that's transpired since the case went into warrant status and even before that.  I'm able to check that at.

I'm able to contact the judge who is in charge of the case and contact the prosecutor who is going to be dealing with the case as well to kind of set things up for you before you come into the country and then we can really get into a good discussion about exactly how we're going to help you.

One big question I get a lot of times in these cases where somebody is out of the country is, exactly how can I handle the warrant without coming into the country myself.  If it's a felony warrant in Los Angeles County, they typically will not allow you to handle the warrant unless you actually physically come into the country.

So, a lot of times what I do is, I will go into court for you once I'm retained on the case.  I will talk to the judge and explain that you have hired me to handle the case.  You want to deal with the warrant but you can't just fly in because you'll be arrested at the airport.

Removing Warrant From the System While You Travel

Then there's going to be extradition proceedings and it will take much longer and will be much more difficult.  All the judge has to do is take the warrant out of the system for a week or two to allow you to travel into the country.

A lot of this, depending on the jurisdiction in Los Angeles — there's 38 courts but most of the courts are pretty reasonable depending on the judge who we are dealing with and also depending on what type of an argument we can mount on your behalf.  That's probably going to dictate whether or not we're going to be able to get that warrant lifted so that you can come into the country.

Then obviously, the next thing we're going to talk about is what type of a case is it that you have.  Is it a real serious case?  Is it a case that's not as serious or is it a mid-level case?

Keeping You Out of Custody

Once I hear the type of case, what happened, what your criminal record looks like, how long it's been since the warrant was issued and what we're going to do moving forward, I can usually give you a pretty good idea of what the likelihood is of you going into custody. We might being able to keep you out of custody because the next issue is going to be, once you come in the warrant is taken out of the system.

Now is the judge going to put a bail on you or is the judge going to release you on your own recognizance and then of course, the next question is going to be, what's going to happen with the case.  Do you have a defense to it or is it going to be something that we're going to be entering a plea bargain to?

These are all questions that can be discussed once you give me all the information.  I can look into it, pull your record, pull the minute order and then we can really have a good discussion about how we're going to get the warrant recall.

How we're going to deal with any bail issues, and finally, how we're going to ultimately resolve the case on your behalf so that you can move forward in your life and go back to your home country if that's what you chose to do.

About the Author

Ronald D. Hedding, ESQ.

Ronald D. Hedding, Esq., is the founding member of the Hedding Law Firm. Mr. Hedding has an extensive well-rounded legal background in the area of Criminal Law. He has worked for the District Attorney's Office, a Superior Court Judge, and as the guiding force behind the Hedding Law Firm. His multi-faceted experience sets Mr. Hedding apart and puts him in an elite group of the best Criminal Defense Attorneys in Southern California.

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