The answer to this obviously, is to have a defense and there's no one-size fits all defense in all sex crime cases in Los Angeles, California. It's going to spin and be evaluated by the particular facts in your case.
What happened? Do they have evidence to show that you did whatever it is someone is claiming that you did? People can make allegations all they want, but if there's no evidence to back it up and if the person has a motive to lie and get you in trouble, then obviously that starts to be the formation of a defense in a sex crime case, and potentially could be a defense that could beat the case.
Review of the Specific Details
I think step number one is to sit down with an attorney and give all the information you know. I hate it when people come in and they start to put a spin on the case right from the beginning as though somehow, I have to be convinced of their innocence.
Let's figure out what happened. Give me the real information. Don't lie about it. Don't put a spin on it. I'm going to almost look at it from the perspective of the police and the prosecutors. What are they going to say? Once we have what they're going to say, now we can start to talk about what your defense is going to be and what the true facts are from your perspective.
Sometimes the truth lies in the middle. Sometimes the prosecutors and police have the whole thing all wrong. Other times they've got it right. So, I just try to look at things at least neutrally in the beginning so we can start to shape a defense, because part of our defense is going to have to take into consideration what the prosecutors are going to argue against you — what evidence they have against you — and what the weaknesses might be in our case.
So, we can't just say the same thing every single time — oh, we're going to win the case and that's it. We've got to look at what type of a case the prosecutors have against you, what evidence they're going to use to try to prove the case and then we can start to mount a defense. Then we can start talking about what you can do to have a successful result.
Review of Available Legal Options
Sometimes that successful result is going to relate to getting a not-guilty verdict in front of a jury. Other times, it's going to relate to showing the evidence that helps you and trying to convince the prosecutors to dismiss the case or give you some lesser charge, and yet other times, it's going to involve us trying to negotiate a successful plea bargain because the prosecutors have the evidence against you.
Trying to say what that's going to be without having all the information is difficult and is reckless. That's why when you call somebody on the phone and they start telling you how you're going to win the case before they've seen or heard any of the evidence, you have to scratch your head and say, wait a minute. Is this person just trying to sell me? Or, are they really talking from knowledge and a good feel for the facts and circumstances of my case?
Developing a Defense Strategy
I think the first thing in order to beat a sex crime case in Los Angeles is, you've got to lay out all the pieces of the puzzle. Look at them, evaluate them and then decide if this is a case we're going to try to beat or are we going to take a different approach? Are we going to try to mitigate it?
Are we going to try to get character letters? Are we going to get letters from your job, your family, your friends? That's one of the first things you have to do because any time you take a journey in the criminal defense community, it's not a very easy journey. You're dealing with prosecutors, judges and law enforcement who are trying to take you out.
Make no mistake about it. So, when you take that journey, you'll want to have a map and it has to be a solid map with a solid plan.
Once you get that plan in place, now you can start thinking about what you're going to do to either beat your sex crime case or at least mitigate it down to keep yourself out of jail/prison, or try to avoid some of the bad things that come along with a sex crime conviction in Los Angeles or anywhere in California or even the nation.
So, pick up the phone now. Make the call. I've been doing this for twenty-five years. We'll meet in the privacy of my office. We'll talk about your case. We'll break everything down and start to make the moves that will protect your rights, your future, your reputation and your freedom moving forward and get you out of the criminal justice system as fast as possible and put together a game plan for success.
