To me, this is a huge question for a lot of people whose family members are charged with murder under California Penal Code 187 in Los Angeles because there's a tiny list of attorneys who have experience when it comes to handling these murder defenses.
Sometimes, the defense takes the case to jury trial and tries to beat the prosecutors. Other times, the defense is mitigating things, showing the other side, and trying to work out a resolution for their client.
Either way, if you don't have experience handling murder cases in Los Angeles county or the San Fernando Valley, it puts your client behind the eight ball.
I know this because I've taken over a lot of cases for attorneys who bit off more than they could chew and did not have the experience to handle a murder case.
Experience in Murder Cases Matters
I've been doing this for 26 years. I've worked for the DA's office. I've worked for a judge in LA County and been the guiding force for the Hedding Law Firm for the past 26 years, so I have a lot of experience handling murder cases.
I've handled them all over LA and the San Fernando Valley, and I realize what it takes and how few attorneys have the experience to defend the client the right way.
The reason for this is because, first off, there aren't a lot of murder cases filed in LA County as compared to other cases. So, a lot of attorneys just simply don't get murder cases.
Some of the newer attorneys or attorneys who think they can break into the field or are desperate for money will get on these murder cases, and they don't know how to defend them; they don't know what to do.
I can't tell you how often I've heard someone say the person did the preliminary hearing in the case. Still, they said we would need to hire a more experienced attorney because they couldn't take the case after the preliminary hearing.
That's a ridiculous statement because when it comes to a murder case, the preliminary hearing is an essential part of the proceeding. So, why would somebody take a case and be unprepared to take it through?
Preliminary Hearing on Murder Cases
In a preliminary hearing, you can damage the prosecutor's case on a murder charge, which can later be used in a trial.
Also, it can later be used to negotiate better deals because now you're able to show the supervisor of the prosecutors the weaknesses or issues related to their case, and this will clear up a lot of things sometimes that can't just be cleared up by the client claiming certain things.
You need to get testimony under penalty of perjury and then use that testimony to negotiate a better deal on many of these cases.
Also, it is crucial to lock witnesses who have inconsistent statements and then are going to testify later at the murder trial.
You want to get them locked into a statement under penalty of perjury at the preliminary hearing related to the murder charge; then, you can later use that information to try to discredit them, impeach them, and make them look bad at the murder trial.
Defense Lawyer Who Knows Prosecutors and Judges
So, the bottom line is this: if you or a loved one is charged with murder in Los Angeles County, you need to get an attorney who has experience.
One who's handled other murder cases in Los Angeles County knows the jurisdiction of your case. In other words, he knows the judge and the prosecutors.
So, this is the type of experience you're looking for. I invite questions when people come in to meet with me about the judge or the prosecutors and the process and what it takes to win these cases or negotiate a better resolution for their client.
This is the type of information I would love to have because I could clearly explain what it will take and what we're up against.
Once I've reviewed everything and talked to the client about it, I'm able to explain pretty clearly to the client and the family what the positive things are about the case and what the negative things are. Then, we're going to talk about what it's going to take to get the best resolution possible if you or a loved one is charged with murder.
