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Practice Pointers

Welcome to this Los Angeles criminal defense practice pointers section.  Really what this is meant to do is answer specific questions that you might have in criminal defense.  In other words, a lot of us will have cases where we need help but we come upon an issue that we can't figure out. We either have an attorney already or you're thinking about hiring an attorney or you just need to know the answer to these questions.

Basically, I've been queried with these questions and I try to answer them the best that I can.  Obviously, if you want to get more details related to these questions, you're going to need to have a face-to-face consultation with me.  I feel confident I can answer any question you might have related to Los Angeles criminal defense and give you a thorough, detailed answer.

Experience in the Los Angeles Criminal Defense Field

Whatever I don't know from my twenty-five years of experience — having handled thousands of cases, done 250 jury trials — I think I can probably figure out by way of doing some investigation and research — I have a whole team of attorneys that I deal with.  I know pretty much all of the attorneys in Los Angeles county that do criminal defense.

I'm very familiar with the judges.  In fact, a lot of the judges that I deal with every day used to be attorneys. Most of them were prosecutors.  I'd say in Los Angeles county, probably 90% of the judges are former prosecutors. So, I've seen them out there. I've dealt with them. I've negotiated cases with them and I have a good solid understanding of who they are, what their tendencies and what it's going to take to get the best possible resolution in your particular matter.

With these practice pointers, I'm really just trying to give you a foundation for dealing with whatever issue is presented in the practice pointer.  In other words, I'm trying to give you a feel for it.  Sometimes it answers your question; sometimes it doesn't completely answer your question.  Sometimes it causes more questions to be generated.

That's why it's really important, whenever you've got an issue in criminal defense, sit down with your attorney or sit down with an attorney like me who you're thinking about hiring, and really hit them with some good pointed questions and obviously, I'm going to answer the questions.

We might not have all of the answer right now when it comes to these practice pointers, because sometimes we need more information.  I have to see the prosecutor's case.  I have to see what the police have done to investigate it.

Forming a Defense Plan for Your Los Angeles Criminal Case

I need to do our own investigation sometimes, and obviously, I need to talk to you.  Once all of these ingredients come together, then we can really start to think about and formulate a plan that makes sense for you, your life, your career, your family and your case.

Then we can start talking about whether we need to fight this case all the way to a jury trial or is this a type of criminal case that needs to be negotiated.  Believe it or not, probably 90% to 95% of criminal cases in Los Angeles that are filed are negotiated by way of a plea bargain.

So, if you know that number already, then you have a good idea that that's definitely something you want to think about and talk to your attorney about.  Of course, there are those 5% to 10% of cases that are not going to be negotiated and they are going to be tried.

So, you want to make sure you have an attorney that can both negotiate cases in criminal defense and that can try a case under the right circumstances.  That's the type of attorney that I am.  That's the type of attorney that I've built myself to be through hard work, experience and really loving what I do when it comes to criminal defense.

So, pick up the phone, make the call.  Make some of these practice pointers give you a feel for what you want, but you really need to talk to the person that wrote the practice pointer.  Let's sit down and get into the meat and bones of your case.  Let's start making some of the moves that are going to protect you, your rights, your freedom and your life.

General Information for Los Angeles Criminal Defense:

What Should You Tell a Potential Criminal Lawyer?

Let's discuss the most important thing to tell a criminal defense attorney if you're thinking about hiring them.

When I meet with clients, I want to get the whole story – find out about them, who they are, what their career looks like, what their family situation looks like, and if they've got a criminal record; obviously, I want to know about that. 

But, I also want to know what happened with the case because once I can see what happened with the case, that gives me an idea of how all of the puzzle pieces will fit together.

All too often, clients want to tell me a bunch of information in their minds to try to defend the case right from the beginning.  So, I'm getting a spin on the information, which doesn't help me and doesn't help the client.

So, the most important thing they can tell me is the truth from the alleged victim's perspective or the police. What I mean by that is, what are the police and alleged victim going to say that you did wrong? So give me their position first to see what we're up against. 

So, when you're giving me all these additional details to defend yourself, I know where they fit in.

Suppose you start by giving me a bunch of information, spinning things. In that case, it makes it difficult for me to decipher what the problem is, and when people do that, what ends up happening is they're telling me the story, so here's what happened, and then they say, I don't understand, why I'm charged with a crime.

I'm looking at them, going, well, based on what you told me, I don't understand why you're charged with a crime either. The problem is, you've only told me the story from your perspective. 

I need first to know the story from the other perspective, and then we can talk about it from your viewpoint because then I know what I'm up against. I know what they're accusing you of.  I know what they say about you and can help you with your defense.  So, that's the most important thing. 

That is, not only telling your attorney the truth but telling them the truth from the other side's perspective. 

That doesn't mean your attorney is against you; your attorney is not listening to your story and only cares about what the prosecutor, the police, or the alleged victim is saying. That means that your attorney is competent. 

They want to see what they're fighting against, and that way, if you're going to give all of these other details and facts, that initially won't make sense to the attorney since you've already told them from the beginning what the allegations are.

They will be able to figure it out quickly; I see why he is telling me because they want to defend themselves, and they want me to know the defense in the case.

So, the most crucial thing, tell your attorney the other side's position, and then you can get through everything. If you need the best, and I think you do, you've come to the right place. So pick up the phone now.  Ask for a meeting with Ron Hedding.

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