Pre-Filing Intervention In A Los Angeles Criminal Case
Regarding criminal cases, the pre-filing dismissal process can be necessary. There can be a pre-file investigation done. Pre-file negotiations can be held with the prosecutor and police.
So, suppose you have a case where nothing's been filed against you, but you know something is coming down the pike, or you have gotten some contact by law enforcement, or somebody has told you that you're being investigated, or even the FBI has come to knock your door down.
In that case, they've served a search warrant – there are different ways that you're going to get tipped off because you're being investigated for a criminal case at the pre-filing level.
You have to get to an attorney immediately. Knowing the structure and how the District Attorney's office in Los Angeles operates like a business is a significant advantage to a defendant and a criminal defense attorney.
Independent Investigation By Our Law Firm
I work on these cases all the time. Sometimes, we investigate them. Sometimes, I call the police and find out why they're trying to reach my client. You have to be careful because you don't want to make a statement pre-filing that incriminates you.
That's one of the biggest weapons the police have – they can front people with things – and when they are investigating a criminal case, they try to get them to say something that incriminates them.
Even when people don't say something to incriminate them, I've seen many things over the last twenty-five years taken out of context, and I talked to my client after and said, why did you say that? Why did you even speak to them about it? They're like the guy got right in my face. He was accusing me, and I didn't say it exactly like that. He took it out of context. It doesn't matter.
So, pre-filing – if the police are trying to talk to you – it's always my advice not to speak to them. Get to an attorney first. Are you talking to the attorney under the cloak of the attorney/client privilege?
Could you let the attorney advise you? Tell them whether you should talk to them and what I typically do first. I will call the police up first, and I will play dumb and say listen, I've just been retained on this case. I am trying to figure out what it's all about. Why do you want to talk to him? And then I'll sit there with my pen and paper ready and take notes.
I'll ask appropriate questions and ask if a prosecutor is assigned to the case that I might be able to talk to. Because I know prosecutors on a level with me, a lawyer who does criminal cases may be somebody that I know, and I can get down to the nitty-gritty of the case's pre-filing.
We can prevent a filing in the case. We could give them some information so that if they file something, it's not as severe as they initially would.
I often see a rush to judgment to a degree where the prosecutors don't have all the information. The police aren't lawyers, so they're just taking information given to them. Once they decide that someone's done something wrong or is a criminal, they just go after all the bad stuff related to that person. They tend to try to avoid trying to get the good stuff. They don't try to find other witnesses that might help the defendant.
Early Intervention by an Experienced Criminal Lawyer
So, if you have a pre-filing case, you must do some pre-filing investigation. You need to get an attorney involved from the beginning and make the right moves because I've been able to keep people out of custody in both state and federal cases.
I've been able to get the police not to come and grab someone at their job or in their neighborhood where all their neighbors can see.
They either send a letter where they report to the court, and we deal with it, or they call us, and the client goes down to the police station and turns themselves in. We use a bail bondsman and get him out.
Sometimes, we can turn ourselves in court. There are different options when you do things pre-filing in a criminal case. You do it the right way and think it out. You're prepared.
So, if you've got a pre-filing situation and think a criminal case might be coming down the pike. You think you might say or do something that's going to incriminate you, before making any stupid move, get in front of a criminal defense attorney like me who has been down this road before, can guide you, can help you, and can get you in a position where maybe the case isn't filed pre-filing, or if it is filed, we can do some damage control.
We can control some of the bad things related to a criminal case that can happen to you. So, pre-filing is the best time to start doing stuff. Don't put your head in the sand. Don't wait and hope that they don't get you.
Make sure you take proactive moves to help yourself, and the best way to do that at the pre-filing stage is to get with a criminal defense attorney who has done this before, who has seen this scenario, who has had successful results and can guide you the proper way through your criminal case at the pre-filing stage.
A free initial consultation is your best step for more information on Pre-Filing Intervention In A Criminal Case. You can get the information and legal answers you're looking for by calling (213) 542-0979542-0979 today.
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