I've been practicing criminal defense since 1992. I started in the District Attorney's office in East Los Angeles, where I was a certified Law Clerk working for the court system, conducting preliminary hearings and arguing motions.
Many of the District Attorneys I met at that time have since become judges. I've tried cases against them when they were prosecutors, and I was the defense attorney.
So, I have a perfect background in interviewing police, observing how the police structure their cases, and observing how the District Attorney's office in LA County prosecutes criminal cases.
From the District Attorney's standpoint, it's important to realize that politics are also involved. Ira Reiner was the District Attorney when I worked for the DA's office in Los Angeles County.
District Attorney Change in Philosophy
Then Gil Garcetti, the father of the now-mayor of Los Angeles, became the District Attorney, and I noticed a bunch of positions change.
He brought in his regime and his people, who would bolster his philosophy.
This is similar to what's happening now, where the new DA has taken over and is forcing a bunch of his policies on the current prosecutors, many of whom do not like the policies.
I'm sure many will quit. Many have already tried to thwart his policies, but I think eventually, things will settle down, and a lot of these policies will grab hold and can be used by the defense to get excellent results.
I have that background from the District Attorney's office, which is important if you want to be a complete package as a criminal defense attorney.
Research Attorney for Judge
After my stint in the DA's office in 1993, I started working for a Superior Court Judge as his research attorney, which is another precious asset that I've got on my side:
- see how judges think about cases,
- resolve cases, and
- how they do their motions.
I was basically the person the judge would talk to when formulating decisions on certain motions and issues that he would have to grapple with. So, he and I would talk about it. He really gave me a good idea of his thought process.
Then, he would tell me to draft the language that would be used if it was going to be a written response to something done by a defense attorney or a plaintiff's attorney. That was in Burbank. I did that for all of 1993.
Criminal Defense Attorney
In 1994, I decided to become a criminal defense attorney. I opened my office and started taking any trial I could to gain experience in criminal defense.
As I said when I started, I aim to become the best possible criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles and maybe California.
So, I said, how am I going to do that? What do I need to do to do that? I've worked for the DA's office, my competition, and I've worked for a judge who will make rulings on the cases; now, how do I get my feet wet in the criminal defense arena? My solution was that:
- I would take any case at any time;
- It didn't matter how serious it was;
- It didn't matter how complex it was, and
- I just started doing trials, one after another.
My prices were meager then because it was about something other than making money but about getting experience. I also really enjoyed doing criminal defense.
To me, that's what real lawyering is all about. You're in the courts negotiating cases, you're arguing motions, you're doing jury trials — that is what an honest lawyer does, not this paper-pushing around that a lot of the civil lawyers do.
So, I think that's how I was able to develop my talents very quickly. It's because I enjoyed what I was doing, and I was doing something, and I still am doing something, that I genuinely love to do.
It's a challenge. I love to strategize my cases and argue them in the courthouses throughout Los Angeles County.
Jenny Commission
At some point, I think another aspect that a lot of people don't think about is that, in addition to becoming a prosecutor, working for a judge, and then being a criminal defense attorney who has immersed themselves in the criminal defense community, politics and understanding how the system works are crucial.
So, I became a part of what's known as the Jenny Commission (JNE). What the Jenny Commission does is when the Governor of California wants to appoint a judge, they must put the person through an investigation by the State Bar of California's Jenny Commission. We would:
- investigate prospective judges;
- investigate actual judges who wanted to go on the appellate court;
- interviewing the judge;
- talking to people who knew the judge;
- digging up dirt to see if the judge had any skeletons in their closet.
It was really about getting a feel for whether or not that person was a solid candidate for a judge, and then we had to rate the person.
The rest of the stuff is secret stuff that I don't talk about, but what I just told you is all general stuff. If you look up the Jenny Commission, you'll see what they do.
At the time, it was a 38-person commission, and we often met in San Francisco to discuss the various candidates the Governor of California had put up as judges.
The political aspect is essential. If anyone runs for a judge whom I greatly respect and who would be a great judge, I will support their campaign verbally and financially.
I've done that numerous times, which is appropriate if you want to help shape the system. If you see somebody who could do an excellent job as a judge, you should definitely support that person in whatever way you can, and I've done that throughout my career, almost 30 years now.
Author of Numerous Books and Videos
So, I'm at the top of my game right now. As a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, I've got all the bells and whistles. You've got to know the political arena.
You've got to know the judges, know the prosecutors, and obviously, you've got to have mastered your craft and immersed yourself in criminal defense, and that's what I've done.
I've written several books. I've put a bunch of audio tapes out there. I think I have over 300 videos out there. So, not only am I doing things for my clients, working hard, and making money in the criminal defense community, but I'm also trying to put something back out there to educate people.
If you look at any of my websites, all of the content is my content, versus a lot of my competitors' content, which is put on by web companies.
That doesn't do much because who cares what a web company thinks? You want to solve your problems.
So, you need your information from a practicing criminal defense attorney who's been on the front lines fighting cases, and that's why I put my own content out there.
I put those videos out there to give you a feel as to what's going on, and of course, I've put the books out there on various topics. Whether it just be:
- general criminal defense,
- domestic violence,
- sex crimes,
- federal cases,
- murder.
I've also put some chalk talk videos out there. I'm just doing a little chalk talk about particular crimes.
Cross-Examination DVD Series
One of the things I'm most proud of is I put a cross-examination DVD series out there, talking about some of my highlights of cross-examination. That's crucial in criminal defense, which is having an attorney who can cross-examine a witness.
That's another point, and probably the last point I'm going to make, which I think really qualifies me as one of the top criminal defense attorneys in Los Angeles: To be successful, you can't just be a negotiator.
Unfortunately, many lawyers I know in the criminal defense can only negotiate cases and cannot try them.
They're afraid to try them, and I think you really do your client a disservice if you can't try a criminal case. Part of being a great trial attorney is seeing the issues in the case.
Also, it is essential to show the prosecutors the issues with their case, even if you're not going to go to trial. If you can see the problems and the prosecutors see that their case is not locked, that's one of the factors they look at in deciding whether or not to give you an excellent resolution.
Thousands of Criminal Cases
So, your attorney must fight and win a case. To date, I've probably done over 200 jury trials over the many years I've been practicing criminal defense:
- thousands of motions,
- thousands of preliminary hearings,
- thousands of cases.
I still enjoy what I do, though I find it challenging. I still get up every day and enjoy the practice of criminal defense.
So, if you or a loved one has found yourself on the wrong end of the criminal defense community, pick up the phone and ask for a meeting with Ron Hedding.
If you're looking to hire one of the best criminal defense attorneys, you've come to the right place. I stand ready to help you.
We serve individuals throughout Southern California, including LA County, Orange County, Anaheim, Santa Barbara County, Ventura County, Hollywood, Riverside, and San Bernardino. Contact our office for a free case evaluation at (213) 542-0979.
