Having practiced in Los Angeles for 25 years, worked for the District Attorney's office, and served as a judicial assistant to a Superior Court judge, I believe I possess a fairly comprehensive understanding of the inner workings of the Los Angeles criminal defense community and the Los Angeles criminal court system.

One of the biggest things I notice is that I read other attorneys' websites, and I can tell that the attorney did not write more than 90% of the content.  So, you basically have website companies putting content on the site, providing information, and a lot of the time, the information is not accurate.

I wrote everything on my website.  It was developed over years of experience, trial and error, working within the system, and gaining a comprehensive understanding of how the criminal justice system operates.

Not All Criminal Websites Were Written By Attorneys

That's probably one of the first things you really have to be aware of: that not all websites were written by attorneys. So, the question becomes, what does a website company know about criminal defense?  How can they really give you any insight into criminal defense?  So, bear that in mind.

The reason I know this, in addition to reading some of the sites, is that I'm receiving calls from people seeking attorneys, and they're making statements to me that are not accurate.  So, I'm asking them, where are you getting that information from?  And they're getting it from reading websites.

They're also getting it from talking to people on the phone.  Often, if you're not speaking with an attorney directly and instead are interacting with an attorney's staff member who lacks knowledge on the subject.

Of course, some people work in offices, such as my office manager, who has been with me for over 20 years.  He knows what he's talking about.  He has been doing this for a long time.  He has seen the results in cases.  He has spoken to a lot of people.  He and I have coordinated and worked together.

So, when you call my office, you're going to get somebody who knows what they're talking about, who knows the system, who knows about the charges, who knows about the prosecutors and judges.

That's your first thing.  You're on the internet.  You're trying to find an attorney, and a lot of the information on the internet is not accurate.  If you start reading some of these websites, you'll find them misleading.

They're not providing you with any solid, practical information.  They're providing generalizations and simply filling in their website.  So, bear that in mind when you read some of this stuff.

Many Criminal Websites Don't Make Any Sense

Many people notice this because when they call me or come in, they often mention that they were reading something on a website, but it doesn't make any sense to them.  They're geared towards, ' Oh, yeah, we're going to get your case dismissed. '

Please wait a minute, you don't even know anything about my case.  Why don't you get all the information about my case?  That's one of the biggest aspects in criminal defense as well.  How are you going to get a case dismissed if you don't have all the information on the case?

Unfortunately, when people are scared, embarrassed, and hoping to get rid of the albatross around their neck — their criminal case — they will feed the attorney or whoever they're talking to all the information that's positive for them.

I play heck trying to get people to give me the information that might be negative to them.  In other words, what are the police and prosecutors going to say, because I need to know the other side of the equation before I can start solving the problem?

So, that's one of the biggest things — and I talk about it in my book, The Art of the Perfect Defense.  Please provide me with the information from the prosecutor's and police's points of view.  I want to hear what they're going to say against you, then we can turn around and start to dissect it, attack it, and examine some defenses in the case, look for mitigating information, and implement damage control.

Talk to a Veteran Battle-Tested Criminal Defense Lawyer

So, if you want to know the skinny about criminal defense, you have to talk to a seasoned, veteran, battle-tested criminal defense attorney.  You don't need to read a website that's been set up by a web company.  That doesn't do you any good.

All they will be able to do is generalize and provide you with the most basic information, and unfortunately, some of this information is not accurate.  Think about it.  How could it be accurate?  What does a website designer know about criminal defense?

You want to talk to someone who has been inside the courtroom and tried cases.  I've tried over 250 jury trials.  You want someone who knows how to deal with prosecutors and judges and understands what it takes to achieve a result.

As you read through my website, it's clear that I couldn't include everything here.  I'd be talking for days about all the different angles and concepts related to criminal defense.  So, if you want to obtain accurate information, in addition to reading my website, you will obviously need to come in and sit down with me.

Could you please provide me with the paperwork you have on the case?  Let's sit down and talk about it.  Let's go through it step by step.  Everything on this website and all the information it contains is foundational to criminal defense in Los Angeles.

It's a foundational step towards dealing with your case.  You want to talk about winning your case.  Of course, everybody wants to win their criminal defense case, but the question becomes, in your case, what truly is a win?

You Need a Criminal Lawyer Who Can Beat The Prosecutor

In other words, can your attorney take the case to trial?  Can your attorney beat the prosecutors and show the jury that you're innocent, because if your attorney can't do that, then obviously trying to get that sort of a win is not realistic in your case, and it doesn't make any sense, so don't even aim for that.

If they've got evidence against you that you committed the crime, then obviously, you're going to need to figure out a way to do damage control.  You're going to need to hire an attorney who can bring forth the mitigating information about you.

One who can demonstrate that your scenario is an aberration — not likely to happen again — and present all the mitigating facts, because when the police set up a criminal case, they're usually geared to highlighting every negative aspect of a particular defendant.

When the defense sets up the case, they're gearing it towards presenting the favorable aspects of a particular defendant and highlighting the other side of the story.

Unfortunately, the defense attorney doesn't get to talk to the police before they present all the information to the prosecutors, so you have a scenario where the prosecutors are only getting all of the bad stuff.

Prefiling Intervention, Plea Bargaining, Jury Trial

That's where we need to start turning the tide, and that's where we'll discuss some important topics, such as pre-filing intervention.  We're going to talk about plea bargaining.  We're going to discuss how to interact and work with the judge and prosecutor in a criminal case.  We're going to talk about a jury trial.

What if you have to take your case to a jury trial?  What if you're innocent?  God forbid you've been charged with a criminal case and you are stone-cold innocent.  What are you going to do then?  Does that mean just because you're innocent that you're going to win everything?

No, it doesn't, because the prosecutors obviously have some sort of information against you, or you wouldn't be charged with a crime. Alternatively, you may be being investigated for a crime, or the police may have some information from elsewhere.

So, why do they have that information?  Who gave it to them, and what are we going to do to try and defend your case?  That becomes the question in this important endeavor in your life.

Probably one of the most important endeavors because of all the things that are on the line.  Your freedom is on the line.  Your reputation is on the line.  Your liberty, your justice, your way of life, and your control of your life are on the line.

Retain a Seasoned Criminal Defense Lawyer

So, if you're looking for a seasoned criminal defense attorney who knows the Los Angeles criminal defense system, its processes, and how it works, you've come to the right place.  You've taken the first step and you don't even know it.

Please read one of my books that relates to your topic to establish the foundation you need.  You can easily purchase it on Amazon.  Review it.  If you're looking for somebody who knows how to cross-examine a witness because there's a crucial witness in your case that is going to have to be discredited, get my tape series on cross-examination.

You can see that I've been doing this for a long time, and I've a substantial legal background.  Here's to resolving your case as effectively as possible, considering the circumstances of your alleged offense. Here's to moving forward with your life and expediting your exit from the criminal justice system as quickly as possible.

Hedding Law Firm is a criminal defense law firm located in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, at 16000 Ventura Blvd, #1208, Encino, CA 91436. We are also located at 633 West Fifth Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071. Contact us for a free case evaluation at (213) 542-0979.