When you're charged with a California sex crime and dealing with how you're going to handle the situation, it's terrifying, and you're going to want to find someone you consider one of the best sex crime defense attorneys. That's why I'm posting this article because if you don't have the best, you're not going to end up with the best result.
One of the biggest things that I believe — having done this for 30 years — is an essential factor in assessing the best is experience. Meaning, how long the person has been practicing, but also, it runs much deeper than that. How about the:
- experience in the court where your case is pending;
- experience with the judge who is going to be ruling over your case;
- experience with the prosecutor who's going to be deciding what charges are filed against you.
Prosecutors also decide what they want you to plead to and what your punishment is. So, you've got to have experience with the players in the particular court where your case is pending. And not only knowledge, but you've also gained to be able to beat them in a jury trial. That's necessary, and you've also got to be able to negotiate with them if they've got the evidence against your client.
So, experience, I would say, is number one, but look at it from the right mind frame, not just somebody who's been a lawyer for a long time — someone who has the specific experience related to your type of case and the people who are going to be involved with it. Our Los Angeles criminal defense lawyers will review this topic more below.
Likability
Also, in my opinion, you've got to have an attorney when it comes to sex crime cases, which is likable because the subject matter is not good. Hence, the judges and the prosecutors are not happy, typically, with whatever defendant is being charged with a sex crime.
So, your attorney has to be likable, has to be somebody that they can relate to, they'll listen to, and that can negotiate for you. Or, even if they're not going to arrange for you — if they're going to take the case to trial — you want the jury to like them because the jury is not going to like the charges either.
That's not easy to find, believe it or not. I've seen some of my brethren out there. There are some excellent attorneys, but there are also some idiots. When you meet them and talk to them, you'll see that they're just nasty and not easy to work with. You don't want that person as your attorney because they're going to come off the same way to the judges and the prosecutors.
So, find someone you can relate to and feel comfortable with. You want somebody tough, but you don't want somebody who will make the prosecutors and judges not like you. They already don't like you based on the charges. Let's not make it worse.
Ability to Fight and Win a Case
So, a likable attorney, someone who's got the experience, and the last point I'm going to make regarding the best attorneys in Los Angeles, you need somebody who can fight and win a case.
Even if your particular case is not fightable, it is not winnable. You're most likely going to work out a deal — your attorney has got to have the skill as far as fighting the case, and the reason why is one of the biggest things that will move prosecutors as far as giving a better deal — not putting somebody in prison, not making somebody register as a sex offender — is if they've got a problem with their case.
If they could potentially lose the case, even though they think they can win it, but if they could lose it, that's one of the factors that they consider in giving you the best deal.
Your attorney has to see the problem and put it in their face, and they have to know that the attorney will fight them. That attorney will take the case to trial. That attorney will challenge them. That attorney will beat them. Sometimes, there are problems with their case, not because of the evidence to prove it, but because they got the proof.
Maybe there was an illegal search or an illegal statement taken. Maybe there was another problem with the case that your skilled attorney with a successfully litigated case can point out and figure out on your behalf.
Common Sexual-Related Charges in California
- Penal Code 311 PC – possession of child pornography,
- Penal Code 647.6 PC – annoying or molesting a child,
- Penal Code 288 PC – lewd acts with minors,
- Penal Code 288a PC – oral copulation with a minor,
- Penal Code 290 PC – failing to register as a sex offender,
- Penal Code 314 PC – indecent exposure,
- Penal Code 647(b) PC – solicitation of prostitution,
- Penal Code 243.4 PC – sexual battery,
- Penal Code 261PC – rape,
- Penal Code 261.5 PC – statutory rape,
- Penal Code 266h and 266i PC – pimping and pandering,
- Penal Code 288.4 PC – arrange a meeting with a minor for lewd purposes,
- Penal Code 288.3 PC – contact minor to commit a felony,
- Penal Code 288.5 PC – continuous sexual abuse of a child,
- Penal Code 647(a) PC – lewd conduct in public,
- Penal Code 647(J)(4) PC – revenge porn,
- Penal Code 653.22 PC – loitering for prostitution,
- Penal Code 653.23 PC – supervising or aiding prostitution.
If you're looking for the best, you've come to the right place. I've got the experience. I've worked for the District Attorney's office. I've worked for a Superior Court Judge, and I've been defending people just like you since 1994 as a criminal defense attorney.
So, pick up the phone now. Ask for a meeting with Ron Hedding. If you want the best, you've come to the right place. The Hedding Law Firm is located in Los Angeles County, and we serve people throughout Southern California. Our firm offers a free case consultation.