If I'm Guilty of Crime in Los Angeles, Why do I Need a Criminal Defense Attorney?

I do get a lot of clients who say exactly this. I'm guilty. I did it.  I'm just gonna go in there and take my punishment and that's going to be the end of it.

What they are not taking into account is, not all punishments are created the same.  Some of the consequences in criminal cases can vary and some of them are very harsh and can create a huge problem as your trying to maneuver through your life.

So, obviously, you don't want to just accept every consequence the prosecutor and judge might want to heap on you.  In addition to that, some prosecutors and judges are very conservative and harsh, while others are much more reasonable.

Best Chance of a Favorable Outcome

If you don't have a criminal defense attorney to fight for you, you'll probably end up with the worst possible result.  Whereas, if you have a criminal attorney there, they can talk to you about:

• your past,
• your future,
• what's going on with you,
• why you were involved with the particular crime, and
• come up with a mitigation package on your behalf to present to the judge and prosecutor.

Someone like me, who's been doing this for over 30 years, is obviously going to be able to talk to you about what issues you might have with some of the punishments and also some of the ramification of the exact crime you have to plead guilty or no contest to.

Negotiate with Prosecutor for Lesser Charges

Some of these cases are filed, but a lot of times, I'm able to get lesser charges than what are originally filed and that can have a huge impact on you.

For example, if you were to be charged with a battery or domestic violence battery and your attorney was able to get you a disturbing the peace, that is a much better result.

Further, it does not impact your record as future employer's do a background check on you and they see you have a disturbing the peace charge versus a domestic violence against your wife, obviously you'd rather have the disturbing the peace.

That's just one small example of what a criminal defense attorney can do for you.  Jail and prison are other things that are possible in criminal cases and without an attorney, a lot of times you may end up with a long prison sentence.

I can't tell you how many times that client's come in and I see what they were charged with years ago and then I see what their punishment was.

Then, I look at them and say, why did you have to plead guilty to a robbery and have a violent felony on your record the rest of your life while you're in California when you were only 16 or 17 years old, nobody was hurt, you didn't use a gun?

They say, my parents didn't have any money to hire a lawyer so that's what I had to take.  No!  That's not right!  You need to hire a criminal defense attorney.  The way I look at it, do it once, if you have to do it, do it right and never do it again.

Even if you have a prior criminal record, that's even more reason to hire an attorney because the prosecutors are going to look at you in a bad light.

They're going to try to use that criminal record to justify giving you a worse punishment than the average person would get for the crime that you are accused of committing.

Seeking Best Result on Your Criminal Case

So, criminal defense attorneys are not just for innocent people.  They're also for guilty people because guilty people are not always treated the same.

If you want to get the best result, if you want to get the least ramifications — and we all do, that's just human nature — than you're going to want to get an attorney who is going to fight for you.

One who you've paid money to get you the best possible resolution for your criminal case in Los Angeles.

You've come to the right place.  Pick up the phone.  You've taken the first step.  Take the next step.  As for a meeting with Ron Hedding.

I stand at the ready to help you.  It will be my pleasure.  This is where my talents lie.  This is what I enjoy doing — helping people just like you.