How a criminal case actually works.
Being arrested and being charged are two different events, and the gap between them is where most of the useful work happens. The police make the arrest and write a report. The district attorney then decides, separately and afterwards, what to file, whether to file it as a misdemeanour or a felony, and whether to file anything at all.
That decision is not automatic and it is not final. Charges get added, reduced, restructured and declined all the time, and the period before filing is the one point where the prosecution has not yet committed to a position in public. It is also the period during which most people are waiting for a letter.
After filing, a case moves through arraignment, where the charges are read and a plea entered; then through the pre-trial period, where the evidence is exchanged and tested; then to resolution or trial. Felony cases add a preliminary hearing, which is the first point at which the prosecution has to show its evidence rather than describe it. Which court you are in depends on where the arrest happened, not on where you live.
Charges I defend.
I defend the full range of criminal charges in California. Each category below has its own page with the specific offences, the exposure and the defences that apply.
Misdemeanour and wobbler charges
- Driving under the influence (Vehicle Code 23152). The most commonly filed criminal charge in California, and the only one that starts a second case at the DMV on the same day.
- Theft and property offences (Penal Code 484 and 487). Petty theft, grand theft, shoplifting and receiving stolen property, most of which can be charged either way.
- Simple assault and battery (Penal Code 240 and 242). Neither requires a serious injury, and assault does not require contact at all.
- Drug possession (Health and Safety Code 11350 and 11377). Frequently eligible for diversion, which resolves the case without a conviction where it applies.
- Domestic battery (Penal Code 243(e)(1)). Charged where the parties are in a listed relationship, and carrying consequences a simple battery does not.
Felony charges
- Serious and violent felonies (Penal Code 245 and 211). Assault with a deadly weapon, robbery and the rest of the strike list.
- Homicide offences (Penal Code 187 and 192). Murder, manslaughter and vehicular manslaughter, where the degree charged is usually the real question.
- Sex offences (Penal Code 261 and 288). Carrying registration consequences that operate independently of the sentence.
- Burglary (Penal Code 459). Requires an intent formed before entry, which is proved by inference and is frequently the weakest part of the case. Amended in 2025.
- Weapons offences (Penal Code 25400 and 29800). Carrying, possession by a prohibited person, and the enhancements that attach to a firearm allegation.
- Fraud and financial crime (Penal Code 470 and 532). Forgery, false pretences and embezzlement, usually built from documents rather than from witnesses.
Charges with consequences beyond the sentence
Some convictions carry a consequence that outlasts the sentence entirely. These are the ones where what a charge is resolved to matters more than the sentence attached to it.
- Licence and DMV consequences (Vehicle Code 13353.2). An administrative case that runs alongside the criminal one, on a ten-day clock, and reaches its own conclusion.
- Sex offender registration (Penal Code 290). A tiered obligation attached to the conviction rather than to the sentence. Amended in 2024.
- Strike consequences (Penal Code 1192.7(c)). A serious or violent felony is counted for the rest of your life and lengthens the exposure on any later case.
- Juvenile proceedings (Welfare and Institutions Code 602). A separate system with different terminology, different judges and a different purpose.
- Record relief after the case (Penal Code 1203.4). Dismissal, reduction and sealing, which are the remedies available once a case is over.
Enhancements and sentencing exposure
Enhancements are charged separately from the offence and can carry more exposure than the count they attach to.
- Great bodily injury enhancement (Penal Code 12022.7). Adds consecutive time and can convert an offence into a strike.
- Firearm enhancements (Penal Code 12022.53). Exposure that can exceed the underlying count it attaches to.
- Prior conviction enhancements (Penal Code 667.5). Adds time based on the record rather than on the current offence.
- Reduction of a felony to a misdemeanour (Penal Code 17(b)). Available on wobblers, and often the single most valuable thing achieved in a case. Amended in 2024.
If what you were arrested for is not listed, or you are not sure what you have been charged with, call me and I will read the paperwork with you. Charging documents are written for the court rather than for the person holding them, and working out what you are actually facing is the first useful thing that happens.
What a conviction can cost.
What a conviction costs depends far more on what it is for than on the sentence attached to it.
- Custody. County jail or state prison, driven by the offence, the record, and whether an enhancement is charged alongside it.
- Probation. Conditions that can last years, including search terms, programme requirements and reporting obligations.
- A permanent record. Public and searchable, appearing in background checks long after the sentence has ended.
- Professional licensing. Boards reach their own conclusions on their own timelines, independently of the court.
- Immigration. Some convictions carry consequences far more severe than the sentence. This needs looking at before a plea, not after one.
- Firearm rights. A felony conviction carries a lifetime prohibition, and several misdemeanours carry one for a period of years.
- Housing and employment. The practical consequence most people feel longest, and the one least discussed in court.
Which of these apply to you is a question about your case rather than about criminal law in general. That is a conversation, not a webpage.
Why the early stage matters most.
What gets filed is not what gets proved
Charges are filed at the top of what the report will support, and the report is written by one side, early, from accounts given by people who were upset. That is a starting position. Whether each count is actually supported is a separate question, and it is one nobody asks unless someone asks it.
The evidence has a shelf life
Bodycam and surveillance footage, dispatch recordings and phone records all sit somewhere with a retention schedule attached. Some of it is overwritten in weeks. Asking for it early is a different exercise from asking for it late.
Most cases are decided before trial
The great majority of criminal cases resolve without a trial, which means the outcome is usually determined by what the file looks like when the negotiation happens. Building that file is the work. Waiting for a trial that will not happen is not a strategy.
What experience actually changes
It is knowing which counts tend to be overfiled, which enhancements are commonly charged and less commonly proved, how a particular county's district attorney handles a particular kind of case, and when a reduction is genuinely available. I have been doing this since 1999.
Whether hiring an attorney is worth it depends on what you are facing. On a first misdemeanour with no record and no injury, there are people who reasonably decide to handle it themselves. Where there is a felony, a strike, an enhancement, an immigration question, or a professional licence in play, the consequences compound in ways that are very difficult to undo afterwards. Call me and I will tell you honestly which situation you are in, and what representation would cost.
How I defend criminal cases.
- Case assessment — reading what has actually been filed, which is often not what people have been told they are facing.
- Investigation — the reports, the footage, the recordings, and the accounts given before anyone had time to settle on a version.
- Testing the case — whether the stop was lawful, whether the search was valid, whether each element is supported, and whether the constitutional issues have been raised.
- Negotiation — with the deputy district attorney assigned to your case, once there is something in hand worth negotiating with.
- Trial readiness — where the offer does not reflect what the file will support.
- Personal attention — you work with us directly.
I have been licensed to practise in California since 1999, State Bar number 203402, and I defend criminal cases across nine Northern California counties from offices in Sacramento and Roseville. When you call, I will read what you have, tell you what stage your case is at, and tell you what happens next.
Where I handle criminal cases.
I appear in the criminal courts of all nine counties below. The court that hears your case is set by where the arrest happened, not by where you live.
Sacramento County Placer County Yolo County El Dorado County San Joaquin County Butte County Yuba County Solano County Sutter County
Where a city has enough demand for this charge to warrant its own page, I have written one:
Questions I hear most.
What is the difference between being arrested and being charged?
An arrest is made by police. A charge is filed afterwards by the district attorney, who reviews the report and decides independently what to file, whether to file it as a misdemeanour or a felony, and whether to file at all. People are released without charges regularly, and charges are also filed weeks after an arrest. The period in between is the one point where the prosecution has not committed to a position.
Do I need a lawyer before my first court date?
The first court date is the arraignment, where the charges are read and a plea is entered. By then the filing decision has been made. Anything that could have influenced what was filed had to happen before it, which is why the call is more useful early than on the morning of court. What the arraignment involves varies by county — see Sacramento County and Placer County.
What is a wobbler?
An offence that can be charged as either a felony or a misdemeanour. A great many California offences are wobblers, including most theft, many assaults and a number of drug offences. Which way it is charged, and whether it can later be reduced under Penal Code 17(b), is frequently the most consequential thing in the case. See theft and property crimes.
Why does it matter which county I was arrested in?
Because the court, the district attorney's office and the local practice all change with it, while the law does not. Filing tendencies, diversion availability and how a calendar runs differ between counties, and the case is heard where the arrest happened rather than where you live. That is what the county pages cover.
Can a case be resolved without a conviction?
Sometimes. Diversion, deferred entry of judgment and dismissal all exist, and eligibility is narrow and specific rather than general. Whether any of them applies depends on the charge, the record and the county. It is one of the first things worth checking, because eligibility is often lost by waiting rather than by being refused.
What is the difference between a public defender and a private attorney?
Public defenders are experienced criminal lawyers, and appointment depends on financial eligibility. The practical differences are caseload and continuity rather than skill. There is a longer answer in public defender versus private attorney.
What does a criminal defence lawyer cost?
It depends on the charge, the county, whether it is a misdemeanour or a felony, and whether the case is likely to resolve or be tried. Call and I will tell you what representation in your situation would cost before you commit to anything. For the general picture, see what a criminal defence lawyer costs in California.
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