San Diego Felony Charges Lawyers | Felony Defense Attorneys CA

You are here: Home: >> Felonies:

Felonies:

A felony is a crime punishable by death or one or more years in State Prison or a Federal Penitentiary. The range of sentences usually start at 16 months and can go as long as life without the possibility of parole, and in some instances include death penalty. These are to be contrasted from misdemeanor cases in which the crime is punishable up to one year in County Jail.

Arrests must be based on probable cause, whether for a misdemeanor or felong. Although there is no simple definition of probable cause, the police must rely on what they believe to be good information.

We handle the criminal defense of State of California Superior Court and United States District Court ( Federal Crime Practice ) matters involving major and complex felony cases (both during the investigation and after formal charges have been filed).

As your San Diego Felony Defense Attorneys, at Samuel Spital & Associates, our criminal defense lawyers handle Assault, Battery, Burglary, Grand Theft, Kidnapping, Domestic Abuse, Car Jacking, Robbery, Hit and Run and other types of felonies, including:

State and Federal Crime Defense
Arson
Armed Violence
Alien smuggling Federal Crimes
Assault (Aggravated Assault and Assault with a Deadly Weapon)
Drug Charges - possession &/or sale & Federal trafficking
Battery
Burglary (residential and commercial burglary)
Car Jacking
Border Crossing Fedeeral Crimes
Escape
Grand Theft
Hit and Run
Kidnapping
Robbery
Terrorist Threats
Rape
Theft
Homicide (Murder and Manslaughter)

There are nine basic proceedings in a California State Superior Court felony case:

1. Arraignment
2. Bail Review
3. First Readiness Conference or Disposition Conference or Setting of Preliminary Hearing
4. Preliminary Hearing
5. Arraignment on the Information
6. Pretrial Readiness Conference
7. Motion Hearings
8. Judge or Jury Trial and 9. Sentencing

Arraignment:

An Arraignment is the very first court appearance you will have and it is the process by which a person is brought before the court to hear and answer the criminal charges that have been filed against a defendant. Unlike misdemeanor offenses, your personal presence is required in a felony case. The process that occurs at arraignment are the following:

1.) The defendant is advised of their constitutional rights;
2.) If the Public Defender is appointed, he or she announces their appearance on the record;
3.) The charges are read to the defendant, and a copy of the complaint is provided to counsel;
4.) At this time, the defendant enters a plea to the charges, most commonly "not guilty" until the evidence is analyzed and counsel advises the defendant of the options available to him or her;
5.) Bail is determined, which may be different than the presumptive bail amount that was previously set at the time of booking, or the defendant may be released on their own recognizance. If bail is not satisfactory, legal counsel can request a bail review hearing within 3 days of the arraignment;
6.) The judge then sets a date for the defendant's next court appearance. As discussed more in depth below, that next date may be a preliminary hearing if at least one of the charges is a felony, or a pretrial hearing if the charge if charges are misdemeanors only.

Bail:

The Bail Review Hearing often entitled the Bail Reduction Hearing is the next step in the legal process if the issue of bail was not previously satisfactorily and reasonably set at the arraignment. This is the situation when one is in custody and wants to be free to resume their work or life outside of being incarcerated. We are your San Diego Bail Reduction Attorneys. Call us 24/7.

We make a motion in court to lower the bail so that the cost to be let out of jail or "bond" is less, thereby saving our client money. Often, prospective clients look for the cheapest lawyer, but in the long run may pay more because the attorney does less. Here is an example where the attorney's fee may in the end be less because of the savings obtained in a substantially lower bail. The Managing Attorney recalls a case in which the bail was $1,000,000 (one million dollars); this required the client to post $100,000 in collateral, which he nor anyone he knew could not do (the amount you pay is usallly 10% of the bond). After representing the client at the Bail Hearing, the bail was reduced to $10,000 (ten thousand dollars), only requiring that $1000 be posted. Because the San Diego Bail Reduction Lawyers at Spital and Associates work with various bail companies, they will give the client a discount of 20%, meaning that in the previoous example, the client only had to pay $800 (see below). While an attorney cannot use past performance as a prediction on future results, it is obvious that the old saying "you get what you pay for" is no different in hiring an attorney. Pay a reasonable fee and get a quality and experienced lawyer. Choose a low-priced attorney and months later look back and ask yourself did you save anything, or did it actually cost you more! Worse yet is the fact many attorneys that offer cut rate fees handle cases in volume and personal service is not likely or possible.

Bail allows you to be released from jail , unless you receive an O.R. (release on your own recognizance (payment is waived on condition you promise to appear in court). In general, defendants who are released on "O.R. status" have strong ties to the community, making them unlikely to flee. Factors that may convince a judge to grant an O.R. release include the following:

You have little or no past criminal record, or any previous criminal problems you had were minor and occurred many years earlier.
You have other family members (most likely parents, a spouse or children) living in the community.
You have resided in the community for many years.
You have a job.
You have been charged with previous crimes, but have always appeared as required (in other words, there have been no prior arrest warrants or "failures to appear").

You may either pay the bail amount with a cashier's check, credit card, or cash equivalent (real estate). In the alternative, you can use a bail bondsman who works with a surety company to provide a bond (insurance) to the court that will guarantee you will make your future court appearances. If you appear in court at the proper time, the court refunds the bail (be sure to discuss the details with your bailbondsman). But if you do not show up, the court keeps the bail and issues a warrant for your arrest. We handle many cases involving arrest warrants and clients retain our services to go to court to have the warrant recalled, discharged or released.

Under the California Penal Code, the bail amount must be stated in a court order or on the arrest warrant. There are published or standard bail schedules for most jails for each alleged violation. You can usually buy a bail bond for between 8% - 10% of the amount of your bail; this premium is the bond seller's fee for taking the risk you do not appear in court. A bail bond may cost you more in the long run. If you pay the full amount of the bail with cash or the equivalent, you will get that money back (less a small administrative fee) as long as you make your scheduled court appearances. On the other hand, the 8%-10% premium you pay to a bailbondsman is not refundable. In addition, some bailbondsmen may also require "collateral." This means you (or the person who pays for your bail bond) must give the bailbondsman a financial interest in some of your valuable property. The most common form of collateral is real estate for the full amount of the bond. Other forms of collateral can be an automobile, boat, motorcycle, bank account, stock certificates, etc. The bailbondsman can cash-in this interest if you fail to appear in court.

At Spital and Associates, we represent clients at bail hearings, seeking releases without posting bail (O.R.) &/or we will file a written motion and go to court to obtain a bail reduction consistent with our client's ability to pay, likelihood of appearances at court hearings and the alleged crime. In federal court, a person taken to jail must be brought "without unnecessary delay before the nearest available . . . magistrate." In state court proceedings, you can be brought to court for a bail hearing within 48 hours (not counting weekends and holidays) of the time of your booking.

There are restrictions on how high bail can be set. The Eighth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution requires that bail not be excessive. This means bail should not be used to raise money for the government or to punish a person for being "suspected" of committing a crime. The purpose of bail is to give an arrested person their freedom until convicted of a crime, and the amount of bail must be no more than is reasonably necessary to keep a person from fleeing before their case is over. Some judges allow and/or set a high bail in particular types of cases (such as those involving drug sales or rape) to keep a suspect in jail until the trial is over. This is often referred to as bail set for "preventative detention," it is thought by some to violate the Constitution, even though this practice has continued in many courts.

Readiness Conference:

Next, is the Readiness Conference, preliminary hearing setting or settlement conference. This is generally the first opportunity to obtain discovery (police report &/or other investigation performed by law enforcement). This proceeding may need to be continued so that legal counsel can better evaluate the case and potentially negotiate with the prosecution to resolve the case. One of the mitigants in the sentencing process that works favorably in reducing punishment for defendants is when the defendant enters into a plea bargain before the next step, the Preliminary Hearing.

Preliminary Hearing:

After the readiness conference if the matter is not resolved, the next court appearance is the Preliminary Hearing . If you are charged with a felony, you are entitled to a preliminary hearing within 10 court days of the arraignment, unless this time is waived (There is no preliminary hearing in misdemeanor cases). Because felonies are more serious, the law requires the preliminary hearing in order to assure the court the case is in fact sufficiently strong and/or meritorious. The prosecuting attorney is required to show there is a strong suspicion a crime has been committed and this defendant is the one who is probably guilty.

The standard of proof or evidence is relatively minimal and clearly far less than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" evidentiary standard for a criminal trial. In other words, the case can proceed to trial with evidence that would otherwise be insufficient to sustain a conviction at trial. The preliminary hearing is generally relatively short, often one or more hours unless it is a complex case (e.g. embezzlement) that can take much longer, perhaps several days. If the prosecution attorney makes the required evidentiary showing at the preliminary hearing, the defendant is said to be "held to answer," which means they must proceed to a trial on the charges. Occasionally, the court does not believe the evidence is sufficient and the judge will dismiss some or all of the charges. If all of the charges are dismissed, the defendant is discharged and, if he or she is in custody, they will be immediately released. However, the prosecutor may re-file the charges, in which case the defendant will be re-arrested and a new preliminary hearing will be scheduled. If the charges are dismissed a second time, the prosecution attorney may not (absent a few exceptions) re-file the charges a third time. If only some charges are dismissed, however, the defendant will be prosecuted ("held to answer") on the remaining charges.

In some cases, a criminal charge can be filed as either a felony or a misdemeanor. Also, the court may reduce a felony to a misdemeanor at the conclusion of the preliminary hearing. In that situation, the case then proceeds as a misdemeanor.

After the preliminary hearing, if the felony charges are not dropped, the defendant will be arraigned in Superior Court and the next settlement conference date is set along with the trial date. Often, this is the time to file motions, and in some cases legal counsel will demand additional discovery. Once the preliminary hearing is concluded and the defendant is held to answer to a felony charge, the prosecution attorney files an "Information," which contains the charges. The next step is an arraignment on the information, which is 15 court days after being held to answer.

Arraignment on Information:

At the Arraignment on the Information , the same procedures set forth above that occurred at the first arraignment occur again. At this time, however, the Court sets a pretrial hearing, and also schedules the trial date. Unless the defendant requests or agrees to a longer time, the trial must commence within 60 days of the arraignment on the Information. At this time, the prosecution attorney may offer the defendant a "plea bargain" to resolve the case without a trial. If the defendant accepts the "deal," then a guilty plea is entered and the matter is set for a Probation and Sentencing Hearing; this court proceeding is generally 2 to 4 weeks later to allow the Probation Department to produce its probation and sentencing report with their recommendation for the sentence.

The next court appearance is the second Pretrial Readiness Conference at which time legal counsel will determine if a satisfactory settlement can be achieved. If the case is not resolved at the pretrial hearing, the court may set additional pretrial hearings. At this time, the prosecution attorney and legal counsel also discuss any issues relating to their readiness for trial, such as the availability of witnesses. If the case is not settled at this time, the case will likely go to trial.

After the preliminary hearing, there is an opportunity for Motion Hearings in which legal counsel may challenge the sufficiency &/or legality of the evidence. By filing a motion pursuant to Penal Code section 995, defense counsel can attack the sufficiency of the evidence and the trial judge will review the transcript of the preliminary hearing. If the Court sustains the earlier decision, the judge will deny the motion, and the case proceeds to trial. On the other hand, if the Court determines sufficient evidence was absent, the motion is granted and the Information or a part of it is dismissed. Legal counsel may also file a motion to suppress the evidence pursuant to Penal Code section 1538.5. In this motion, the defense will argue the defendant was stopped, arrested or searched in violation of their constitutional rights (e.g. the law enforcement officer did not have a warrant and otherwise lacked probable cause for the stop, arrest or search).

Trial:

The Judge or Jury Trial is the next proceeding. Defendants must be brought to trial within a specified time period. For felony cases, legal counsel generally consents or agrees to the trial date being extended, albeit the required time period is within 60 days of the Arraignment on the Information. For misdemeanors, unless defense counsel consents or agrees to a later date, the trial must be held within 30 days of arraignment on the complaint (when the defendant is in custody), and within 45 days from the arraignment (when the defendant is out of custody). Call your San Diego Criminal Defense Trial Attorneys 24/7.

The following are the basic parts to a jury trial: voir dire (questioning of the jury panel) and selection, opening statements, the presentation of evidence (divided into the prosecution's case, the defense case, and then the prosecution has an opportunity for a rebuttal), the closing arguments, the jury verdict and finally the sentencing.

On the date that is set for the trial, the judge will hold a conference with the attorneys. At this conference, the parties will present (a) brief outline of the nature of the case; (b) identify witnesses; (c) the prosecution's theory of liability and the defense theories; and (d) how jury selection shall begin. Occasionally both parties will waive a jury, in which case the judge will determine whether the defendant is guilty or not. Otherwise, a jury must be selected to make that determination.

Jury selection begins when the court clerk calls the jury assembly room to have a panel of prospective jurors sent to the courtroom. In a typical criminal case, the panel is composed of 30 to 35 prospective jurors. Prospective jurors are obtained from the property tax rolls, department of motor vehicle driver rolls, and the registered voter rolls. Persons summoned receive a court order to appear for jury duty, unless disqualified or excused. Everyone is eligible to be a trial juror, except non-residents of California, non-residents of the county, non-citizens, minors (under age 18), convicted felons, persons who do not possess a sufficient knowledge of English, persons already serving as a trial grand juror, and persons who are the subject of a conservatorship.

Once the panel of prospective jurors are brought into the courtroom, they are seated, welcomed by the judge and then administered an oath to truthfully answer all of the questions concerning their qualifications to be a juror. The initial group is composed of 18 prospective jurors: twelve in the jury box and six seated in front of the box. Once the first group of prospective jurors are seated, the judge gives a brief introduction to the case by introducing the attorneys, the court staff, the defendant and the witnesses; then, the judge explains the charges, the burden of proof and how voir dire will proceed. The judge then orally examines each juror individually in open court on the record. Once that is completed, the judge allows the attorneys to examine the prospective jurors.

After this process is completed, the attorneys approach the judge; this is the area called "side bar," and the conference takes place outside the hearing of the prospective jurors. There, the attorneys offer any challenges "for cause" to any of the prospective jurors. A challenge "for cause" means the juror does not meet the qualifications to serve as a juror because (s)he has a bias against the defendant, has pre-judged the case, has a bias for or against law enforcement officers, lives in another country, or other grounds for believing the juror cannot be fair and impartial. After the challengers are made, the judge will issue a ruling. If granted, the prospective juror is excused. Then, the judge and the attorneys return to open court and the parties begin to exercise peremptory challenges. In most criminal cases, each side has 10 peremptory challenges (in death penalty and life imprisonment cases, each side has 20). Once both sides are either out of peremptory challenges or accept the 12 prospective jurors, the 12 jurors are sworn in. The judge and attorneys also select one to four alternate jurors (in complex trials, there may be more than four alternate jurors), who will also be seated and hear the evidence, but they will not participate in deliberations unless one of the 12 regular jurors is excused from the panel.

When all of the introductions are made, the prosecution begins its "case-in-chief," with the prosecutor calling his/her witnesses. Percipient witnesses are those witnesses who saw, heard or experienced the facts that are relevant to the defendant's guilt or innocence. A typical example is the victim or eyewitness to the crime. Expert witnesses testify about subjects that are considered technical or scientific, but can also testify on any subject that is not within the common experience of most individuals, but are qualified by their education, training or experience. The witnesses are first questioned by the prosecution attorney. Defense counsel can object to any question (s)he believes is not allowed by the rules of evidence. The prosecutor gets a second time to examine witnesses, but the examination is limited to the scope of the cross-examination by defense counsel. This second examination of the witness is called "re-direct" examination. This During the case-in-chief, the prosecution attorney may also introduce exhibits. Exhibits are tangible things such as the results of a lab test of blood for the presence of drugs or alcohol, a lab test on a illegal substance in defendant's possession to establish illegal narcotics, or a gun or other object.

After the prosecution attorney completes the presentation of its evidence, it rests. At this point, defense counsel may make a motion for a judgment of acquittal pursuant to Penal Code section 118. In bringing this motion, the defendant is claiming the evidence before the court at that time is insufficient as to one or more counts. If granted, the particular charge is dismissed. If the motion is denied, the defense phase of the case begins.

It is a basic premise in the law that a defendant does not have to prove his/her innocence. In fact, the defendant does not have to testify at all, does not have to say anything, do anything or prove anything. The burden of proving the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is the role of the prosecution attorney. At this time, the defense may present their witnesses and exhibits, with the prosecution attorney being able to object and cross-examine. In limited situations, the defendant may decide to waive his/her constitutional right to remain silent and testify, subject to cross-examination by the prosecution attorney. In some cases, the defense will rest without presenting any evidence. This usually takes place when defense counsel believes the prosecution attorney has not proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

If the defense puts on evidence, the prosecution attorney may then offer rebuttal evidence. Once both sides have rested, the judge will instruct the jury on the applicable law by reading jury instructions; these are standardized instructions and include such topics as how to evaluate the evidence, the elements of each charge that has to be proved, the standard of proof required, and some guidelines on how the jury should conduct its deliberations.

Finally, each side begins their closing argument, where they state what they believe the evidence shows and what inferences the jury must draw from the evidence. The prosecution attorney is allowed two arguments (opening and rebuttal argument). Defense counsel only gets to argue once, but in rare cases (s)he may waive this argument and, therefore, the prosecution attorney is not allowed rebuttal. When all arguments have been completed, the case is submitted to the jury for a verdict. The jury is required to decide the case based only on the evidence presented at trial, reasonable inferences drawn from the evidence and the applicable law. The jury is not allowed to conduct a further investigation, or consult other sources or persons. To insure there are no outside influences, the jury is brought to a private room to conduct their deliberations. First, they select a foreperson, who then leads the discussion. Any member of the jury may be the foreperson. Then, the jury decides the charges, one at a time. Once deliberations are completed, if the jury has reached a unanimous verdict one way or the other on each charge, the foreperson advises the bailiff and is conducted back into court.

Once back in court, the judge has the clerk read the verdict(s). If there is a guilty verdict to some or all of the charges, defense counsel usually asks that the jurors be polled individually. If polled, the clerk asks each juror, by juror number "Juror No.1, is that your verdict?" and the juror answers "yes" or "no." If there is a not guilty verdict as to all of the charges, the jury is not usually polled. Occasionally, the jury cannot reach a unanimous verdict on some or all of the charges. In this situation, the jury is deadlocked or this is called a hung jury. When the foreperson advises the judge that the jury cannot agree on a verdict, the judge may inquire of each juror whether any further deliberations or if additional instructions would be helpful, would be helpful. If the foreperson indicates which charge the jurors cannot agree upon, the judge may even allow the attorneys to reopen their closing argument and reargue as to a particular charge. If the jury still cannot unanimously agree upon a verdict, the judge will declare a "mistrial," and then discharge the jury. The judge has the discretion to reset the case for a new trial or dismiss the charges.

Sentencing:

At this time, the Sentencing portion of the case begins. The Court can either pronounce the sentence immediately, or as is more often the case, the time for sentencing is then scheduled. If out of custody, the judge may remand the defendant into custody, pending the sentencing hearing. If this is a death penalty case, the sentencing is called the penalty phase. This is where the prosecution attorney presents evidence as to why the defendant should receive the death penalty. Defense counsel presents mitigating evidence as to why his/her client should not be sentenced to death. The jury then decides if the sentence should be death or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. We are your San Diego Criminal Sentencing Lawyers.

Most crimes are punishable by a specified term in the County Jail or State Prison . Sentencing for misdemeanors are punishable by a fine &/or a term of incarceration in the County Jail. For most misdemeanors, the term is up to 12 months in jail and fines that range to $1,000.00 or more. For some misdemeanors, there is a minimum jail term, such as 48 hours for a second driving under the influence offense in ten years. In most misdemeanor cases, the defendant is placed on summary or court probation (informal). This means the court suspends imposition of the sentence and instead conditionally releases the defendant upon specified terms and conditions. During the term of probation, the judge may require the defendant to report back to court periodically for a progress report. In this situation if the defendant completes all of the conditions of probation, at the end of probation there will be no statutory sentence imposed. If defendant fails to complete the conditions of probation, then the judge may terminate probation and impose a sentence of jail up to the maximum allowed by law.

For some felonies, the defendant may be granted a term of formal probation, where the defendant is supervised by the county probation department . The defendant is often assigned to a specific Deputy Probation Officer, to whom the defendant is usually required to report monthly. The probation officer is responsible for supervising the defendant and reporting to the Court any violation of the conditions of probation established by the Court. For a number of offenses, such as the most serious and violent felonies (such as when a gun is used), probation is not allowed and the judge's only choice is to sentence the defendant to a specified term in State Parison. In California, we have the Determinate Sentencing Law ("DSL"), in which each felony has three specific terms for the sentence: a low term, mid term and a high term. For example, first degree robbery is punishable by a low term of 3 years in State Prison, a mid term of 4 years, and a high term of 6 years. The presumptive sentence is the mid term unless there are aggravating or mitigating factors, which would justify either the high or low term.

In addition to the term applicable for the specific crime, there often are sentencing "enhancements," when one has a prior conviction, or there is great bodily injury, or the defendant used a gun.

Once sentence is pronounced, the defendant is remanded to the Sheriff for custody in the County Jail or with an order to deliver the defendantto the California Department of Corrections ("CDC"). The CDC is empowered to decide which State Prison and under what conditions the defendant will be housed.

In cases where the punishment is death, there is an automatic appeal to the California Supreme Court . In all other cases, if the defendant believes the court committed an error of law, (s)he must file an appeal and the case will then be heard in the Court of Appeal. However, the Court of Appeal normally does not retry the case or re-decide the facts. Instead, it determines whether the law was applied correctly by the trial court.

THE "3 STRIKES" CASE

Under California law, there are mandatory state prison sentences if you have two prior convictions that are "serious or violent felony" offenses, which means you are not eligible for probation. Hence, you face the possibility of "25 years-to-life" in prison on the conviction of any third felony offense . The third felony does not have to be a serious felony to qualify as the "third strike." A prior juvenile conviction can be used as one or more of your strikes. As your San Diego Three Strikes Defense Attorneys, we will argue one or more of your prior strikes should not be considered. We make what is commonly referred to as a "Romero Motion" to strike one or two of the previous strikes.

Thus, if a defendant has a prior conviction for residential burglary (a serious felony), and a prior conviction for robbery (a violent felony), and the defendant is then convicted of another felony offense, the mandatory minimum punishment is 25 years to life, absent other major &/or complex issues raised by experienced legal counsel. This is in sharp contrast to a defendant with only one (1) prior serious or violent felony, wherein the punishment for the third felony would depend upon that which is specified by the DSL

Under the existing law (the present Los Angeles County District Attorney has come out in favor of "relaxing" the current 3-strikes law and there are others also continuing to push for such new legislation), convictions such as residential burglary, robbery, armed and other violent offenses, serious criminal threats and certain cruel &/or serious assault and battery charges, and other cases in a defendant's criminal past can result in potential 25 years to life sentences for "any" subsequent felony conviction.

All “strike” convictions have severe consequences: they require among other things, the potential for future life sentence enhancements even on a first conviction of a serious or violent felony, a presumptive prison sentence and reduction in credits for incarceration in state prison (a defendant usually is entitled for good behavior to credit of 50% in state prison, but in cases involving a third strike, the credit is not more than 15%).

If you have a prior serious felony and then you are charged with another felony (e.g. grand theft, forgery, etc.), the court can double the base term. Hence, in the case of a felony that has 6 years as the high term (see above discussion about DSL and low, middle and high term), the judge will double the sentence to 12 years!

THE "ONE STRIKE" CASE

Certain offenses can be punished by "life in prison" even though you have no prior convictions. Many sex crimes and crimes involving the use of firearms are punished by "life in prison" on the first offense.

On the "first"strike conviction, the defendant is generally sentenced to state prison (this will depend upon a number of factors, legal arguments and defenses raised by legal counsel) and the mandatory minimum is double for the "second" strike . The "third" strike can be anything from writing a bad check, a felony drug offense, or even a petty theft with a prior. The "third" strike does not have to be a serious or violent felony; any felony charge could give that defendant a life sentence in California.

GRAND THEFT vs. PETTY THEFT

Grand theft is defined as the taking of another's property without their consent &/or against their will with the intent to permanently deprive them of the property. If you are investigated, charged with &/or been convicted of grand theft, you want an experienced criminal law attorney to represent you at all stages of the case, from the first encounter with law enforcement to the appeal of a conviction if you did not have effective counsel handling your trial. To be deemed "grand theft," the value of the property that was taken must exceed a certain dollar amount. Depending upon the jurisdiction, the value of the property stolen may vary; in California, the theft of property over $400 is grand theft. It is noteworthy that property in this context includes money, labor, real property &/or personal property that lawfully belongs to another individual or group.

When the value of the property is less than $400, the crime is deemed "petty theft." In most cases, grand theft is a felony, while petty theft is a misdemeanor. Petty theft is punishable by up to one year in the County Jail and a maximum fine.Grand theft can be punished by a term in State Prison as opposed to Probation.Obviously, it is critical to have a qualified and highly experienced criminal attorney in either case as the outcome can have serious consequences. Moreover, one may now or later have a professional license that can be affected by a conviction. We not only focus our practice on criminal law, but also professional licensing; hence, we bring to the table the knowledge of sentencing practices that can impact one's life at the present time as well as their current or future career.

Common Examples of Grand Theft

There are many situations that lead to a charge of grand theft. They include:

Shoplifting - defined as taking property, goods, or services from a place of business - can be considered grand theft if the value of the stolen goods exceeds $400.
Vehicle theft is also considered grand theft as the value of most motor vehicles exceeds $400.
Credit Card Fraud, Identity Theft and Internet Fraud are considered "white collar crimes" and may also be charged as grand theft.

The taking of a firearm is considered grand theft and may be punished by more severe penalties than the theft of other property of a similar value. The penalty for grand theft of a firearm is harsh due to the type of property stolen rather than the value of the property.

If you would like a free consultation with a qualified and experienced theft attorney who can help you understand your legal rights and various options, call SAM SPITAL& ASSOCIATES, 24/7 at 619.583.0350.

______________________________________________________

Why jurors vote for manslaughter rather than murder.

______________________________________________________

It is not uncommon for defense counsel to ask jurors to vote for manslaughter rather than murder by focusing on the defendant's emotions that took over the defendant's reason at the time of a homicide. In other words, a jury characterizes the defendant's emotions as a mitigating circumstance to reduce a murder charge to a verdict of manslaughter, focusing on the following factors:

(1) Defendant's history of violence with the victim . A defendant having a history of frequent and intense arguments and/or violence with the victim is more likely to be convicted of murder. Unexpected events, however, increase chances of a manslaughter verdict.

(2) When defendant's actions are perceived as unintentional. Intentional actions are more likely to result in murder convictions. Defendants who pull out a gun they always carry without thinking about the situation are more likely to be convicted of manslaughter.

(3) Defendant's particular emotion . Among jealousy, anger, sadness and fear, a defendant who was motivated by jealousy has the greatest likelihood of a murder conviction, and a defendant feeling fear the least; anger is slightly more likely to result in a murder conviction than sadness.(4) When defendant dwells on or purposely reflects on his or her emotions . Defendants dwelling on their emotions and allowing them to intensify are more likely to receive a murder conviction. When defendants become overwhelmed and "just snap," or when they did not intend to feel as they did, they are more likely to be convicted of manslaughter.For jurors, no prior history of violence, not thinking, and being overcome with fear point to manslaughter, and a prior history of violence, feeling jealous, and dwelling on that feeling point to murder.

______________________________________

Defendants who show emotion during a trial

are less likely to be convicted.

_______________________________________________________

Research studies report that defendants who are cold and unemotional are convicted more often and punished more severely. In other words, the amount of emotion displayed by a defendant influenced conviction rates. A defendant displaying a high level of emotion are judged less guilty and more believable (assuming the evidence against the defendant was not strong). When the evidence was compelling and beyond a reasonable doubt, even in the situation where the defendant displayed a high level of emotion, there was little or no effect on the conviction rate. When the evidence is weak, a stronger display of emotion by a defendant results in the defendant being perceived as more honest, there are likely to be fewer guilty verdicts, and shorter rather than longer sentences. When a defendant appears bored &/or emotionally uninvolved, jurors are more likely to impose a death sentence. When a defendant appears sincere and remorseful, jurors either favored a life sentence or were undecided about punishment. In summary, jurors find unemotional defendants guilty more often, and punish them more severely.

If you or a family member or friend is investigated, arrested or charged with any misdemeanor or felony, whether Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Battery, Burglary, Grand Theft, Kidnapping, Car Jacking, Rape, Robbery or Murder, or Hit and Run, contact us so we can be your San Diego Criminal Defense Attorneys NOW at 619-583-0350 or send an e-mail now so that we can help.

Samuel Spital & Associates
8880 Rio San Diego Drive
Suite 800
San Diego, Ca. 92108-1642
Telephone: 619-583-0350
E-mail

Banker's Hill Associate's Office
Of Counsel - Russell Babcock, Esq.
1901 First Avenue, Suite 138
San Diego, Ca. 92101

Downtown Associate's Office
Of Counsel - Bill O'Connell, Esq.
110 West C Street, Suite 1300
San Diego, Ca. 92101-3978

Contact Our San Diego Felony Defense Lawyers Now

Call San Diego Felony Attorneys 24/7

Get a San Diego Federal & State Trial Attorney Today

San Diego Assault & Battery Attorneys

Top San Diego Theft Defense Lawyers

We want to be your San Diego Burglary Attorneys

Contact Our San Diego Felony Defense Lawyers Now!