Practice Areas

• Accessory After the Fact
• Arson
• Assault & Battery
• Battery on a Peace Officer
• Assault with a Firearm
• Battery
• Assault with a Deadly Weapon
• Bail Review & Reduction
• Carrying a Concealed Weapon
• Child Endangerment
• Conspiracy
• Criminal Threats
• Domestic Violence
• Driving with A Suspended License
• Drug Possession
• Marijuana Possession for Sales
• Drug Possession for Personal Use
• Drug Possession for Sale
• DUI Defense
• I've been arrested for DUI. What happens to my Driver's License?
• DUI Under 21
• The 'Rising Blood Alcohol' Defense
• Attacking the Breath Test
• The "No Driving" Defense
• I've been arrested & cited for DUI? What happens next?
• Attacking the Blood Test
• Elder Abuse
• Embezzlement
• Expungements
• Hit and Run
• Housing Violations
• Juvenile Defense
• License Defense
• Nursing License Defense
• Murder
• Police Misconduct Litigation
• Pre-Filing Investigations
• Professional & Vocational License Defense
• Prostitution
• Public Intoxication
• Sex Crimes
• Indecent Exposure
• Solicitation of Prostitution
• Rape
• Theft Charges
• Robbery
• Purse Snatching
• Burglary
• Petty Theft
• Embezzlement
• Identity Theft
• Three Strikes Law
• Vacating Convictions
• Deportable Offenses: Vacating Your Guilty Plea to Avoid Deportation
• Vandalism
• Vehicular Manslaughter
• Warrant Recall
• Weapons Charges
• Witness Intimidation

I believe I am being investigated for a crime. Can I be arrested at any time? What can I expect to happen next?

A: The feeling of imminent arrest can be terrifying. There is a little peace of mind to be had when you are looking over your shoulder, disconcerted by the blare of a police siren or the presence of a police vehicle, fearing you may be the reason for their presence. 

The first and most crucial thing for you to know is that the Fifth Amendment entitles you to the Right Against Self-Incrimination. In other words, the police cannot force you to say anything against your will that may incriminate you. With that in mind, exercise caution when questioned by a police officer about something he or she suspects you of having done.  Many people believe that by cooperating with the police, they are somehow garnering leniency or sympathy and that they will be spared for prosecution for the underlying crime of which they are suspected of having committed.  Unfortunately, this is rarely, if ever, the case.  Anything you volunteer to law enforcement about yourself can have devastating repercussions in the form of evidence that a prosecuting agency can use against you in a criminal proceeding. 

Secondly, you should be careful about with whom you discuss your case.  If you are a married and talk to your spouse, the California Evidence Code provides you with a spousal privilege so that your spouse cannot be compelled to testify against you. However, there are no guarantees that your spouse will not reveal information to the authorities, even accidentally.  There are other evidentiary privileges, such as the clergyman-penitent privilege, which prevents a clergyman from revealing your confessions about a crime.  There also exists the psychotherapist-patient privilege to guard against the revelation of discussions that occurred during a therapy session.  In spite of these evidentiary privileges, you may be doing yourself more harm than good by discussing your case with anyone but your attorney, who is under both an evidentiary and ethical duty not to reveal your discussions, even an all-out admission, about your involvement in a crime. 

Unfortunately, you can be arrested at any time provided the police have probable cause to arrest you and they do not violate your Fourth Amendment. They cannot arrest you in your home without a warrant but you can be arrested in public if the police have probable cause of your involvement in a crime.  

Our experienced and credentialed criminal defense attorneys can represent you even before a case is filed. We will gather your information and prepare for a criminal filing. If there is a warrant for your arrest and a detective has contacted you about surrendering to the local police agency, we can actually go with you to court and motion the court to terminate (known as "recall and quash") the warrant, avoiding the ignominy of an arrest.   

We invite you to watch our video regarding pre-filing investigations, which lays out how we can represent you to avoid the filing of a criminal case against you.