Successful Criminal Defense Strategies in California

Successful Criminal Defense Strategies

Facing a criminal charge in California can be a daunting experience, often leaving you with many questions and uncertainties. However, understanding that being charged is not the same as being found guilty can provide a sense of relief and empowerment.

The prosecution must prove every aspect of their case beyond a reasonable doubt, and a skilled criminal defense attorney can utilize numerous defense strategies to combat these charges. Knowing these strategies can empower you and make you feel more in control of your situation.

Many possible defenses to crimes depend on the type of charges, while others are specific to one criminal offense.

In California, the Penal Code contains thousands of pages of statutes covering different forms of criminal activity. From murder to petty theft, there are too many potential crimes to count.

What's important to remember is that each of these offenses shares a common thread: under the right circumstances, a defendant can potentially beat a criminal charge. This possibility should not be overlooked.

Understanding that winning your criminal case in Los Angeles always starts with developing a strong defense. A "criminal defense" is the legal theory that a defendant and their attorney build their case around.

Many potential defenses depend on the charges you face; some could apply to any charge, while others are specific to one criminal offense.

Numerous possible defense strategies exist, including accidents, alibi, coerced confessions, double jeopardy, duress, entrapment, false accusations, wrongful arrest, lack of probable cause, mistaken identity, mistake of fact, police misconduct, self-defense, defense of others, and more.

Let's look at the most common strategies that our California criminal defense attorneys have found to be consistently successful in procuring an acquittal, dismissing or reducing charges, or minimizing penalties.

Challenging the Elements of the Crime

Every crime has specific legal elements that the prosecution must prove for a conviction. If even one element is left unproven, the case cannot stand. A meticulous review of the evidence and arguments allows the defense to challenge these elements.

Remember, your attorney doesn't have to prove your innocence but simply cast reasonable doubt on the prosecution's evidence. Key aspects of this strategy include:

Reviewing the crime's legal definition: Does the prosecution's evidence meet the statute's requirements?
Questioning intent: Did the accused intend to commit the crime? Intent is often a necessary element in charges like theft or fraud.
Disputing evidence: Are there inconsistencies in witness statements, contradictions in physical evidence, or unreliable sources?
Introducing reasonable doubt: If the prosecution cannot prove every element without question, acquittal or dismissal of the charges may be appropriate.

Establishing an Alibi

An alibi demonstrates that you were elsewhere when the alleged crime occurred, making it impossible for you to have committed the offense. A well-supported alibi is among the most effective ways to dismantle the prosecution's case. Key components of an alibi:

Witness testimony: Friends, family, colleagues, or others who can confirm your whereabouts.
Documentary evidence: Receipts, travel records, or time-stamped photos/video that confirm your presence at a different location.
Electronic records: Cell phone location data, GPS logs, or emails/messages sent near the time of the crime.

For instance, if you're accused of participating in a robbery in Oakland but have phone records showing you were making calls from Sacramento at the time, your alibi could completely exonerate you.

Suppression of Evidence

The Constitution provides strong protections to prevent the misuse of authority and to uphold fairness in criminal proceedings. If your rights are violated during the investigation or evidence collection, the resulting evidence can often be excluded from the trial.

Common reasons for suppressing evidence include:

Illegal search and seizure: Was evidence obtained without a valid search warrant or probable cause?
Violation of Miranda rights: Were you informed of your right to remain silent and to an attorney before police questioning?
Coercion or entrapment: Did law enforcement unfairly induce you to commit an offense you would not have done otherwise?
Chain of custody issues: Was evidence properly handled? Any lapses in documentation can make evidence inadmissible.

For example, if officers searched your car without a warrant and without observing any lawful exceptions (e.g., probable cause), any contraband or items they find may be inadmissible in court. This can weaken or even destroy the prosecution's case.

Proving Necessity

This strategy affirms that you did commit the offense, but that you were acting under extraordinary circumstances that justified your actions. The defense of necessity applies when the accused acted to prevent greater harm.

This defense can be highly effective if the circumstances align with specific legal criteria. Typical scenarios where necessity may apply:

Self-defense or defense of others: You used reasonable force to protect yourself from immediate harm, such as during an assault, or you acted to protect another person from immediate danger.
Emergencies: You acted to prevent harm in time-sensitive scenarios, such as breaking into a vehicle to save a child left in a hot car.
Duress or coercion: You were forced to commit a crime under threat of serious harm or death.

To establish necessity, your attorney must show that:

The harm you sought to avoid was immediate and serious.
There were no reasonable alternatives to your actions.
Your response was proportional to the perceived threat.

Entrapment

California's entrapment defense applies to situations where you would not have committed the alleged offense but for the harassment, threats, or coercion of the police or their agents.

Simply put, if you were entrapped, it basically means that the police, who were most likely undercover, persuaded you to commit a crime.

Entrapment is often used as a defense to sex offenses and drug crimes. It is perhaps most raised in connection with sting operations run by undercover decoy officers trying to arrest for the following:

Penal Code 647(b) PC, prostitution law,
Penal Code 647(a) PC, lewd acts in public,
Penal Code 311 PC, child pornography, and
Health and Safety Code 11351 HS, selling controlled substances.

Entrapment is a legal defense that you must prove by a preponderance of the evidence. This means that it is more likely than not that the only reason you committed the alleged crime was because of the overreaching police conduct.

Self-Defense

Under California's self-defense law, if you injure or kill someone in self-defense or in defending another person, your conduct will be excused. However, your actions must be reasonable under the circumstances. In other words, if you:

Believe that you or another person faces imminent danger and
Only use as much force as is reasonably necessary to alleviate that danger.

If the above statements apply, then you have a valid claim of self-defense. Notably, self-defense is not an affirmative defense.

Thus, the defendant does not have the burden of proof to show they acted in self-defense. Instead, once a defendant raises self-defense, the prosecutor has the additional burden of proof to show that the defendant did not act in self-defense.

Plea Agreements

Not every case goes to trial. For many, negotiating a plea agreement with the prosecution offers a way to reduce charges or avoid harsher penalties. While not ideal in every case, plea agreements often provide a practical resolution, especially in situations where the evidence against the accused is strong. Benefits of plea agreements include:

Reduced charges: Convincing the prosecution to downgrade a felony to a misdemeanor.
Lower penalties: Negotiating probation or community service instead of jail time.
Certainty: Avoiding the unpredictability of a trial and securing a known resolution.
Quicker resolution: Resolving the case faster than a lengthy court process allows.

For instance, if you're facing felony drug charges but plead guilty to a lesser misdemeanor with probation, you avoid the lifelong consequences of a felony conviction while still addressing the case. For more information, contact Eisner Gorin LLP, a criminal defense law firm in Los Angeles, CA.

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