CONSPIRACY AND BANK ROBBERY: The Santa Monica branch of a major bank was robbed at gunpoint. My client worked at the bank and was charged with setting up the crime, meeting with the accomplice and teaching him how, when and where to do the robbery, and giving him the gun. My client was facing over fifteen years in prison.
Jury Verdict: NOT GUILTY.
KIDNAPPING, ROBBERY, RAPE, SODOMY: My client was arrested while sitting in a van wearing a ski mask. There were two women tied up in the back of the van. Jewelry from the women's house was found in my client's pocket and a gun was found underneath his seat. My client claimed he was paid to watch the van and put on a ski mask when he saw there were tied-up victims in the back. The victim's jewelry in his pocket was payment to watch the van. My client was facing life in prison.
Jury Verdict: NOT GUILTY.
MURDER: My client was charged with first-degree murder after witnesses allegedly saw him shoot the victim. There was evidence that the victim and my client had an argument earlier that day. The defense was mistaken identity. He was facing life in prison.
Jury Verdict: NOT GUILTY.
ROBBERY: My client and two friends were accused of beating and physically restraining the victim, and stealing his wallet. My client was facing five years in prison. The defense was mistaken identity.
Jury Verdict: NOT GUILTY.
SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE MURDER TRIAL: My client was charged with murdering a woman during the course of a robbery. If convicted he faced life in prison without the possibility of parole. After several months of trial, the jury hung. Thereafter, the District Attorney agreed to a reasonable settlement well below their early demands.
SHOOTING INTO A VEHICLE AND BRANDISHING A FIREARM: My client, a prominent doctor, shot into the vehicle of a drunk driver, who had crashed into my client's home late at night. My client held a gun on the driver and ordered him to lay down on the ground. When the driver refused, he shot into the car.
Jury Verdict: NOT GUILTY.
SPOUSAL ABUSE: My client, a police officer, was accused of pummeling his wife with his fists. The wife immediately went to the local police department to report the crime and gave a lengthy videotaped statement. My client claimed that the wife was very angry at him for what she believed was his cheating on her and she fabricated the crime.
Jury Verdict: NOT GUILTY.
SPOUSAL ABUSE: My client was accused of beating his wife after learning of her affair with his neighbor. The defense was that the wife fabricated the story to get rid of the husband so she'd be free to marry the neighbor. On the witness stand, the wife lied about the neighbor giving her a ring, then when confronted with proof, was forced to admit that she had lied about it.
Jury Verdict: NOT GUILTY.
CONSPIRACY AND IMMIGRATION FRAUD: My client was accused of aiding and abetting others in an immigration fraud ring. There was evidence she met with the victims and took their money. She claimed she was just an accountant for the company and didn't know the inner workings of the business.
JUDGE DISMISSED THE CASE BEFORE SUBMISSION TO JURY.
DRUNK DRIVING: My client was prosecuted for driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit. The defense maintained the police did not comply with their regulations when they administered the breath test without waiting the requisite fifteen minutes after initial detention.
Jury Verdict: NOT GUILTY.
This same client arrested for DUI again several years later. This time he gave a urine sample which put his blood alcohol level at .14%. The defense was the faulty nature of urine tests.
HUNG JURY, COURT DISMISSED THE CASE.
GRAND THEFT: My client entered a major department store and allegedly pretended to purchase several hundred dollars of merchandise. The cashier was the co-conspirator. She pretended to ring up the sale, bagged the merchandise and gave the client a fake receipt. The defense was that the client didn't know the cashier didn't actually ring up the sale.
HUNG JURY, COURT DISMISSED THE CASE
PETTY THEFT/SHOPLIFTING: My client exited a large department store carrying a bag of stolen merchandise. He was detained by security five feet outside the store, but still inside the larger shopping mall. He claimed he panicked when he realized that his small children were missing, and he went searching for them. The children were found inside the Mall's pet shop. The prosecutor argued that my client planned the incident.
Jury Verdict: NOT GUILTY
BATTERY: My client was charged with repeatedly striking his roommate with fists and metal objects. The victim showed police officers multiple bruises and cuts from the alleged fight. The defense was that the victim was drunk and the injuries were self-inflicted in a violent rage.
Jury Verdict: NOT GUILTY
PROSTITUTION: My client was charged with agreeing to a sex act with an undercover police officer. The defense was that the officer exaggerated the conversation and the client never agreed to the act.
Jury Verdict: NOT GUILTY
PROSTITUTION: My client was charged with soliciting a sex act with an undercover officer for money. The defense was the failure of the officer to record the conversation which caused the evidence of the conversation to disappear. As such, there was not sufficient evidence to prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
HUNG JURY, COURT DISMISSED THE CASE