Felony Defense Attorney
in Rocklin-Roseville, California

In California, as in most other states, crimes are divided into felonies and misdemeanors. Felonies are the more serious crimes – crimes like drug sales, grand theft, burglary, homicide, and lots more may be charged as a felony. These crimes carry state prison terms or long county jail terms as punishment if convicted, and can impact fundamental rights like voting, jury service, or the right to bear arms. If you are charged or even under investigation for a felony, your best bet is to exercise your Fifth Amendment Right to remain silent and lawyer up early in the process, and then get to work right away on protecting your rights and freedoms.

Because a felony is considered so serious in the eyes of the law, if you are charged with a felony it’s best to have a plan of action quickly. In Placer and many other counties, even if you post bail, there may be some conditions placed on your release once you go to court – stay aways and restraining orders, drug testing, checking in with probation, and GPS ankle monitoring are among what’s possible. In some cases, the district attorney may even be asking for you to go back into custody at the first court date. The earlier you have a lawyer and a plan, the more likely you are to be able to mitigate or eliminate restrictions on your freedom right from the get-go.

Know the Process

Most felonies in California follow a similar procedural route to trial – with opportunities to reduce or challenge the charges or negotiate a favorable deal all along the way. The police conduct their investigation, often but not always ending in an arrest, and then send reports for review to the district attorney’s office. The district attorney’s office reviews the case and determines whether to charge the case, and what charges to bring. In most felony cases, the district attorney’s office then files with the court a document called a complaint, which lays out the charges against you. At the first court date – the arraignment – the charges are read against you, and some of those pretrial conditions may be imposed. You then have the right to a preliminary hearing – a formal evidentiary hearing, sort of a mini-trial to determine if there’s enough evidence to proceed to a jury trial. If a judge rules that there is enough evidence to proceed, the district attorney then files a new document, called an information, and you go through another arraignment. Then the case proceeds to trial in front of a jury.

There are variations in the process – for example, occasionally cases are presented to the grand jury, or charges are dismissed and refiled. But no matter how exactly a given felony process proceeds, it’s a long process, and it means a lot of opportunities to get the results you want in your case, and a good attorney will start pushing for those results early and continue to push for them at every step. Presenting evidence of good character early after a felony arrest can influence the district attorney to charge lesser charges or even decline to file anything at all. Even if more serious charges are filed, there are opportunities throughout the process to negotiate lesser charges and lesser punishments. There are chances to challenge and re-challenge whether the prosecution has enough evidence to even proceed to trial, and whether that evidence is admissible against you. In some cases there may be opportunities to earn dismissals through some of the diversion programs available in California.

Enhancements and Unusual Circumstances

Some felonies are considered particularly severe and are considered serious and/or violent – these are known as strikes. Not only do strike crimes carry consequences now, but they can be used to double the consequences for any future felonies. The Prosecution may also allege enhancements – for example, for use of a weapon or selling a particularly large amount of controlled substances or having a prior record – that can make the consequences even more severe. And some felonies are considered ineligible for probation in many cases.

But like every other aspect of the case, you can overcome these. There are motions to drop enhancements or dismiss strikes. There are sentencing rules that allow for even those who would not otherwise be eligible to receive probation under unusual circumstances where it is in the interest of justice. Like any charge, a strike can be negotiated, reduced, or amended to a lesser charge.

The bottom line is that while it’s important for anyone to have a good lawyer if they are charged with or under investigation for a crime, that goes especially for felonies – cases where more is on the line and there are lots of moving parts, but also cases with a lot of opportunity to push for the results you want. Sam Berns is an experienced felony lawyer who will give the case the attention it deserves and can help you get the best results in your case.