Felonies Lawyer
Proudly Serving All of Orange County
If you have been arrested for a felony or a second or third strike, you need an attorney who knows the criminal justice system and the court in which your case is assigned. Our criminal defense lawyers represent clients in federal courts and state courts in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties. A California felony charge is considered to be a serious offense and include: robbery, grand theft, drug trafficking, murder, manslaughter, felony assault, felony murder and other crimes. The penalty associated with a felony is a prison sentence of no less than 1 year, fines, restitution, and public record of a felony conviction accessible by potential employers, licensing boards, and creditors.
If someone is arrested for a third felony strike, the sentence is life in prison. As experienced three-strikes defense attorneys, we review and investigate all three strikes for opportunities to overturn an earlier conviction, dismiss the current charges, or plead down an earlier conviction or the current charge.
We, at the Law Offices of Michael Metaxas, specialize in alternative sentencing on felony convictions, such as probation, rehabilitation programs, community service, etc.
The Felony Judicial Process Defined
The Arrest
: When the police arrest someone and believe a felony should be charged, a statement of probable cause is generated and charges based upon that statement are brought into court.
The Bond Hearing
: After a felony arrest, the accused is taken before a judge to set a bond. The bond court judge hears the charges and history of the defendant. The judge decides the terms of the defendant's release, whether it is by personal recognizance or by posting with the court an amount of money. If the judge sets a monetary amount of bond and the defendant cannot post that, then the defendant remains in custody.
Assignment to Trial Court
: When someone is arrested and charged with a felony, following the bond hearing the case will be assigned to another judge for further proceedings, up to and including a trial.
Arraignment
: At the arraignment the defendant is formally told of the charges against him. It is at this point that a formal plea of not guilty is given to the court.
Formal Filing of Charges by the State Attorney
: The charges brought by the police are not the final formal charges. That decision is ultimately made by the State Attorney after a review of the evidence in the case. After the review, the State Attorney will file a document called an Information. The charges in the Information are those that will have to be defended. The time between the arrest and the filing of the Information may be used by the attorney for the accused to negotiate with the State Attorney regarding what charges will be included in the Information.
Discovery
: This is the process by which the state must provide to the accused the evidence that it has against him. Gathering this evidence is extremely important to the defense.
Motions
: A Motion is a request by an attorney asking the judge to order that something be done. Some motions, if successful, such as Motion to Quash Arrest, Motion to Suppress Evidence, Motion to Suppress Statement, can result in the case being dismissed. Experienced lawyers will determine if there are important motions to be made that affect a client's freedom.
Plea Agreement
: This is when the State Attorney, defense attorney and defendant agree what penalty will be imposed if the defendant pleads guilty to the crime. These agreements may include changes in the charges. Many cases are concluded in this fashion, and an experienced lawyer knows what the usual penalties are and can arrange for the best possible outcome for his client.
Trial
: In the event that there is no agreement in return for a plea, (or the case is not dismissed by way of a motion) then a trial is held, and the defendant maintains his plea of not guilty. At trial the state presents evidence to either a judge (bench trial) or a jury. The state must prove the defendant's guilt beyond a
Sentencing
: California has "Determinate Sentencing laws. This means that if someone is convicted of a felony offense and sentenced to prison, the Judge may impose one of three prison terms, "low-term", "mid-term" or "high-term". The term that is imposed depends on many factors including the discretion of the Judge, the severity of the offense, the criminal history of the defendant and other mitigating (less serious) or aggravating (more serious) factors.
