Tag Archives: Criminal Defense Attorneys

When searching for a criminal defense attorney, beware of the lawyer referral $ervice$.

Leave a comment

When looking for a criminal defense lawyer, more people turn to the internet now than ever before.  The internet quickly provides them with information and lawyers they may choose to represent them or their loved ones.

If you do any google or Yahoo search, you’ll see tons of search results for attorneys and law firms.  How do you choose between them?  What should you look for?  It’s enough to make someone frustrated.  Just like in any area of internet business, there are things you should know to be a smart consumer and not be “taken.”

As i have outlined in past postings, the selection of a criminal defense attorney is a very personal one, but the things one should always keep in mind are the following: 1)Does this attorney only handle criminal defense 2) Does this attorney know the court where my case is pending,  and 3) Can i trust this attorney to handle my case from begining to end and not hand it off to an inexperienced associate.

With that said, once you do a search for attorneys in any local city you are sure to be inundated with listings from lawyer referral services.  There are several large ones such as lawyers.com or findlaw.com, but new ones are sprouting up regularly.  These aren’t websites of actual attorneys or firms but referral sites set up by an independent company that charges attorneys fees to list them on their site and bring them business. 

On its face it seems harmless, but there are three major issues with seeking an attorney from these large referral services.

1) Most people are under the wrong impression that the lawyers referral services  do a thorough prescreening of the attorneys they recommend.   They may check to see if the attorneys are licensed by the bar association to practice law, but you can do this yourself by going to www.calbar.org.  As far as knowing how effective an attorney is, most of the referral sources wouldn’t have a clue.  They are a business and for the most part, are concerned with getting the most lawyers to pay the highest amount for their listings.  They do not do any in depth research into the lawyers they promote.   You still need to do your own research. 

2) The attorneys they refer to you are not the best or most qualified attorneys but the ones that have paid the agency money to promote them.   Any attorney with a bar card can pay to have a listing at the top of the lawyer referal services.  You just need to pay them.  This wouldnt make me feel good about the attorney I am being referred to.

 3) Some lawyer referral services ask for a percentage of the fees that the attorney receives from you.  How does this hurt you?  Attorneys realize they have to pay (let’s say 20%) to a referral agency so they raise their fees by (you guessed it 20%) so essentially they pass the cost of the referral agency to you.

How can you tell if the website you are looking at is a referral agency or an actual attorney.   There are some easy ways.   Referral agencies usually don’t mention the name of any attorneys on their website.  Or, they have numerous attorney names and addresses on their site.   When you find a site, look to see if you can see the attorney who the site belongs to and if its his or her practice.  This guarantees that this is not a referral agency and will likely not have the drawbacks of a referral agency.    Finally, I should say that not all referral agencies are necessarily the same and some could provide you with good attorneys, but you have to do your research.

Criminal Defense is an area where you need an advocate, someone who you can trust with your freedom and your case.  Just like any area of business, there are some traps for the unwary consumer.   I hope this information helps you.

Best Regards,

Anthony

Bench Warrants (Question & Answer)

Leave a comment

What is a Bench Warrant? 

Basically, it is a warrant for your arrest issued by the “Bench” which means the Judge.  Criminal Bench Warrants are issued when a defendant fails to appear in court or violates his probation.  If you have a court date and you are either late or do not appear, you can rest assured that you will have a bench warrant issued against you.

 When does the Bench Warrant go into effect?

In most cases, it takes a day to get the warrant into the system and have it active.  Some courts will take longer than other and felonies and misdemeanors also differ on how quickly they are put into effect. 

Will the police come looking for me right away?

For most misdemeanor charges, the answer is probably not.  Most misdemeanor warrants will go into the system and will wait for you to get pulled over or have police contact and the warrant pop up.   Although I have seen on occassion, police officers picking up a defendant immediately after a warrant was issued.   On felony matters, the likelihood of being arrested soon after the warrant is much higher.  Some of it depends on the seriousness of the charges and whether they believe you pose a threat to the community. 

What happens if i am arrested on the bench warrant?

If you have an active warrant, you will be held in custody until you are taken to court.   Once you are in front of the judge, you will face additional jail time/fines and/or other criminal sanctions.

Should I walk in and handle my warrant on my own?

If you like living dangerously, then this would be a good idea.  It is much more advisable to have an experienced criminal defense attorney explain your situation to the Judge and Prosecutor.  I’ve handled hundreds of bench warrant recalls and know what is a legitimate strategy for staying out of custody and what is not.   While in court, sometimes i’ll watch a poor soul attempting to talk his way out of being taken into custody.  Judges have heard all the excuses and lies, don’t think you can sweet talk your way out of the situation.  You are only making the Judge more upset by insulting his/her intelligence.

What can an attorney do to help with a Bench Warrant Recall?

What we customarily do with Bench Warrants, is to first research the case.  Interview the client and see what the situation is and are there any mitigating circumstances for the warrant (family illness/death, loss of job, etc.) Then we pull the file and read through what the case is about and what needs to be done.  Armed with this information, we calendar the case up to a courtroom and speak with the Judge.  Our priority is to keep our client out of custody. 

I am afraid to be taken into custody.

There is always a risk that you will be taken into custody when you attempt to recall a warrant.  But the risk is lessened considerably if you hire an attorney to handle your matter.  Furthermore, when you voluntarily handle the matter (rather than being picked up on the warrant) the chances  for you staying out get even better. 

As a final word from Criminal Defense Attorney Anthony Arzili, if you have a bench warrant keep the following in mind.   The sooner you deal with the warrant the better.  Its almost always better to get legal representation from an experienced criminal defense attorney than to go it alone.  Finally, its always better to voluntarily handle the warrant then to be escorted to see the Judge in cuffs.

 Best Regards,

Anthony A. Arzili

How to choose a criminal defense lawyer.

Leave a comment

Today, i met with some potential clients who brought up a good question that i feel many people grapple with when they or a loved one is arrested and facing criminal charges.  To many people, this is their first contact with the criminal justice system and the local courts.  Unlike Tony Soprano, most people don’t have a criminal defense attorney on retainer “just in case” something comes up.  So when they have to find a criminal defense lawyer, they feel totally clueless.

To add to the problem, most people don’t have a lot of time to research and find a criminal defense attorney.  Your loved one is arrested and is due in court in 2 days.  If its the weekend, the odds of you speaking to an attorney dwindle even more.  For these reasons, some poor souls get stuck with their family law attorney or some attorney that did a Will for their uncle representing them in criminal court.  (well-meaning attorneys who know nothing about the specialized field of criminal defense). 

 So what do you do?  What do you look for? That’s what the family of my client asked me.  They felt comfortable enough with me to tell me that they had met with 2 other attorneys and had phone consultations with 2 more attorneys in a 2 day span.  The four attorneys they met ran the spectrum. 

They met a criminal attorney downtown who had a beautiful office and had apparently been practicing for many years.  The attorney was late to their appointment and spent about 10 minutes with them, most of which he spent talking “at them” not with them.   They liked the guy’s experience and he looked successful but didn’t feel any connection with the attorney.

 The next criminal attorney was someone they spoke to over the phone.  The attorney claimed to be a “senior partner” at a large criminal defense firm.  The family said they were impressed with what the man had to say.  He spoke smoothly and confidently about being able to help their son.  The family told me they were eager to meet with the man and hire him, but that’s when everything fell apart.  The defense firm had advertised that they had a local office close by where they can meet clients.  When they asked to meet the man at that office, he told them that they don’t really have an office in that city.  They then found out that smooth talking attorney was not going to be the one meeting with them or even representing their son in court.  They were going to meet an attorney who they had not talked to and who was a young associate at the firm.  That was the end of that.

Their third contact with an attorney was someone who had mailed them a flyer to their house.   They later found out its called “Jail mail.”  The attorney had included a $500 off coupon in their pamphlet.  They never got a chance to talk to the “attorney” and spent 15 minutes talking to a paralegal. 

 The second attorney they met was a local attorney and seemed very nice.  Aside from having to reschedule their appointment once because the attorney was running late, the office seemed very professsional.  The problem came up when the attorney was unsure if they were there for a child custody case (family law) or a criminal case.  The attorney apparently mistook them for some other clients.  They felt comfortable with the attorney but they didn’t get the feeling that he knew alot about what was going to happen to their son in criminal court.

 Overall, it was fascinating to me what this family had to say about their experience in this stressful period.  They shed light on my profession as a criminal defense attorney and how it serves the community.  They also gave me a glimpse on how we can improve.  Choosing someone to represent a loved one in court is almost as important finding a surgeon.   In my discussion with the family, I came to understand 3 major things that guided their choice.  

1) Comfort Level with the Attorney.  Meeting with the attorney and speaking with him/her is key.  Don’t be sucked in by speaking to a “senior partner” or an other attorney that may send a young associate to handle your case.  The one on one connection with the person handling the case is key.  

2) Exclusively Criminal.   You wouldn’t trust your heart surgery to a doctor who spends half his time doing cosmetic surgery and liposuction.  Don’t trust your freedom to an attorney who handles family law, immigration, pet law and criminal law.  Criminal defense is a highly specialized and ever changing field and no attorney who tries to dabble in everything will do one anything really well.

3)Choose Local.  Don’t bring someone from the westside or downtown to Norwalk  or Whittier to handle your case.  They don’t come here regularly and don’t know the court, the judges and the prosecutors.  They will feel like a fish out of water and you are going to be the one that pays the price.

 Best of Luck.