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Case Results
This is just a small sampling from hundreds of cases.
Remember that ALL cases are different, no matter how similar they may seem, and the outcome of any case depends on many individual and specific factors. The following case results are not intended to be a guarantee or prediction of a particular outcome in any other case.
Client: Paramedic / Firefighter / Arson Investigator (Sworn Law Enforcement)
Original Charge: PC §30605 – Possession of Assault Weapons
Original Charge Level: FELONY
Maximum Exposure: 3 Years State Prison
Outcome: NO JAIL. NO FELONY.
Law enforcement responded to defendant’s home regarding a disturbance. Unaware of any “criminal” disturbance, defendant had no objection to a search of the residence by police.
Officers located the closed and locked gun safe within the home. With nothing to hide, defendant consented to a search of the locked safe. The safe contained a number of legally acquired and possessed firearms, some newer some antiques; handguns, hunting rifles, a shotgun, and sporting rifles. His service weapon was also among those found in the locked safe.
All of the weapons, except for one hunting rifle, one shotgun, and his service weapons, had been in his family for generations. Most were handed down to him when his grandfather dies some years before. In reality, he had never even fired the other weapons and he only ever handled them to the extent necessary to place them in the locked safe.
Of course, two of the weapons met the definition [established AFTER acquisition] of “assault” weapons under California law.
Defendant was there and then arrested him and he was later charged with two felony counts, one for each weapon.
Our team conducted a lengthy investigation with tons of research into both the spirit and intent of the legislation making possession of such weapons a crime.
Thankfully, a very reasonable DA understood the “big picture” and the felony charges were dismissed.
Client entered a plea of No Contest to a single misdemeanor. There was NO JAIL; he kept his job as well as his status as a peace officer and all but the two guns.
Client: Working Professional
Original Charge: PC §288 – Lewd Act with a Minor
Original Charge Level: FELONY
Maximum Exposure: 8 Years State Prison
Outcome: NO JAIL. NO FELONY.
Defendant was accused by his estranged stepdaughter of “inappropriately” touching her.
Our careful investigation established that the stepdaughter felt angry and displaced after her mother married defendant. We learned that the stepdaughter believed the marriage “ruined her family” and that she and her family would be happier if he was just gone.
There were glaring inconsistencies with her timeline of events, her story, and her overall credibility.
Fortunately, the very talented and reasonable Deputy DA spent the time to confirm our investigation findings and, in conjunction with the defendant not wanting to further traumatize the new and fragile family unit, but most of all not wanting to see his stepdaughter humiliated in open court, he entered a plea of No Contest to a single misdemeanor count of disturbing the peace, which was later reduced to an infraction.**
**Please note that the result in this case is very unusual and came about because of a very specific set of circumstances.
** It should be noted that the result in the previous case is very unusual and came about because of a very specific set of circumstances
Client: Working Professional
Original Charge: HS §11350 – Possession of a Controlled Substance
Original Charge Level: FELONY
Maximum Exposure: 3 Years State Prison
Outcome: CASE DISMISSED
Defendant was driving home from work. He was stopped and detained by Sheriff’s deputies because, they say, his tires spun-out when he was turning right turn through a rain-soaked intersection.
Without warning or probable cause, defendant was almost immediately exited from the vehicle by deputies, who then searched the vehicle without consent and without a warrant.
In the center console, deputies located an “over-the-counter” pain reliever bottle containing Tylenol, some allergy medicine, and defendant’s legally acquired prescription pain medication. Defendant explained that he kept his medications as he did for convenience and he furnished the deputies with the phone number to the pharmacy where they could confirm that he was telling the truth.
With no further investigation, deputies arrested him and charged him with felony possession of a controlled substance. Defendant paid the excessive bail and hired us for the defense.
Within 24-hours of defendant contacting us, we made sure that a copy of the prescription was delivered to the office of the District Attorney.
In court, we explained the outrageous conduct of the deputies, and reaffirming the validity of the prescription, the charges were dropped entirely and the case dismissed before arraignment.
Client: Student
Original Charge: Multiple Felony Charges
Original Charge Level: FELONY
Maximum Exposure: 10+ Years State Prison
Outcome: PROBATION ONLY. NO JAIL.
Defendant, a full time student, was arrested and accused by police of multiple felony criminal offenses, including receiving stolen property, computer hacking, theft, assault, domestic violence, and possession of a weapon on school property.
The arrest report was thick and loaded with conjecture, unsupported theories, and irrelevant statements from non-witnesses.
After very careful review and detailed investigation, we learned that defendant had been in possession of property that had been reported stolen, but there was no evidence that he knew or should have known.
The accusations of computer hacking, theft, assault, domestic violence, and possession of a weapon on school property were all summarily dropped by prosecutors for lack of evidence.
On the receiving stolen property charge, defendant accepted probation and an opportunity to earn a dismissal in lieu of a long and stressful trial.
Client: Firefighter/Paramedic
Original Charge: HS §11350 & PC §487
Original Charge Level: FELONY
Maximum Exposure: 6 Years State Prison
Outcome: MISDEMEANOR DIVERSION/CASE DISMISSED.
Defendant was a Firefighter/Paramedic who, after an off-the-job injury, developed an addiction to prescription pain medication.
Some time, after his return to full duty, he was on the scene of a 911 call where the patient had several bottles of prescription pain medication. He secreted away several of the pills.
After the patient had been transported from the scene by ambulance, he considered his actions and realized that it was time for help. While nobody had seen him take the pills, his conscience and sense of integrity after 20 years of exemplary service led him to tell his captain what he had just done and ask for help dealing with his addiction.
The captain, reported the theft to police and the defendant reiterated the confession with great humility and remorse. He was subsequently forced to resign his position at the fire department and he was forced to surrender the paramedic license he had held for over 20 years.
He was charged in criminal court with two felonies.
After hours and hours of very careful review of all of the evidence and researching options, and with no cooperation from the prosecutors in the court, I sought out and met with the supervising deputy prosecutor and discussed the case in great detail.
I was able to help the supervising deputy prosecutor see the human side of this case and we worked together reach an appropriate solution.
In the end, the theft charge was dismissed, the felony was amended to a misdemeanor, and the client was permitted to participate in a deferred entry of judgment drug program. Upon successful completion of the program and informal probation, the entire case was dismissed.
Client: Working Professional
Original Charge: HS §11350 (prior to Prop 47)
Original Charge Level: FELONY
Maximum Exposure: 3 Years State Prison
Outcome: PROBATION ONLY. NO FELONY. NO JAIL. CASE DISMISSED.
Defendant was stopped for an alleged traffic violation.
She was searched and police found less than a gram of powder cocaine. Prior to the passage of Proposition 47, Cocaine possession was a felony with no clear alternative.
To make matters worse, the arrest came just 3 weeks before defendant was to move out of state for work.
After a very careful and detailed review of the evidence, Mr. Givot met with both prosecutors and the judge, in chambers, to discuss the minimal nature of the offense, the defendant’s lack of criminal history, and the detrimental impact of a felony on her future.
After much deliberation, the cocaine felony was amended to a non-specific possession misdemeanor. The defendant was able to relocate for work and complete informal probation on the East Coast. The case has since been dismissed.
Client: Paramedic
Original Charge: PC §243 – Battery
Original Charge Level: FELONY
Maximum Exposure: 4 Years State Prison
Outcome: NO CHARGES FILED.
The defendant was involved in a loud and contentious argument with his wife. This argument was just one of several caused by financial problems. Both he and his wife walked away from the argument in separate directions. However, before they did, each had called police; each had said the other had assaulted them. The wife went so far as to scratch her own arms in order to support the accusations against defendant.
Upon arrival, the wife, who had returned home, showed the police officers the “scratches” and blamed defendant for causing them. He was subsequently taken into custody and booked on suspicion of felony battery.
Mr. Givot met with the defendant and was aware of the alleged scratches. He quickly noticed that the defendant’s finger tips had literally begun to grow over the nails from years of aggressive nail biting. It would have been impossible for his nubby fingers to have scratched anything.
On the morning of the arraignment, Mr. Givot visited both the prosecutor’s office and the arresting Police agency to point out the facts prior to any charges being officially filed in criminal court.
After showing the fatal flaw in the evidence, no criminal charges were filed.
Client: Student
Original Charge: HS §11351 – Possession of Controlled Substance for Sales
Original Charge Level: FELONY
Maximum Exposure: 4 Years State Prison
Outcome: CASE DISMISSED
Driver was stopped by police because the vehicle had a broken tail light. The arrest report said that the officer immediately smelled, what he believed to be, marijuana coming from inside the car.
Our defendant was exited from the car and detained. While the officer was talking to our defendant, the passenger, stashed a backpack containing a large quantity of ecstasy pills behind the driver’s seat.
Our defendant, completely unaware that the passenger had stashed pills in the car, consented to a search of the car by police. Naturally, they found the backpack and all of the ecstasy pills.
When questioned about the pills, the passenger denied any knowledge of them. The driver, our defendant, was arrested and released.
Nearly a year later, our defendant received a letter notifying him that felony charges had been filed against him. That is when we quickly jumped into action. We did our own complete investigation and learned that just six weeks after that traffic stop, the passenger had been arrested by an undercover police officer for selling the identical pills at a rave in another county.
We subpoenaed police records from the other county, conducted persistent negotiation, and a lot of legwork, and finally got all of the felony charges dismissed. The entire case has since been dismissed and the arrest record destroyed.
Client: Restaurant Worker
Original Charge: PC §245 – Assault with a Deadly Weapon
Original Charge Level: FELONY
Maximum Exposure: 4 Years State Prison
Outcome: CASE DISMISSED
Defendant was working as a dish washer in a restaurant when he was attacked by a co-worker. In self-defense, the defendant struck his attacker in the head with a drinking glass he was washing. The attacker was transported in critical condition by ambulance to the hospital with a severed temporal artery.
Within hours of receiving the call, Mr. Givot interviewed the defendant at the jail where he was being held. He then visited the scene of the crime and spoke with the manager, who showed him surveillance video footage – before any law enforcement officials had seen it.
The footage clearly showed that defendant acted in self-defense. Mr. Givot went directly to the office of the District Attorney, where he spoke with a supervising prosecutor who reviewed the video – again, BEFORE law enforcement bothered to review it.
The case was rejected when detectives tried to file it. The case was dismissed before it was filed and the defendant was released.
Client: Working Professional
Original Charge: PC §476 & §484(a) – Possession of Counterfeit Money & Theft
Original Charge Level: Misdemeanor
Maximum Exposure: Up to 1 Year in County jail
Outcome: CASE DISMISSED
Defendant met up with some friends for happy hour after work. When he arrived, a long-time friend and others, whom he did not know, were there already having fun.
When our defendant sat down, he noticed a large sum of cash sitting on the table. He was told by his long-time friend that “it was the holidays” the night’s reverie was his gift. And so it was. Drinks and food and laughter for hours.
Sometime later, one of the servers came to believe that a couple of the twenty-dollar bills were suspicious and possibly counterfeit; she confronted our defendant, having no reason to believe there was a problem; certainly the bills could not be fake. While the server consulted the manager, he continued to enjoy the happy hour.
Our defendant was surprised when police arrived and arrested him along with his friends.
The final report indicated that the friend told police that he, not defendant, had purchased the bills and brought them to the club. Unaware of the admission by his friend, our defendant maintained his innocence throughout.
Despite not knowing or having any reason to know that the bills were counterfeit, the prosecutor filed a criminal case against him and the matter progressed all the way to trial.
On the day of trial, the hyper-aggressive prosecutor threatened to elevate the charges from misdemeanor to felony if he did not accept a criminal plea. Nevertheless, our defendant stood his ground and maintained his innocence and did not give in to the threats. We announced ready for trial.
Before the jury was selected, the prosecutor conceded the lack of evidence and dismissed the case.
Client: Working Professional
Original Charge: VC §23152 – DUI
Original Charge Level: Misdemeanor
Maximum Exposure: Up to 6 Months in County jail
Outcome: CASE DISMISSED
After a dinner and a night out with friends, our defendant was stopped at a DUI checkpoint.
Upon police questioning, he told an officer that he had consumed one drink with dinner several hours before. The officer directed our defendant to a secondary investigation for optional so-called “field sobriety tests.”
The arrest report said the officer observed bloodshot watery eyes, slurred speech, difficulty maintaining his balance, and horizontal gaze nystagmus. He was sent to a third area for a blood test to determine his alcohol level.
Before any chemical results were known, he was placed under arrest and subsequently booked for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol. His driver license was taken from him and a temporary license good for only 30 days was issued.
When this firm was retained, our first move was to investigate the actual blood alcohol level. We determined that the chemical blood alcohol tests results showed a BAC far lower than 0.08%. We further concluded that, based on the results, it was unlikely to the point of fraudulent, that his speech was slurred or his eyes bloodshot, nor was it likely he was having any difficulty maintaining his balance.
Upon showing both the DMV and prosecutors how irresponsibly the police behaved, both the DMV case and Criminal case were dismissed.
Client: Student
Original Charge: B&P Code §25662(a) & PC §148(a)(1) – Minor in Possession of Alcohol & Resisting Arrest
Original Charge Level: Misdemeanor
Maximum Exposure: Up to 1 year in County jail
Outcome: CASE DISMISSED
Plain-clothed law enforcement agents allegedly saw our defendant, who was a teenager at the time, loitering in front of a liquor store and drinking from a bottle concealed a paper bag. It was an area of town known to be dangerous.
The two cops, who did not identify themselves and dressed in plain clothes, began moving aggressively toward the boy. He understandably feared for his safety and ran from the unknown and unidentified pair running toward him.
Eventually, one of the two identified himself as a police officer. The defendant immediately dropped the bag, stopped, and acquiesced immediately.
In Superior Court, the boy was charged with two criminal counts and faced juvenile detention.
We carefully reviewed all of the evidence and spent a significant amount of time working with the prosecutor. Ultimately, the case was Dismissed.
Client: Firefighter/Paramedic
Original Charge: PC §273 – Domestic Violence
Original Charge Level: Misdemeanor
Maximum Exposure: Up to 1 year in County jail
Outcome: CASE DISMISSED
Neighbours called police claiming to have heard some sort of loud disturbance. Our defendant and his wife both spoke with police. Our defendant was arrested because, according to police, there was a disturbance involving alcohol, yet they booked him and he was charged criminally for spousal battery/domestic violence.
We did our own investigation into the events of that night – and the weeks leading up to it. We also secured a number of character references and had our defendant and his wife attend counseling.
Thanks to a very reasonable deputy DA, who understood all the we had done, the criminal case was dismissed.
Client: Working Professional
Original Charge: PC §273 – Domestic Violence
Original Charge Level: Misdemeanor
Maximum Exposure: Up to 1 year in County jail
Outcome: CASE DISMISSED
We received a call from a computer engineer who had been arrested after his wife told police that he tried to strangle her.
Reviewing the reports, it was immediately obvious that the various versions of events did not make sense. Through our own extensive investigation, we learned that the wife suffered from a psychiatric condition that was not yet diagnosed. It became clear that she was not truthful with police.
We presented the new information to the district attorney who dropped all charges. Case Dismissed.
Client: Working Professional
Original Charge: VC §23152 – DUI
Original Charge Level: Misdemeanor
Maximum Exposure: Up to 6 Months in County jail
Outcome: Charges Reduced. No DUI. No Jail. No License Suspension.
Our defendant was arrested and booked by police on suspicion of driving under the influence. His car had collided on the freeway with a slow-moving box truck.
Alcohol testing showed that his BAC level was above the legal limit…at the time of testing.
Our own investigation showed certain important inconsistencies in the way police handled the DUI investigation, which created critical weaknesses in the prosecution’s case.
After weeks of negotiations with the prosecutor, the originally charged DUI was reduced to what is commonly known as a “wet reckless.”
Client: Student/Entry-Level Worker
Original Charge: PC §484 – Petty Theft
Original Charge Level: Misdemeanor
Maximum Exposure: Up to 1 Year in County jail
Outcome: Criminal Case Dismissed.
Our defendant allegedly tried to walk out of a warehouse store with $70 worth of merchandise for which he had not paid. He was stopped and cited for petty theft as a misdemeanor and criminal charges were filed in Superior Court.
After considerable discussions with prosecutors and presentation of various mitigating circumstances, the criminal case was dismissed in favor of a small fine.
Client: Firefighter/Paramedic
Original Charge: PC §647(f) – Drunk in Public
Original Charge Level: Misdemeanor
Maximum Exposure: Up to 6 Months in County jail
Outcome: Criminal Case Dismissed.
Our defendant, acting as a Good Samaritan, assisted a very-intoxicated friend from a bar to the vehicle owned by another of the friends that was with them that night. A passer-by believed the two men were up to no good with the nearly passed out female and called police.
When police arrived, rather than helping the intoxicated girl, they arrested our defendant for being drunk in public, even without any objective signs of intoxication.
The District Attorney actually filed formal criminal charges against our defendant because, as she said, he has a prior DUI and has not learned his lesson.
Naturally we set the matter for jury trial. The prosecutor made several attempts to end the case with alternative misdemeanor conviction option, we said NO!
When there was no doubt that we were ready to fight and that we would win, the prosecutor completely dismissed all criminal charges.
Client: Student
Original Charge: VC §23152 & B&P §25662 – DUI & Possession of Alcohol by a Minor
Original Charge Level: Misdemeanor
Maximum Exposure: Up to 6 Months in County jail
Outcome: Criminal Case Dismissed.
Our defendant, a teenager, was allegedly speeding and was stopped by police.
One officer claims to have seen an unopened beer can in the center console and subsequently accused him of driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated.
The child was arrested and charged in criminal court, even though the police failed to perform any chemical blood/alcohol test.
With substantive evidence to present at trial, we were able to show the prosecutor the inherent weaknesses of their case.
Our defendant did pay a small fine for having the beer in the car, but the criminal case against him was dismissed.
Client: Paramedic
Original Charge: PC §148 – Obstructing or Delaying a Police Officer
Original Charge Level: Misdemeanor
Maximum Exposure: Up to 1 Year in County jail
Outcome: Criminal Case Dismissed.
Our defendant, an off-duty paramedic, was enjoying a fun night out with her husband, his brother, and some friends.
Later in the evening, the brother-in-law became involved in some sort of altercation inside the bar, someone called the police.
Police detained both the husband and his brother, while our defendant waited on the side, several feet away until another officer arrived and told our defendant to leave the scene altogether.
She tried to explain to the new officer that she was there with her husband; she explained that lived far from where they were and she had nowhere to go and no way to get there – her husband, her ride, was being detained by police.
The cop said he did not care and commanded her to leave the area immediately. She tried once more to explain that she could not go or get anywhere without her husband.
Then the aggressive officer became abusive, shouting at her to leave or else SHE would be arrested. She asked him, based on the circumstances, where she was supposed to go, at which time he handcuffed her and took her into custody and she went to jail.
The story was as infuriating to me as it was to her…and as it is to you reading it now.
We went to work quickly and worked closely with prosecutors on a resolution that made more sense than the arrest.
With evidence of our defendant’s upstanding character, history of professionalism, and continuing career-oriented education, we were able to help the prosecutor see that this was nothing more than a case of an over-aggressive police officer abusing power.
When all was said and done, the criminal case was completely dismissed.
Client: Student/Entry-Level Worker
Original Charge: PC §484 – Petty Theft
Original Charge Level: Misdemeanor
Maximum Exposure: Up to 1 Year in County jail
Outcome: Criminal Case Dismissed.
Our defendant was seen on security surveillance video hiding DVDs in his pants and leaving the store.
He confessed to both the store security officers and the Police. Unfortunately, he had a record of similar acts.
He was formally charged in criminal court with the misdemeanor and faced a stiffer penalty because of his prior arrests.
We spent a considerable amount of time working with prosecutors and were eventually able to have the criminal misdemeanor charges dismissed in favor of a civil infraction for which he paid a fine.
Client: Construction Worker
Original Charge: VC §14601 – Driving with a Suspended Driver License, with priors
Original Charge Level: Misdemeanor
Maximum Exposure: Up to 6 Months in County jail
Outcome: Probation Only. No Jail.
Our defendant was stopped by police, arrested and charged in criminal court with three separate counts, including driving after the DMV had suspended his license. To make matters worse, the suspension came after a DUI, which carries a mandatory jail sentence.
It took a lot of time and close work with the City Attorney, however we are able to have two of the three criminal charges dismissed and the defendant was sentenced to informal probation only.
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Our legal team handles a wide range of criminal court cases, including:
- DUI/DWI/BUI
- Drunk in Public
- Domestic Violence
- Drug Crimes
- Prop 47 Cases
- Expungements
- Evading Arrest
- Juvenile Crimes
- Probation Violations
- Traffic Offenses
- Theft Crimes
- Violent Crimes
- Weapons Charges
- White Collar Crimes
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