California Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

A 47 year old Orange County CA woman faces possible life in prison if convicted on the charges of attempted murder and domestic battery with corporal injury with sentencing enhancements for causing great bodily injury and the personal use of a deadly weapon. The Yorba Linda woman is being accused of hiding in the back seat of her ex-boyfriends Mercedes Benz while he attended a meeting at a church and then once he arrived back to his car, stabbing him repeatedly with an ice pick.

The definition of attempted murder involves intentionally and deliberately acting to commit murder of another individual. Attempted murder requires proacively taking steps towards committing the act of murder. The prosecution must show that the accused intended and attempted to commit the crime. Another factor looked at in attempted murder cases is where, on the body, the injury is located. Injuries deliberately delivered to the upper body are more serious than injuries to the lower part of the body, due to the fact that vital organs are located in the upper part of the body. Also taken into consideration, is if a gun is used, how many shots were fired. If only one shot is fired as opposed to several, the defense has an excellent argument that the charge should be assault rather than attempted murder.

A good Orange County Criminal Defense Attorney, speciliazing in murder and attempted murder, needs to be familiar with many areas such as DNA, gunshot resudue, balistics, fingerprint analysis and wound pathology. A good murder defense attorney will know what weaknesses to look for in each of these areas. Pointing out only one discrepency can make the difference between guilty and innocent. Further, there are emotional defenses that must be considered. A good criminal defense attorney in Orange County will be familiar with the mental or emotional disturbance defense as well as others, and know the proper exoert witnesses to bring to the defense team.

The charge of attempted murder can often be dropped to assault if the criminal defense attorney is familiar wtih the specifics of the law as it relates to each of the crimes. Assault with a deadly weapon carries anywhere from 2 to 9 years, depending upon the circumstances whereas, attempted murder can carry 25 years to life, or 50 years to life, depending on the circumstance. The biggest issue with these types of cases is whether or not the prosecution can prove intent to kill, if not, then the charge is assault with a deadly weapon.

Continue reading " Yorba Linda Woman Charged With Attempted Murder " »

A 32 year old man from Ladera Ranch, Orange County California, was extradited from Austria after DNA matched him to a Tustin, Orange County California rape and a San Diego California rape, both which occurred in October of 2004.

Charges were filed against the Orange County man in 2004 but he fled the Country before he could be charged and the case went cold. In 2009, detectives with the Tustin Police Department began investigating the rape again in 2009 and submitted DNA from the Tustin rape to the International Crime Police Organization, or Interpol which lead to the arrest and extradition.

The former Orange County, California man is being charged with two felony counts of forcible rape, two felony counts of sexual penetration by foreign object by force and one felony count of aggravated assault with intent to commit a sexual offense. The DA's office is also requesting sentencing enhancements for committing sexual crimes against more than one victim and causing great bodily injury to a victim. If convicted, this man could be facing 68 years to life in prison.

Sexual assault crimes are often assigned to aggressive prosecutors and police detectives. An experienced Orange County California Criminal Defense Attorney, specializing in sex crimes and rape will pursue an aggressive defense to a sex crimes case as soon as the accusation arises. Sex Crime cases involve unique aspects of California evidence law and therefore, in this case, an experienced Sex Crimes Attorney in Orange County, California is of paramount importance. A good criminal defense attorney will have experience in all Courts in Orange County, including Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Orange, Westminster and Fullerton.

It will be important to the defense of this case to have a skilled Orange County Sexual Defense Attorney who knows what needs to be done in each of these different types of charges. In defending felony sexual assault charges and to achieve the best possible result, a sexual assault defense attorney should have his own investigator re-interview all people involved. It may also be necessary and/or helpful to have a psychotherapist evaluate the accused. Sometimes these types of evaluations can be beneficial to the defense in a sex crime.

Continue reading " Orange County Rape Suspect Arrested After DNA Match " »