LA Sex Crime Lawyers

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the First Steps your firm will take? Our criminal defense attorneys begin building the defense early, finding witnesses and physical evidence supporting the defense and protecting an individual’s rights from aggressive police tactics. Our firm’s private investigator, with years of experience in field work, is able to immediately conduct witness interviews before the witnesses move out of the area or simply do not want to cooperate.
Will you contact the DA before court? The first and most important step is to have a criminal defense specialist immediately contact law enforcement and the prosecutor’s office on your behalf. Our firm will do this immediately before charges are filed, to possibly cause the entire case to be dropped despite an arrest. We have done achieved this result in over 100 cases.
Do you handle all sex crime accusations? The law firm defends all accusations of sex crimes in state and federal courts throughout the fifty states: Rape and Sexual Battery, Assault, Internet Offenses and Enticement, Possession and Distribution of Child Pornography, Sending Harmful and Obscene Materials, Prostitution, Lewd and Lascivious Conduct. Child Molestation, Exploitation, and Abuse, Moving Children Across State Lines (Mann Act), Pimping and Pandering
If the complaining witness wants to "drop all charges," will the case be dismissed? Not necessarily. There are many reasons why the alleged victim or reporting party may have a change of heart. It may be that the report of crime may have been false or inaccurate. It may also be that the person is scared to proceed with a prosecution because of threats. The police and the prosecutor's office are aware of all the reasons, and do not just "drop charges." They attempt to re-interview the reporting party to understand the reason behind the change of heart.
How does Juvenile Court work? A minor is prosecuted for criminal conduct in a separate juvenile court system. The philosophy of the juvenile justice system is that children should not be punished or stigmatized for criminal conduct because of their immature abilities to make proper choices and recognize right from wrong. Instead the role of the juvenile justice system is seen as rehabilitative and guiding. For particularly violent crimes, adolescents may be tried in the adult system
What happens at the first court hearing after charges are filed? What is an arraignment? Arraignment is the initial court proceeding where a defendant is advised of his charges, and usually enters a “Not Guilty” plea. This proceeding is not a trial, and witnesses do not come forward to testify. It provides defense counsel an opportunity to obtain the police reports, the criminal complaint, and set a preliminary hearing date.
If I was arrested for a felony, does that mean I will face felony charges in court? A prosecutor makes an independent decision on what charges to file, irrespective of what the arrest was for. After many such arrests, prosecutors file misdemeanor offenses, rather than felonies, especially after an immediate pre-filing intervention by a criminal defense specialist.
What if I feel that the police violated my constitutional rights? A criminal defense attorney seeks to exclude evidence obtained as a result of police misconduct. At times, police misconduct occurs in searches that take place during ordinary vehicle stops or in a suspect's home. Additionally, if law enforcement is too aggressive in trying to obtain an incriminating statement from a suspect, it may violate the suspect's Miranda rights. Litigation in the criminal court allows a defense lawyer to protect his client's rights by submitting motions to the judge seeking to exclude the recovered evidence or received statements from trial. Often a successful motion to suppress evidence cripples the prosecutor's case, causing the case to either be dismissed or substantially reduced in plea negotiations.
Do you present evidence of mitigation in a courtroom on behalf of clients? The criminal court system in Los Angeles, California deals with thousands of cases. How do criminal defense lawyers humanize a client to busy criminal courts? While this is not the easiest task to accomplish in the Southern California justice system, our criminal defense lawyers work to humanize all of our clients to mitigate a possible sentence. Persuading Los Angeles prosecutors, probation officers and judges to recognize that a client’s life cannot be defined based solely on the conduct that brought him/her into court takes patience and tenacity. Our lawyers work to explain that few persons are accurately defined by the worst thing they ever did. Unfortunately, unless we intervene to demonstrate the contrary, the default of the justice system is to assume that this crime resonates to our client’s behavior in daily life.
If the defendant is not a U.S. citizen, how will the immigration status be affected by an arrest? Criminal convictions may cause direct and grave consequences to someone’s immigration status, often leading to deportation proceedings. The INS guidelines are often very complex and our criminal defense attorneys frequently confer with immigration law specialists to properly advise clients. Before going to court, our criminal lawyers review with clients their immigration status. Often our Los Angeles attorneys, in settlement discussions with the prosecutors, seek charges that are not considered by the INS as moral turpitude offenses which are subject to deportation, and work to convert any possible custody time to community service work. Alternatively, our defense team proceeds to trial to cause all charges to be dismissed.
Why should I hire Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin? At Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin, our legal team is comprised of aggressive defense attorneys that are Former Los Angeles Prosecutors. We are well-versed in all criminal law and defense matters, and very experienced working within the Southern California criminal justice system. Our criminal defense attorneys have over 50 years of collective courtroom experience and we are fully prepared to undertake our clients' cases. When we work with our clients, we do everything possible to make sure that they receive the attention, resources, and dedicated legal counsel that they deserve. We seek to keep our clients out of jail through Alternative Sentencing programs and to expunge their criminal records so that the weight of a criminal conviction, if not avoided, can be lifted. These are some of the reasons why we have been recognized as a Top 5% U.S. Law Firm year after year.
Do I need to pay the entire retainer up front? Our firm does work out payment plans with our clients, based on the seriousness of the case, and the amount of legal work neceesary.