Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: controlled substance arrest

Your friend should use a PD if he can�t afford a private attorney & qualifies for the PD. PD's are always a good option if you can�t afford a private attorney. He and his attorney should try to get the charge reduced to an infraction if possible.

Re: controlled substance arrest

Wasn't it charged as a misdemeanor? He should see if the DA will plead it down to an infraction (depends on circumstances, place, etc.). There is nothing wrong with using the public defender's office, if your friend qualifies. The public defender will be able to advise your friend of the options.

Re: controlled substance arrest

If your friend cannot afford to pay for a lawyer, then his only choices are getting a public defender or representing himself. In that scenario getting a PD would be a very good idea. If he can afford to pay his own lawyer, though, he is not eligible for a PD. Relying on one under those circumstances would be quite a bad idea.

One wrinkle: if all ten arrestees are prosecuted in the same case, they may each need separate defense attorneys. The public defender would be able to represent at most one of them. Some counties have an alternate public defender to handle such conflicts, and some of the larger counties have multiple layers of alternate PDs. None has ten layers, though. If your friend does not have counsel and all of these offices have been exhausted then the county will hire a private defense attorney for him at public expense. It won't pay her very much, though, so he shouldn't count on getting the same type of service a wealthy defendant who can afford a lot of attorney time would get.

As Mr. Fauth notes, this offense probably should have been a misdemeanor all along. A PD may be able to get your friend a much better deal than he could get for himself, but he probably doesn't risk a felony conviction even if he (foolishly) tries to act as his own lawyer.

Re: controlled substance arrest

A public defender is always an option if your friend cannot afford private counsel and he financially qualifies for services by a PD. If he makes too much money, then he will not be eligible.

The charge of being under the influence should be a misdemeanor to begin with. Possession would be charged as a felony but if he did not have any pills on him it probably will not be charged. If your friend wants to plead guilty to being under the influence, his choice will be 90 days in jail or treatment program. If he has no prior drug related convictions, he should be eligible for something called Deferred Entry of Judgment or DEJ which means classes and dismissal of the case after 18 months or so.

This situation calls for an energetic attorney to review the case and look for ways to either dismiss it or downgrade it to an infraction.

Please feel free to contact me if your friend is interested in a free consultation with a private lawyer in the Los Angeles area.

Jacek W. Lentz, Esq.

310.273.1361

www.lentzlawfirm.com