Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

That was incredibly foolish of you. Have you been living under a rock for the past eleven (11) years? Eleven years exactly, because today is September 11.

You need to get an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, you can ask the court to appoint the public defender to represent you when you appear for the arraignment, and you can ask the court to continue the arraignment.

You are always entitled to represent yourself in court. Whether you should is a different issue. You are facing a charge that carries 6 months in jail, and is generally vigorously prosecuted. The conventional wisdom is that an attorney will be able to do a better job and get a better outcome. Prosecutors and judges don�t like dealing with ProPers, unless you are simply pleading guilty, not defending the case.

When charged with any crime, the proper questions are, can any evidence obtained in a search or statement be used against you, can you be convicted, and what can you do? Raise all appropriate defenses with whatever witnesses, evidence and sympathies are available for legal arguments, for evidence suppression or other motions, or for trial. If you don't know how to represent yourself effectively against an experienced prosecutor intending to convict, then hire an attorney who does, who will try to get a dismissal, charge reduction, diversion, program, or other decent outcome through motions, plea bargain, or take it to trial if appropriate.

If serious about hiring counsel to help in this, and if the charges are in SoCal courts, feel free to contact me. I�ll be happy to help fight this and get the best outcome possible, using whatever defenses there may be.

The question of whether you need a lawyer or not has been answered. You do need a lawyer. I have recently handled a similar case from the LAX Airport where the charges were completely dismissed. Of course, each case depends on its own facts. If you would like to speak to me about your case, don't hesitate to call. Steve Mandell 310 393 0639

Definitely. You need a lawyer. Good luck!