Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Victim charged with murder

My brother-in-law was attacked by a group of men and in the ensuing melee one of the attackers was accidently shot (it was found that he was shot by a bullet that riccoched off of the ground) and died as a result. My brother-in-law had two torn achilles at the time and could not walk without crutches. His children and wife were in the immediate area of the attack and he felt hew had no choice but to fight back to defend his family. The men who attacked him had weapons - an ax and a sledghammer. My brother-in-law waited for the police to arrest him afterwards, and the D.A. is going for a murder charge. We are not sure about the way the attorney is handling the case and have yet to confront him about his plans, but we lost confidence when the decision to go for murder came about - although he assured us it would be reduced to at least manslaughter. We all know this should be self defense, gun or not, and are worried about this development. Should we be? What else can we do?


Asked on 4/12/04, 5:38 pm

4 Answers from Attorneys
Ronald Richards Law Offices of Ronald Richards and Associates

Re: Victim charged with murder

you can hire our firm to audit your current attorney. this is the best way to check his work.

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Answered on 4/12/04, 6:05 pm
Lyle Johnson Bedi and Johnson Attorneys at Law

Re: Victim charged with murder

The defense attorney has no control over what charges are filed by the district attorney. You should immediately contact his attorney and discuss with him or her what is happening and what is the planned plan for his defense. Then consider contacting another criminal defense attorney for a second opinion.

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Answered on 4/12/04, 8:16 pm
Elena Condes LAW OFFFICE OF ELENA CONDES

Re: Victim charged with murder

Hi. It looks like you are in the Oakland area. My office is in Berkeley. Feel free to give me a call and we can talk about your brother-in-law's case. I need a little more information to answer your question. What proceedings have taken place thus far? What is it about the prior attorney's work that you are unconfortable with?

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Answered on 4/12/04, 8:58 pm
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: Victim charged with murder

Your question does not provide much detail about the "melee." How far away were these men when your brother fired the gun? Were they retreating? The law does not automatically excuse violence toward attackers; only violence which is reasonably necessary under the circumstances will be excused. If they had stopped attacking or if other reasons made it seem there was no danger at the time, then shooting a gun in their direction would not be reasonable.

Also, if the attackers worked as a team then the surviving members of that team can be charged with felony murder for the death of their comrade -- assuming it happened during the attack and not after.

The bottom line is that the D.A. sees the facts very differently from what you have written. Your brother's defense attorney has little control over this and I don't see why you are losing confidence. You can always seek a second opinion from another lawyer.

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Answered on 4/12/04, 9:13 pm


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