Plea Bargain vs. Jury Trial Decision
I've been practicing in the Van Nuys criminal court for nearly 30 years. My office in Encino is approximately five minutes away from the Van Nuys courthouse, so I have a lot of experience making appearances there and a lot of experience dealing with the judges, the prosecutors, and the court staff.
I think that's one of the components that a great criminal defense attorney must have to practice in the Van Nuys courthouse successfully. You have to have those relationships with the:
- judges,
- prosecutors,
- court staff, and
- bailiffs.
Not only that, but you also have to understand the strategy behind getting good results for your clients.
The next thing you have to have and what makes me, Ron Hedding, the best criminal defense attorney in the Van Nuys area, is you have to have the skill to either negotiate a case or fight a case at a jury trial.
I've done over 200 jury trials. I've battled jury trials in pretty much every courtroom in the Van Nuys courthouse. I know how to win a case that can be won. I've even won instances that you would have thought could not be beaten.
The first key thing is that you have to take the right case to trial. You don't go to trial if you're losing because you cost your client money.
Further, you're going to probably cost your client time in jail or prison if you lose the jury trial, so you've got first to decide to take the proper case to trial. Don't take a case to trial that you have no chance of winning.
Experience to Fight Prosecutor's Case
Just because you have a chance of winning the case doesn't necessarily mean you're going to win the case. A lot of times, you've got prosecutors and police, and they are prepared. They've got money, unlimited resources, and a lot of times, they've got the advantage over the defense, so you need an attorney who can turn the tide against the prosecutors.
In other words, a more skilled person can marshal the evidence better than them, investigate the case better than them, and argue the case better than them. This is why you come to somebody, like me, Ron Hedding, who has this experience.
Skilled Courtroom Negotiator
The next thing you've got to be able to do is to negotiate. Having the trial skills and being able to beat them translates into negotiation, as well. Because if they think you might be able to beat them, they're going to be fairer when it comes to negotiating a case in the Van Nuys criminal courthouse.
I've negotiated thousands of cases there. I have hundreds of cases every year going through that courthouse. I know how to handle cases. I know how to deal with the prosecutors. I know how to deal with the political climate and the judges.
So, you've got to have somebody who can negotiate. You've got to have somebody who can try a case. You've got to have somebody who has experience in the courthouse where your case is pending.
Attorney Whom You Feel Comfortable With
The last key thing to being the best criminal defense attorney in the Van Nuys area, working in the Van Nuys courthouse, is somebody that you feel comfortable with. Somebody that when you meet with them:
- you get a good sense if they're a good person,
- they're trying to help you,
- they're sophisticated, and
- they know how to deal with the case because that translates to the prosecutors and judges.
They know your attorney is top-notch, respected, knows what he's doing, doesn't mess around, and that's how we get the best results in the Van Nuys criminal courthouse.
If you're looking for a great attorney and you've got a case in Van Nuys, pick up the phone. Ask for a meeting with Ron Hedding. I stand at the ready to help you, to put my 27-years as a criminal defense attorney to work for you—also my years as a prosecutor and my years working for a Superior Court judge. You've come to the right place. You've found the complete package.
