Categories for Criminal Defense

This issue of percentage of time served in jail for a criminal case in Los Angeles County is a big question that my clients ask me. Clearly, nobody wants to go to jail because it’s a nasty place and the conditions inside the county jail are horrible. It’s not supposed to be comfortable, it’s always overcrowded, and there’s a lot of violent inmates there so it becomes a dangerous location… Continure reading

One of the biggest problems for people is keeping their spirits up, keeping their faith up because they’ve lost control of their future once they’re charged with a California criminal case. They could be facing jail or prison time, facing a criminal record, facing the loss of important rights and their future becomes dim because they’re really not sure what’s going to happen. They basically lose control, and once you… Continure reading

I’ve been moving around moving around in all of the Los Angeles criminal courts since the Coronavirus. The courthouses have only closed for one day. Otherwise, they’ve been open for a lot of different business.  As it currently stands, and on making this post in August 2021, we have a situation where all public is allowed in the courthouse. That only changed recently. They were only letting in the defendants… Continure reading

I definitely see an effect.  To a large degree, prosecutors have turned on the police now as well. Almost every day, I’m getting notices in the mail of police officers who have been convicted of California crimes and the prosecutors are turning that over. Further, there are also situations where police officers who have been accused of a misdemeanor or felony crime or there’s been allegations that have been substantiated… Continure reading

As many of you may not know, the Hedding Law Firm has been around since the 1970s when my father first started practicing. I later came along and I’ve been practicing now for the past 27 years.  I think the secret sauce is not only experience, but a well-rounded complete package-type experience. In other words, I started first with the District Attorney’s office in the early 1990s.  At that time,… Continure reading

How Will the Van Nuys District Attorney’s Office Implement the New Los Angeles District Attorney’s Policies? Right now, across Los Angeles county as the new year approaches, the new head Deputy District Attorney George Gascon has imposed a number of new crucial policies and there are prosecutors who are angry about it. LA county has one of the biggest prosecution agencies in the world.  There are over 1,200 prosecutors and… Continure reading

Right now, because of the Coronavirus, the Supreme Court Justice of the California Supreme Court has ruled that all bail in Los Angeles county is zero.  There are some exceptions to this rule related to more serious cases like murder, sex crime cases, people who have strikes on their record. But for the most part, you’re in a pretty good position as far as bail goes in the San Fernando Valley… Continure reading

If You Have a Criminal Case Pending in one of the San Fernando Valley Courts do you Have to Appear in Court and Disobey the Governor’s Order Regarding the Corona Virus? This is a good question because the Governor’s order right now as I put this content in the website says that nobody can leave except for essential things.  So, the bottom line is, the San Fernando Valley courthouses — if you… Continure reading

If You Have a Case Pending in the San Fernando Valley, How Can You Avoid Jail Time and the Virus? This is a good question because a lot of people are fearful of jail, but when you combine the fact that there’s the Coronavirus and you could end up going to jail in the San Fernando Valley and being exposed to the Coronavirus because the jail population is to compacted together,… Continure reading

It’s an interesting question.  Based on the Governor’s order, you would figure that all of the courthouses in Los Angeles would just close down.  Unfortunately, because they are viewed as critical need when it comes to criminal defense, the San Fernando Valley courts are open. In fact, all 38 courts in Los Angeles county are open.  They’re opened for limited business.  For example, in Van Nuys for felony cases, if… Continure reading