WHY HIRE A FORMER PROSECUTOR ?

If you are ever charged with a crime, have a former prosecutor represent you.
He will be the most educated, intelligent, and experienced attorney you could possibly find and without a doubt a former Los Angeles County Deputy  District Attorney is the best of all former prosecutor who are now Defense Attorneys.

First of all, it is incredibly difficult to get a job with the L.A. County D.A.'s office. Whenever there is an opening for even one position, there will be hundreds of applicants for that one job. Consequently, whoever is chosen for that position is already head and shoulders above the average attorney out there.

Once the attorney is hired as a Deputy District Attorney, he goes through a rigorous and intense training period where he is taught everything he needs to know in order to be a good trial attorney. However, that is just the beginning. He is then assigned to a courtroom where he will typically put on five to ten preliminary hearings every day. At these hearings, it is the duty of the prosecutor to examine witnesses and present other forms of evidence to convince the judge that the case is worthy of going to trial. For that reason a new Deputy District Attorney soon becomes an expert in questioning witnesses and presenting tangible evidence in court. Furthermore, the crimes charged run the gamut from simple drug possession all the way to very violent crimes, such as rape and murder.

As a young prosecutor, I was first assigned to the Inglewood Court HOuse in Los Angeles County. Unfortunately, Inglewood is a high crime area, and so you are dealing with very serious crimes in your very first assignment.  Because my assignment at the Inglewood Court House lasted over a year and a half, I presented over one thousand preliminary hearings before I did even one Jury Trial.

My next assignment was at the Santa Monica Court House, where I was assigned to a Trial Court. Because of my training, it was obvious that I had become a very good prosecutor and I started doing Felony Jury Trials immediately. In fact, I completed seventeen Felony Jury Trials during my very first year at the Santa Monica Court House, more jury trials than most defense attorneys have tried in their entire career.

The Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office is the largest Prosecutor Agency in the United States. It covers a very large area, from West Los Angeles to Pomona, and from Long Beach to Lancaster. Each area of Los Angeles County is unique, consisting of many different types of people. Generally, it is the policy of the District Attorneys Office to transfer its prosecutors every two to three years. Consequently, a veteran prosecutor will be assigned to many different Court Houses throughout the County.

In addition, there are several Special Units with the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office, each unit specializing in a different type of crime. Only the most skilled prosecutors are assigned to Special Units.

During my twenty five year tenure with the L.A. County District Attorneys Office, I served in two Special Units. One Unit specialized in Sexual Assaults cases, one of the most difficult types of cases to prosecute. I was later assigned to the Judicial System Integrity Division, a Unit specializing in prosecuting judges, lawyers, and police officers who have been charged with committing crimes.  One of my specialties became prosecuting attorneys who stole money from their clients. That assignment taught me that no one is above the law.

As a prosecutor I have interacted with hundreds of Defense Attorneys. I came to realize very early in my career as a prosecutor that not all Defense Attorneys are the same. Some are much better than others. And it soon became apparent that there were a small number of Defense Attorneys who were incredibly good. These attorneys were able to obtain the best results for their clients because they were able to expose any possible weaknesses in the prosecutor's case. And after a while, the pattern became obvious. These excellent Defense Attorneys had been former prosecutors, and so they were much more experienced at evaluating witnesses and presenting plausible defenses.

My advice is simple. If you are charged with a crime, hire an excellent attorney to represent you. And the best Defense Attorneys are those who have sat at both ends of the Counsel table, prosecution and defense, because these attorneys know the legal system from both sides and will give you the best possible defense.