Were You Arrested in Los Angeles or in California?

You need competent criminal defense representation!

Were you arrested for a crime in Los Angeles? The City of Angels has had a rough reputation at times, and local law enforcement officials have been aggressively cracking down on criminal activity. If you were arrested in Los Angeles, you need to ensure that you work with an attorney who will aggressively defend your rights and protect your freedoms.

At the Law Offices of Kenneth H. Lewis, Ken Lewis has over 42 years of experience in assisting clients and helping them obtain positive outcomes for their criminal cases. Ken Lewis will help you fully understand the criminal process and aggressively fight to help you obtain the best possible outcome.

The Arrest Process

If you believe that you are the subject of a criminal investigation and could be subject to arrest, then you need to retain a criminal defense lawyer now. If necessary, Ken Lewis can offer to surrender you to the authorities, making it unnecessary for them to come to your home or place of work and take you into custody in front of your co-workers, family or friends.

A police officer can make an arrest in Los Angeles either with or without an arrest warrant, depending on the situation. A warrant is defined as an order describing the person to be arrested for crimes they are believed to have committed. A warrant of arrest is signed by a judge when a written complaint has been filed, and it directs law enforcement officers to arrest that person and take them into custody, after which they will be taken to court.

Physical possession of an arrest warrant is not needed if an officer has reasonable grounds to believe that a warrant for arrest has been issued in the State of California or in another jurisdiction, or if:

• The accused committed or attempted to commit a crime in the presence of the law enforcement officer.
• The law enforcement officer has reasonable grounds to believe that a crime has been committed and that the accused is the person who did it.

What Happens After an Arrest

Immediately after an arrest, you may be interrogated, either in or out of the police station. Many people believe that if they are not warned of their Miranda rights, i.e. "the right to remain silent," they automatically go free. That is not the case. If there is an improper Miranda warning, or no warning at all, it simply means that that statement cannot be used against you in court. There may be other evidence that is perfectly admissible that can be used against you. Talking without a Miranda warning may simply bury you deeper and do nothing to help gain your release.

If the police decide to arrest you, you will be booked. That will include a photograph, a so-called "mug shot" and fingerprinting. You will then be placed in a nationwide database that is generally available to all law enforcement agencies throughout the United States. You will be informed of the charges against you, have bail set in most cases, and be given one phone call to make.

Make that call to a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, you will be given access to a public defender, though you will probably not meet him or her until immediately before your first court appearance, the arraignment, where you will plead guilty or not guilty. Normally, an arraignment must take place within 48 hours of your arrest, so you may spend a few days in jail unless you are able to arrange for bail.

How Bail Works

Bail is a monetary guarantee that a defendant will appear in court. In other words, each crime, except certain violent crimes, has a dollar amount set as bail that, if posted, will allow the defendant to remain free until his or her case is over. The bail can either be paid in full to the court, which will hold it and return it if the defendant makes all court appearances, or a bail bond can be posted through a bail bondsmen who, for a fee (usually 10%), will post a surety bond that guarantees to the court that if the defendant does not appear, the court will be paid the full amount of the bail.

Typically, a defendant must post some type of security, such as a house or car, to guarantee to the bondsmen that they will be paid should the defendant fail to make a court appearance. Bounty hunters are persons who try to find a defendant who has skipped on a bail bond.

Contact the Law Offices of Kenneth H. Lewis

An accused has the right to a public trial by an impartial judge or jury. No defendant can be forced to be a witness against himself or herself, or be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of the law. Neither excessive bail nor excessive fines can be imposed on a defendant. Cruel and unusual punishments cannot be inflicted.

If you have been arrested, do not hesitate to contact the Law Offices of Kenneth H. Lewis as soon as possible to retain the legal representation of an experienced criminal attorney. Lawyers who do not specialize in criminal law simply do not have the experience to help you.