Learn Why It's Never a Good Idea to Try to Resolve Your California Sex Crime Case Over the Phone with a Lawyer. I get several calls where people are calling to resolve their sex crime case over the phone. 

They want me to assure them that the prosecutors aren't going to file the case or get dismissed when I haven't seen any of the facts surrounding the case, at least from the police or prosecutor's standpoint.

I keep getting asked repeatedly what's going to happen and if the case will be dismissed. Often, I can't answer the question without all the pieces of the puzzle.

In other words, I have to find out from the prosecutor and police's standpoint what evidence they have and then compare and match that against what you're saying about the case.

If I only have part of the puzzle -- part of the equation -- then making a snap judgment over the phone is challenging. People call in and say that another lawyer told me they could get the case dismissed. 

I'm like, wait a minute. They don't know anything about your case. All they know is what you've told them, and of course, you're going to pain the best rosy picture possible and a lot of time.

In many cases, you don't know exactly what evidence the prosecutors have.  So, if that attorney is telling you that, that would be the last attorney, I would hire.

To give you a better understanding of what you are facing if arrested and charged with a sexually related crime in the state of California, our sex crime defense lawyers will review the topic below.

What are the Common California Sex Crime Charges?

• Penal Code 236.1 PC - human trafficking,
• Penal Code 243.4 PC - sexual battery,
• Penal Code 220 PC - assault to commit a felony,
• Penal Code 261PC – rape,
• Penal Code 261.5 PC – statutory rape,
• Penal Code 266h PC – pimping,
• Penal Code 266i PC – pandering,
• Penal Code 269 PC – aggravated sexual abuse of child,
• Penal Code 272 PC - contributing to the delinquency of minor,
• Penal Code 286(b) PC – sodomy of a minor,
• Penal Code 288 PC – lewd acts with a minor,
• Penal Code 288a PC – oral copulation with a minor,
• Penal Code 288.2 PC – send the harmful matter to seduce minor,
• Penal Code 288.3 PC - contact minor to commit a felony,
• Penal Code 288.4 PC – arrange a meeting with the child for lewd purposes,
• Penal Code 288.5 PC - continuous sexual abuse of a child,
• Penal Code 289 PC - forcible sexual penetration with a foreign object,
• Penal Code 290 PC - sex offender registration,
• Penal Code 311 PC – child pornography,
• Penal Code 314 PC – indecent exposure,
• Penal Code 647(a) PC – lewd conduct in public,
• Penal Code 647(b) PC - solicitation of prostitution,
• Penal Code 647.6 PC – child molestation,
• Penal Code 647(J)(4) PC – revenge porn,
• Penal Code 653.22 PC - loitering for prostitution,
• Penal Code 653.23 PC - supervising or aiding prostitution,
• Title IX sexual misconduct hearing at a university

Initial Review of All the Details

You want an attorney who will give it to you straight, who's going to tell you the truth, and of course, is going to try to get you the result you want.

However, it would help if you had all the details and facts when you're an attorney trying to help somebody out. 

And often, if you haven't interviewed all of the witnesses, haven't seen the police report, or haven't spoken to the prosecutor, it's challenging to evaluate the case thoroughly.

So, there are two things I would do. First, I wouldn't trust anybody telling you they're just going to get your case dismissed or get this great result before hearing everything and seeing everything.

The second thing is that I would stop trying to resolve and answer my case before the case is even filed.  I see this a lot more in a pre-filing situation. 

Someone has been either talked to or approached by the police.  Maybe an alleged victim has accused them of something, and they're calling me saying, here are the facts, here's the situation. 

So, do you think the police will take the case?  Do you think the prosecutors will file the claim? And number one, it's reckless as an attorney to start making predictions like that. 

What if you predicted a case would not be filed, and it ends up getting filed? 

So, then, can the person get mad at you because you made a prediction that didn't come true?  And why would you be predicting anything when you don't have both sides of the story.

Prefiling Intervention in Sex Crime Cases

So, first and foremost, you've got a pre-file situation, something's happened, and you're concerned about it, certainly sit down with the attorney and talk to them about it and let them go ahead and give their opinion as to what they think is going on.

But I have people calling me multiple times, and they're not hiring me on the case.  They want me to give them an opinion. 

They want me to tell them what will happen with their case, and I'm simply not going to do that because the criminal defense doesn't work that way. 

Sex crime cases don't work that way.  It's not a two plus two equals four situation because it's human beings.

It's decisions being made by individuals who you don't know, and you're probably not used to being investigated or charged with any offense, let alone a sex offense.

So, you don't know what criteria they look at and don't know what evidence they need to prosecute the case.  Yes, I know that, but I need all the puzzle pieces.

The bottom line is this.  If you're being investigated and you think you're going to be charged with a crime, hire a lawyer, whether it's me or somebody else, get somebody on your side immediately and stop asking them to solve your case over the phone. 

Let them do their job.  Let them get all the information, and then they can give you an idea of what you're up against, what you're facing, and what you should do.

Through a prefiling intervention process, it might be possible to negotiate with the prosecutor to avoid the formal filing of charges before the court.

Hedding Law Firm is located in Los Angeles County, and we offer a free case consultation.