Criminal Law FAQs

A criminal defense attorney represents people who are accused/charged of a crime, investigated for a crime, and/or convicted of a crime. Criminal defense attorneys zealously advocate for their client and uphold their constitutional rights. If you are accused of a crime and/or know you are being investigated for a crime, you should absolutely contact a criminal defense attorney immediately. Do not talk to the police, contact a criminal defense attorney first.

Defining the category of a crime depends on one's exposure, meaning, how much time in custody they are potentially looking at if convicted of said crime. A misdemeanor is defined as someone facing a maximum of one year in the county jail. A felony is defined as someone facing more than a year in custody, specifically, prison, and sometimes a life sentence.

Generally, a criminal case beings with an accusation. Once the accusation is made, law enforcement investigate the accusation and write a report. Once the report is generated, it is delivered to the District Attorney's Office, where the assigned deputy district attorney will make a decision whether they want to file a complaint or not. This decision to file said complaint is based on whether the deputy district attorney believes, based on the evidence, whether they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person accused of the crime is guilty. If the deputy district attorney files the complaint, the individual accused of the crime is either arrested, sent a letter saying the DA is filing charges and provides a court date, or, the court issues a warrant for the accused's arrest. The first court date is called an arraignment. At your arraignment, you will either enter a plea of guilty or not guilty (more often then not, not guilty), and set a pre-trial date. If it is a felony, you have the right to a preliminary hearing within 10 court days, or 60 calendar days, which you can waive. The time between arraignment and trial is called "pretrial." During these interim pretrial dates, negotiation and investigation occurs. Depending what is discovered and how negotiations go, trial ensues.

Let me say it again: EVERYTHING you say will be used against you. So, no, you do not have to speak to the police. You have the right to remain silent.

You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to a speedy and fair trial. You have the right to an attorney (public defender).

A bench warrant may be issued and bond can be revoked.

There is a bail schedule but an experienced and competent attorney can argue for the bail amount to be reduced.

It depends. If it is a misdemeanor, non-sex offense, it can be expunged and dismissed. If you were arrested and not convicted, it can be sealed. If you were accused and there is a basis for factual innocence, your criminal record can be sealed and destroyed. If it is a felony, it depends whether you went to prison.

A plea bargain is simply negotiated plea terms between the deputy district attorney and your criminal defense attorney as to what your consequences/punishment will be when you plead "guilty" to the charged offenses.

It is important to hire a criminal defense attorney early in the process because many people accused of crimes try to "represent themselves" and negotiate with the government's investigators and law enforcement officers. But what the accused does is actually hurt themselves in the process by divulging information they probably should not have had they been represented by a competent criminal defense attorney.

Bring all your documents - i.e. - notice to appear, citation, information about your case, pictures you may want to share, witness list (if any), anything the police may have given you.

Cooperation, trust, and communication.

The issue here is consent. If someone is accused of rape but both parties were intoxicated, questions to ask oneself are - did the defendant know the other person was intoxicated? Did the defendant take advantage of the person who was drunk? Choosing to get drunk is not a valid defense.

15 years; former prosecutor and public defender.

Exclusively criminal law

Sexual assault, domestic violence, sexual violence, rape, child molestation, solicitation, battery, false imprisonment, multiple victim cases

Yes

It depends on what the client wants and what the person is charged with. Every case is different and I tailor my approach to each case with nuance.

Most of the time, yes. But, the client has the ultimate say.

This is hard to answer because I would be disingenuous if I said every time was a success. What someone might think is favorable may not be favorable to another. For example, getting 10 years in prison for a sex offense on minors may sound harsh in isolation, but when hearing this person was looking at 210 years to life in prison, 10 years sounds pretty good. It is all relative and dependent on facts. But, I can fairly say that 99.9% of my clients have been satisfied if not happy with their representation by me.

Flat fee

Free consultation

Yes to payment plans, it is a case by case basis.

We will be informed through the case, and you will have my cell phone number.

A huge upside with hiring the Law Office of Kristine Koo, you will work directly with me.

Very quickly.

Whenever there is an update, I will let you know, immediately. I will also check in with you.

Email, phone, or in-person.

Absolutely. As your attorney, I will be working on your behalf to get charges reduced or dismissed.

If you are being investigated but have not been arrested yet, hire an attorney immediately. And, don't talk to the police. Everything, and I mean, everything, can and will be used against you. Plus, law enforcement can use YOUR statement to build their case against you.

It depends. So long as there is no warrant to search, there is no probable cause to search, and/or reasonable articulation) in some cases), yes. I would have to know your specific fact pattern to give a better answer.

The police are required to give you your Miranda rights if you are in custody and they interrogate you. If you are in custody and under interrogation, and law enforcement does not read you your Miranda rights, then your attorney can