The charges we defend.
Six files make up most of our docket. Each is laid out below in plain language: what the charge claims, how the defense answers it, what the State must prove, and where cases break.
DUI and impaired driving
What it means
A DUI charge says the State believes you drove impaired, or with a prohibited concentration in your blood. The case is built from an officer's observations, a set of roadside tests, and a machine, and every one of those can be wrong.
How we answer it
We start with the stop: if it was not lawful, everything after it is in question. We subpoena the machine's calibration and maintenance records, review the video frame by frame, and move to suppress what the State cannot justify.
What the State must prove
- Operation or actual control
- Impairment or a 0.08 reading
- A lawful stop and arrest
Where cases break
- The stop itself
- The field tests
- The machine's calibration
Drug charges
What it means
Possession and distribution cases turn on two questions: was the substance what the State says it was, and was it lawfully found. Weight and packaging decide how hard the charge lands.
How we answer it
The Fourth Amendment does most of the work here. We challenge the search, the scope of the warrant, and the lab's chain of custody, and we test the intent evidence the State leans on to call possession a sale.
What the State must prove
- Knowing possession
- The substance's identity
- Weight and intent to sell
Where cases break
- The search
- The warrant's scope
- Chain of custody
Assault and violent charges
What it means
An assault charge is often two accounts of the same minute, and the State has chosen one of them. Degrees turn on intent and injury, which are argued, not measured.
How we answer it
We pull the 911 audio, the medical records, and every statement, and we map the inconsistencies. Where self-defense applies, we put the State to its proof on who the aggressor was.
What the State must prove
- Intent, not just contact
- Injury as charged
- Identity of the actor
Where cases break
- Self-defense
- Witness credibility
- The 911 recording
Theft, fraud, and white collar
What it means
Theft and fraud charges are paper cases: value, intent, and identity proved through documents. The same paper usually shows where the theory overreaches.
How we answer it
We trace the trail ourselves, separate a mistake from a scheme, and fight the valuation that turns a misdemeanor into a felony. Negotiation posture improves with every document we can explain better than the State.
What the State must prove
- Taking with intent to keep
- Value as charged
- A knowing deception
Where cases break
- The paper trail
- Intent versus mistake
- Identification
Domestic charges and protective orders
What it means
Domestic files move faster than any other kind: arrest, a protective order, and conditions that can put you out of your home within days. Early missteps harden into the case's shape.
How we answer it
We address the protective order immediately, preserve the messages and records that context depends on, and prepare the defense while the evidence is still fresh.
What the State must prove
- A qualifying relationship
- The act as alleged
- Intent and injury
Where cases break
- The first statement
- The protective order's terms
- Recantation and pressure
Federal charges
What it means
A federal charge means the full weight of a U.S. Attorney's office: grand jury, agents, and sentencing guidelines that can punish an early mistake for years.
How we answer it
The defense starts before indictment where possible. We manage all contact with agents, attack the theory's jurisdiction and intent elements, and never let a client sit for an interview unprepared.
What the State must prove
- Federal jurisdiction
- Knowing participation
- Each element beyond doubt
Where cases break
- The interview
- The indictment's theory
- Cooperator testimony
The questions we hear most, answered plainly.
Should I talk to the police first?
No. Decline politely and ask for a lawyer. Innocent explanations do not get cases dismissed; they get quoted, often inaccurately and always in the worst light. Talking is a one-way door.
How fast can you get to the station?
Call the line and say where you are being held. A lawyer, not an answering service, takes the call, and for in-custody matters the jail visit is the first thing the file does.
What does this cost?
We quote a flat fee for each stage of the case, in writing, before you decide anything. You will know what the defense costs before it begins, and the number does not change because the State worked harder than expected.
Will this go to trial?
Most files resolve before a jury is seated, and many end earlier than that. We prepare every case as if it will be tried, because that posture is what serious negotiation is built on. The decision to try your case is always yours.
Can this come off my record?
Sometimes. Expungement and sealing depend on the charge, the outcome, and the waiting period the statute sets. We tell you at intake what your record options look like, and we plan the defense with the end of the file in mind.