Criminal Defense

Criminal charges can threaten a person’s freedom, reputation, livelihood, and future. I approach criminal defense with the understanding that every case involves more than a charge on a docket. It involves a person whose life may be permanently affected by the outcome.

With more than four decades of legal and litigation experience, I have represented individuals facing serious criminal charges, including misdemeanor and felony prosecutions and cases involving complex factual, evidentiary, constitutional, and forensic issues. My approach is thorough, strategic, and trial-focused. I closely examine not only what the prosecution claims occurred, but how the evidence was obtained, preserved, interpreted, and presented. I leave no stone unturned.

Effective criminal defense requires careful attention to detail at every stage of the case. That may include challenging unlawful searches or seizures, examining police investigations and interrogations, testing the reliability and admissibility of electronic and forensic evidence, identifying missing or destroyed evidence, evaluating witness credibility, filing appropriate pretrial motions, negotiating where negotiation serves the client’s interests, and preparing every serious case with the discipline required for trial.

My work is aimed towards requiring the government to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt and with legally obtained, reliable evidence in accordance with the Constitution and Rules of Criminal Procedure and Evidence, both at motion hearings and at trial. An accusation and a charge is not evidence nor should it carry with it a presumption of guilt. A criminal prosecution resulting in conviction should never be treated as a foregone conclusion.

My criminal defense practice is particularly suited to cases that demand intensive factual investigation, close examination of the prosecution’s evidence, and experienced courtroom advocacy. I am comfortable handling difficult cases, complicated evidentiary records, and circumstances in which the defense requires the willingness to challenge conventional assumptions about what the evidence supposedly shows.

My responsibility is to protect my client’s rights, identify weaknesses in the government’s case, and present the defense clearly, forcefully, and professionally—whether the appropriate resolution is dismissal, negotiation, motion practice, trial, or post-conviction relief.

Criminal Matters That I Handle Include:

• Felony and serious misdemeanor defense
• Criminal investigations and pre-charge representation
• Police interrogation and confession issues
• Search and seizure challenges
• Electronic and digitally stored evidence (cell phones and computers)
• Forensic evidence and expert testimony
• Missing, lost, or destroyed evidence
• Evidentiary and constitutional motions
• Jury trials & non jury bench trials
• Sentencing advocacy
• Post-conviction and related criminal proceedings