Phone: 1-770-719-8166
Fax: 1-770-472-0803
Johnny Ramirez Castaneda, JD, MBA (Bio)
Frances D. Eleby Smith, JD, RN (Bio)

Your Legal Defense is an Important Matter

The Prosecutors job is to convict you of the crime you have been charged with. The District Attorney is an elected position, and many times, they will take actions and use methods to ensure they can rack up an impressive record of convictions which they can then use during their election campaign as being the candidate that is “tough on crime.” The District Attorney’s office is well funded. The District Attorney’s office has Prosecutors, Investigators, Victim Advocates and secretarial staff. You need a Legal Defense team such as The Castaneda Law Firm to help you in your defense.

Immediately after your arrest you will feel the gravity of the David vs Goliath situation that you are in and how much the deck is stacked against you. Your freedom is at stake. The impact of a conviction on your criminal record will affect your future job prospects. The District Attorney’s arsenal against you has been further strengthened since a recent U.S. Supreme court decision has decided it is unnecessary for a police officer to read you your Miranda rights. The case is Berghuis v. Thompkins, 560 U.S. ___ (2010) (docket 08-1470), a case in which the Court considered the position of a suspect who understands his or her right to remain silent under Miranda v. Arizona and is aware he or she has the right to remain silent, but does not explicitly invoke or waive the right. The Court held that unless and until the suspect actually stated that he was relying on that right, his subsequent voluntary statements could be used in court and police could continue to interact with (or question) him. The mere act of remaining silent was, on its own, insufficient to imply the suspect has invoked his or her rights. Furthermore, a voluntary reply even after lengthy silence could be construed as implying a waiver.The effect of this ruling is that it is now the Defendant’s responsibility to invoke their Miranda Rights.

Your status as a Defendant in a criminal case can be very intimidating and confusing. Imagine you’re in the wrong place, at the wrong time. It could be anything from scuffle at the local tavern, your boss has accused you of embezzlement or someone close you have been killed and you were the last one to see them. It may sound like a bad TV show but these cases happen all the time and unlike television, this kind of tragic and dramatic episode won’t be wrapped up in 60 minutes. If ever there was a time when you needed someone on your side to defend your rights and your liberty, this is it.

The Castaneda Law Firm has the experience needed to defend you in your case. You need a focused legal defense that comes from a firm which believes in aggressively pursuing every legal method, angle, theory and statue in order to win your freedom.

Contact us today.
 

Latest Success

Client bought items at the store and store cashier neglected to ring up some of the items, Client was subsequently charged with shoplifting. We prepared this case for trial. Just prior to trial these charges were dismissed.
Client injured on the job, Employer denied that Client injured on the job despite the fact that the ambulance picked client up from the job site, Client’s previous attorney had negotiated a 10k settlement. Our firm entered the case two years later, we prepared the case for trial, prior to trial we settled for 50K.
Client charged with Battery, this case was called in for trial, just prior to trial all charges against client were dismissed.
Client charged with violation of felony probation, for failure to report, failure to pay as directed, new violation of criminal law. We negotiated a disposition in which client was only required to pay a fine, terminate probation and to have the first offender status kept intact so that client would not have a felony criminal conviction record.
Client went to a pool hall, Client order drinks and food, the manager then got into a physical confrontation with Client. Client was beaten and humiliated in front of his family. This case was prepared for trial and was settled for an undisclosed amount.
"Past results are not a guaranty of future results"