Felony Lawyer Riverside
If you are facing a felony charge in Southern California the situation is serious. A conviction can mean state prison, a permanent criminal record, loss of your right to possess a firearm, and lasting damage to your employment prospects, housing options, and civil rights. Some felony charges in Riverside County also carry sentencing enhancements that can stack years onto an already substantial prison term.
Seyb Law Group has been defending clients against felony charges in Riverside and throughout Southern California for over 13 years. Our attorneys handle everything from wobbler offenses and drug-related felonies to serious violent crimes and federal charges. We’re here to protect you when things get serious, starting with the moment of your arrest. Call our Riverside, CA felony lawyer today for a consultation.
Why Choose Seyb Law Group for Felony Defense in Riverside, CA?
Attorneys Who Have Handled Felony Cases in Riverside County Courts
Felony cases in Riverside County are adjudicated in Riverside County Superior Court, most often at the Hall of Justice in downtown Riverside, which houses 21 criminal courtrooms. The Riverside County District Attorney’s office aggressively prosecutes felony cases, and the sentencing exposure for even a first-time felony conviction can be significant. Having a criminal defense lawyer in Riverside, CA who has appeared in these courts, dealt with these prosecutors, and handled these specific charge categories before is not a minor advantage. It is the foundation of an effective defense.
Managing Partner Spencer Seyb founded Seyb Law Group out of a conviction that every person facing criminal charges, including serious felony charges, deserves real representation. He graduated from Trinity Law School in Santa Ana in 2011 and has since litigated hundreds of criminal cases throughout Southern California in both state and federal court. Attorney Cary Rosenfeld graduated from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1993 and brings nearly eight years of combined law enforcement experience as a Deputy Sheriff with Los Angeles County and as a Police Officer with the City of Burbank. That background gives him direct insight into how law enforcement builds felony cases, giving him an especially strong edge in court. Attorney Alan Spears has been defending clients against criminal charges, including capital murder and serious violent felonies, since 1975. He is admitted to practice in California, the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. District Courts for the Central, Eastern, and Southern Districts of California.
Proven Outcomes Across Felony Charge Categories
Our results reflect over a decade of felony defense work for clients facing serious charges:
- A felony domestic violence charge: reduced to a misdemeanor with no jail time
- Felony drug sales and transportation: reduced to a misdemeanor with no jail time
- A first DUI with injury: charges dismissed, probation
- A burglary charge: reduced to petty theft
- A second DUI with a BAC of .18: charges dismissed
These outcomes reflect consistent, methodical defense work applied early and maintained throughout the life of each case. Prior results do not guarantee a future outcome, but they demonstrate what is possible with the right preparation and the right attorney.
Aggressive Defense at Every Stage
Felony defense in Riverside is not a single event. It is a process that starts at the arraignment and runs through the preliminary hearing, pre-trial motions, plea negotiations, and, when necessary, trial. Each stage offers opportunities that a passive or underprepared defense misses. We file suppression motions when the evidence was obtained unlawfully. We challenge charging decisions when the facts support a lesser offense. We push for dismissals at the preliminary hearing when probable cause is lacking. And we try cases when that is what the situation requires. Alan Spears has been doing exactly that for over 45 years.
We offer flexible payment plans so that the quality of a defendant’s representation is not limited by immediate financial circumstances.
What Our Clients Say
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Types of Felony Cases We Handle in Riverside
Seyb Law Group defends clients against the full range of felony charges brought in Riverside County Superior Court and in federal court. The following are the primary felony offense categories we handle for Riverside clients.
- Violent crimes. Assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, carjacking, vehicular manslaughter, and other violent offenses carry serious prison exposure under California law and frequently qualify as strike offenses under the Three Strikes Law. Defense has to address both the immediate charge and any prior record issues simultaneously.
- Drug crimes. Felony drug charges in Riverside range from drug possession with intent to sell to drug trafficking and drug manufacturing. Many of these cases turn on whether the search that produced the evidence was constitutionally sound. If it was not, a suppression motion under Penal Code 1538.5 can remove the prosecution’s key evidence from the case entirely.
- Domestic violence. Felony domestic violence charges under Penal Code 273.5, inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or intimate partner, carry two to four years in state prison. Riverside County prosecutors pursue these charges even when alleged victims decline to cooperate, and protective orders go into effect at the time of arrest.
- Sex crimes. Rape, sexual assault, child molestation, and related charges carry mandatory sex offender registration under California Penal Code 290 in addition to substantial prison terms. The reputational and collateral consequences begin at the moment of arrest. Defense must be comprehensive from the first day.
- Theft crimes. Grand theft, burglary, robbery, felony shoplifting, and embezzlement are all chargeable as felonies in Riverside, depending on the amount involved and the circumstances of the offense. Many theft charges are wobblers and can be reduced to misdemeanors with the right defense approach.
- Felony DUI. A DUI becomes a felony in California when it involves injury to another person, is a fourth offense within ten years, or involves certain aggravating factors. The Riverside DUI enforcement corridor along the 91, 60, and 215 freeways produces a steady stream of DUI arrests. A Riverside DUI lawyer from our firm handles both the criminal case and the DMV hearing together.
- Federal crimes. Charges brought in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, including wire fraud, drug trafficking across state lines, and money laundering, carry federal sentencing guidelines that operate differently from California state sentencing. Spencer Seyb and Alan Spears are both admitted to federal court.
California Legal Requirements for Felony Charges in Riverside
Straight Felonies vs. Wobbler Felonies
Not all felony charges in Riverside are treated identically. A straight felony is an offense that must be charged and sentenced as a felony regardless of the circumstances. A wobbler, by contrast, can be prosecuted as either a felony or a misdemeanor depending on the facts and the defendant’s history. Under Penal Code Section 17(b), a court may also reduce a wobbler felony to a misdemeanor at sentencing or after successful completion of probation. Identifying wobbler charges and determining the appropriate course of treatment for a misdemeanor is among the first things our attorneys assess in any new Riverside felony case.
Felony Sentencing Under Penal Code 1170
California organizes felony sentencing under Penal Code Section 1170, which establishes three-tier sentencing ranges for most offenses. Lower-level felonies are sentenced under the Realignment Act and may be served in county jail rather than state prison. Mid-range felonies carry two, three, or four-year terms. The most serious offenses carry indeterminate state prison terms, including life sentences for certain violent crimes. Understanding which sentencing tier applies to a specific charge, and what factors the prosecution can use to argue for the upper term, directly shapes the defense strategy from the first day of representation.
Prior Prison Term Enhancements Under Penal Code 667.5
California’s Penal Code Section 667.5 provides for additional consecutive prison terms based on prior felony convictions and prior prison terms served. Where the prior offense qualifies as a violent felony, a three-year enhancement can be added on top of the base sentence for each such prior term. These enhancements can dramatically increase the actual time a defendant faces. Challenging whether a prior conviction legally qualifies for enhancement, and whether the enhancement was properly pled and proved, is a technical but critically important part of felony defense in Riverside County.
California’s Three Strikes Law and How It Applies in Riverside
Under Penal Code Section 1170.12, a second qualifying serious or violent felony conviction doubles the sentence otherwise imposed. A third qualifying conviction carries a mandatory minimum of 25 years to life in state prison. Riverside County prosecutors apply this law broadly, and a wide range of charges counts as a strike. Many defendants do not realize their current charge could serve as a strike until they are already at the sentencing stage. Our attorneys evaluate Three Strikes exposure at the beginning of every felony case, not after a plea has already been entered. The Riverside County Superior Court criminal division provides an overview of how felony cases are processed locally.
Grand Jury Indictments in Riverside Felony Cases
California prosecutors can charge a felony by filing a complaint and proceeding through a preliminary hearing, or by presenting the case to a grand jury for indictment. When a grand jury indicts, it bypasses the preliminary hearing, eliminating the defense’s early opportunity to cross-examine the prosecution’s witnesses.
Important Aspects of a Riverside Felony Case
Acting Before Charges Are Filed
One of the most underused opportunities in felony defense is the window between an arrest and the formal filing of charges. Prosecutors review police reports and decide whether to file and at what level. An attorney who makes contact with the prosecutor’s office during this window, presents mitigating facts, and challenges the basis for a felony filing can sometimes prevent a felony charge from being filed at all, or get the charge reduced before the case even reaches arraignment. We handle these pre-filing interventions and treat them as a priority in every case where time allows.
The Preliminary Hearing as a Defense Tool
In Riverside felony cases, the prosecution must establish probable cause at a preliminary hearing before a Superior Court judge, unless the case was presented to a grand jury. The preliminary hearing is not just a procedural step. It is one of the most valuable tools in California felony defense. The defense can cross-examine the prosecution’s witnesses under oath, locking them into prior statements that can be used at trial. Weaknesses in the evidence surface. Charges have been reduced or dismissed at this stage in cases that looked difficult at the outset.
Sentencing Enhancements and How to Challenge Them
California felony sentences can be increased substantially by enhancements based on firearm use, gang involvement, great bodily injury, and prior convictions. Each enhancement must be separately alleged in the charging document and proved beyond a reasonable doubt at trial, or admitted by the defendant as part of a plea. Under Penal Code Section 1385, a court may dismiss an enhancement in the interest of justice. Challenging whether enhancements were properly pled, whether they are factually supported, and whether the court should exercise its discretion to dismiss them is a distinct and important component of felony defense in Riverside County.
Life After a Felony Conviction
A Riverside felony conviction does not always represent the final word on a defendant’s record. California Penal Code 1203.4 allows for expungement of certain convictions following successful completion of probation, which matters significantly for employment and professional licensing. Our expungement attorney practice handles these petitions for clients whose felony cases have been resolved. The California Courts expungement self-help page outlines basic eligibility.
Contact Seyb Law Group
A felony charge in Riverside County is serious. But a charge is not a conviction, and the earlier an experienced attorney gets involved, the more options there are to shape the outcome. Seyb Law Group offers free consultations and flexible payment options for clients facing felony charges throughout Riverside County.
Contact us to speak with our Riverside felony attorney, get straight answers about your exposure, and find out what we can do about it.
