Riverside Felony Attorney | Seyb Law Group

Felony crimes are punished extremely harshly in Riverside and throughout Southern California, and if you have been accused of a felony offense, the outcome of your criminal case can have an adverse effect on the rest of your life.

In addition to the direct criminal penalties associated with a felony conviction, you could also suffer a number of serious collateral consequences possibly affecting your employment prospects, civil rights, driving privileges, professional licensing, and immigration status, among other aspects of your life.

Whether your Riverside felony criminal charges are for drunk driving, domestic violence, sexual assault, embezzlement, rape, or another felony offense, you need a criminal defense attorney on your side who will advocate for you and represent your best interests court.

Contact our Riverside felony defense lawyers at Seyb Law Group as soon as possible to begin strategizing your defense.

AFFORDABLE RIVERSIDE FELONY DEFENSE ATTORNEY

No one should be charged with a crime they didn’t commit, especially not a felony crime for which they could spend years in prison.

Unfortunately, the Riverside criminal justice system is inherently flawed, and just because you didn’t commit the crime does not mean you can’t still be convicted and sent to prison.

Our defense attorneys at Seyb Law Group have a clear understanding of Riverside criminal law and how it applies to your case, as well as the defenses available to you in fighting felony charges, and we will do everything in our power to protect your freedom and your future.

To this end, we even offer potential clients a free initial consultation, which means you can have a top felony defense attorney analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your case with no obligation to hire our firm.

Felony crimes are aggressively prosecuted in Riverside and a felony conviction carries harsh, long-lasting criminal penalties and other life-altering consequences.

If you believe you are at risk of being charged with a felony crime in Riverside or the surrounding areas, your first course of action should be to consult a criminal defense attorney with experience handling felony cases in Riverside.

When it comes to fighting felony criminal charges, there is no substitute for the skill, tenacity, and years of experience, and that is what our felony defense attorneys at Seyb Law Group have to offer.

Our legal team has more than 60 years of combined criminal defense experience, and whatever the circumstances of your felony offense, we can help you get the best possible outcome in your case. Consult our law firm today for a free evaluation of your felony criminal charges.

FELONY CRIMES

The main difference between a misdemeanor and a felony offense in Riverside is the severity of sentencing.

Under Riverside law, a felony crime is any offense for which the criminal punishment upon conviction is death or imprisonment in state prison, while a misdemeanor crime carries a maximum sentence of up to one year in county jail.

There are also different types of felony charges that can be brought against a defendant. A “straight” felony is a criminal offense that is always charged and sentenced as a felony, regardless of the circumstances of the individual case, meaning the crime cannot be charged as, or reduced to, a misdemeanor.

A “wobbler” felony, on the other hand, is a criminal offense that can be prosecuted as either a felony or a misdemeanor, depending on the specific facts of the case and the defendant’s criminal history. Our defense attorneys have extensive experience handling all manner of misdemeanor and felony charges, including, but not limited to, the following:

PENALTIES FOR RIVERSIDE FELONY OFFENSES

A felony is a tough conviction to have on your criminal record. In addition to a lengthy prison sentence and considerable fines, a Riverside felony conviction can also result in a loss of employment, a loss of your driving privileges, a ban on your right to own or possess a firearm, and a loss of your child custody rights, among other long-lasting collateral consequences.

And with a felony conviction on your criminal record, you could face difficulties securing decent housing or employment for years to come.

Under certain circumstances, individuals convicted of felony offenses in Riverside may be able to get the conviction “expunged,” or dismissed, but not all felony offenses are eligible for conviction expungement. Simply put, you have far too much to lose in a felony criminal case not to improve your chances of a favorable outcome by hiring a defense attorney with a proven record of success defending felony cases.

California’s “Three Strikes” Sentencing Law

In Riverside, most felony crimes categorized as “serious” or “violent” are charged as straight felonies, and these include crimes that count as “strike” offenses for the purposes of California’s “Three Strikes” sentencing law.

The “Three Strikes” law is designed to significantly increase the prison sentences of repeat offenders convicted of multiple serious or violent felony crimes in Riverside.

Under this law, if you have a prior strike offense on your criminal record and you are convicted of a subsequent serious or violent felony, you could face twice the prison sentence otherwise required by law for that particular crime. If you have two or more strike priors on your record and you are convicted of a subsequent serious or violent felony, you could face an automatic prison sentence of 25 years to life.

RIVERSIDE FELONY CRIMINAL COURT PROCESS

Facing charges for a felony crime can be confusing and frightening, especially if you have little to no experience with the Riverside criminal justice system.

The truth is, Riverside criminal law is complex and nuanced, and criminal trials can be difficult to follow, with circumstances that can change dramatically as the trial progresses. The only way to ensure that your legal rights are protected during a criminal trial is to hire a criminal defense attorney who specializes in defending felony crimes in Riverside and the surrounding areas.

However, it doesn’t hurt to have a clear picture of how the criminal process works and what you can expect when facing felony charges in criminal court. The following is the basic outline of the criminal court process:

Arrest – Criminal prosecution typically begins with an arrest by a law enforcement officer, one who either observes the defendant committing a crime, has probable cause to believe the defendant committed a crime or is operating under the authority of an arrest warrant.
Booking – Booking is the next step. During this stage, the defendant is taken into police custody and “processed,” meaning his or her personal information is taken down, as well as information about the alleged crime. A law enforcement officer will also take the defendant’s fingerprints and photograph, confiscate his or her personal property, and then place the defendant in a holding cell to await arraignment.
Arraignment – Arraignment is the first time the defendant appears in court, and it is during this stage that the defendant will hear and answer to the criminal charges against him or her, by entering a plea of guilty, not guilty, or no contest.
Bail review – After the defendant’s plea is entered, his or her defense attorney will argue for release without bail or for reduced bail. Bail is a payment required by the court to ensure that the defendant will appear at future court appearances, and if the defendant is granted bail, he or she may pay the bail amount in exchange for a release.
Court date – If the defendant enters a plea of not guilty, the court will set dates for future proceedings. If the defendant is released on bail, he or she will be free to return home, pending the resolution of the criminal case. If bail is denied or the defendant is unable to post bail, he or she will be held in custody until the criminal case is resolved.
Plea agreement – At this time, the defense attorney will attempt to negotiate with the prosecution to get the criminal charges reduced or dismissed or get the possible sentence reduced as part of a plea bargain. If the defense attorney can get the felony charges reduced to a misdemeanor crime, the resulting penalties will be considerably less severe.
Trial – If the defendant, in consulting with his or her defense attorney, decides to take the case to trial, or if the prosecution refuses to accept a reasonable proposal for a reduction in charges, a criminal trial is a next step in the process. During the trial, the prosecution and defense will each argue their case and examine the witnesses to establish the facts of the case for the judge and jury. If the defendant is found not guilty at trial, he or she will be immediately released. If the jury delivers a guilty verdict, the defendant will be taken into custody to await sentencing.
Sentencing – During the sentencing phase of the criminal court process, the judge decides on the appropriate punishment, taking into consideration the specific facts of the case. A felony sentence in Riverside can include incarceration, probation, fines, restitution payments to victims, and community service, among other potential criminal penalties.
Appeal – It is the defendant’s right to appeal a criminal conviction or sentencing, which his or her defense attorney may do based on any legal errors allegedly committed by the prosecution, jury, or judge.

RIVERSIDE FELONY CRIMES DEFENSE

Being charged with a felony criminal offense may seem like the end of the world, but it is important to remember that you still have rights, including the right to legal representation and a fair trial.

With a knowledgeable and reputable criminal defense attorney on your side to ensure that you understand the charges you are facing and apprise you of your rights under the law, you can mount a solid defense and aggressively challenge the allegations against you.

No matter how your felony criminal charges came about, the prosecution will bear the burden of proof in your case, which means you are legally presumed innocent by the court unless the prosecution can prove the elements of the crime “beyond a reasonable doubt,” or to the extent that there can be no reasonable doubt in the mind of a reasonable person that you are guilty of the crime.

If your defense attorney can poke holes in the prosecution’s case, and the prosecution is, therefore, unable to satisfy the requisite burden of proof, you cannot lawfully be convicted of the felony crime.

HOW HIRING A FELONY CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY CAN HELP

The beauty of our legal system, when it works the way it is meant to, is that it aims to protect both the victims of criminal offenses and those who are wrongly accused.

What that means is, if you are facing charges for a felony offense, regardless of the nature or severity of the crime, you have legal options, and the most important thing you can do to safeguard your future is hire a Riverside criminal defense attorney who can act quickly to secure a satisfactory resolution on your behalf.

With an experienced felony defense attorney on your side, you may be able to negotiate a favorable plea bargain to get the charges reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor, which would carry far fewer penalties, or possibly even get the criminal charges dismissed altogether.

If the evidence against you is indisputable and you are convicted of the felony crime, your attorney may be able to negotiate on your behalf to secure a lighter sentence.

Any time you are facing felony criminal charges, your freedom, your future, and your reputation are on the line. Even allegations of a felony offense can ruin your relationships with friends and loved ones and damage your standing in the community.

A good criminal defense attorney will work quickly to investigate the circumstances surrounding your arrest, review the specific facts of your case and the prosecution’s evidence against you, and begin putting together a winning defense strategy.

When it comes to felony offenses, a skilled criminal defense attorney may be the only thing standing between you and a lengthy prison sentence. Our felony defense lawyers at Seyb Law Group are committed to aggressively defending the criminally accused in the community, and we will protect your rights throughout the duration of your criminal proceeding, from the moment you hire our firm to the conclusion of your case.

CONTACT OUR EXPERIENCED RIVERSIDE FELONY DEFENSE ATTORNEYS

Our Riverside criminal defense attorneys at Seyb Law Group have a firm grasp on the severity of a felony conviction, and we understand that facing felony criminal charges means your future and your freedom are at stake. Contact our felony defense lawyers at Seyb Law Group as soon as possible to schedule your free initial consultation.

Felony Defense Attorney Riverside County