It Is Important to Hire an Affordable Lawyer Close to Court in Chula Vista South Division of San Diego Superior Court !
San Diego Defenders, APC is located across the street from the Chula Vista’s San Diego Superior Court, South Division. Why is that so important? I am Daniel Smith, the supervising attorney for San Diego Defenders and I am a third generation lawyer. My father, the late Judge Ralph G. Smith, Jr. handled thousands of DUI (or DWI as they are known in AZ) used to say to me that the letter of the law was important. However, the Judge said, “you cannot underestimate the value of a lawyer who knows all the court personnel including the judges, prosecutors and the clerks that run the court!” If you are going to Chula Vista South Court, San Diego Defenders is across the street and has been there longer than the judges and prosecuting DA currently there.
Virtually everyday, either myself, Dan Smith, my associate attorney Jon Pettis, or my good friend Capt. Alan Spears, walks across the street and enters the courthouse known as either Chula Vista Court of South Court. There we meet the deputy sheriffs at the door with smile. “Good morning counselor, what’s up today?” It is hard not to reply with the typical “Livin the dream, that’s all!” The clerks upstairs work hard and many times we have to ask them for favors “madam clerk, may I bother you to pull a file?” We treat them with kindness and why not? They work day in and day out to keep the wheels of justice turning. And we all know that those wheels move painfully slow by no fault of the clerks.
When we meet with the prosecutor alone, as is the case with most misdemeanors, we have to remember they are people too. Some compassionate, some neutral, some robotic (“no, I don’t have the authority to make that deal”). The fact is that we at San Diego Defenders make it a point to get to know who we are dealing with and who they are as people. What are they particularly biased against or biased for? Do they understand that active military client may have to deal with a bust in rank from their command or worse yet that they may be thrown out “disengaged”? Does the deputy district attorney understand the consequences of a first time DUI or petty theft to a student that hopes to become a nurse, doctor, or join the military just to name a few occupations? Just this morning my associate came in from South and informed me that there is a new prosecutor in Department 3 and all he says is “no” to everything. Are we going to have to set everything for trial to get his attention I asked? I hope not, said Jon. I think he is just new and does not have the confidence to make decisions so he is afraid to say yes, so we will work on him. I nodded, okay, at least I know what is up for a few weeks. If not, we may need to call a meeting with the supervising deputy district attorney about the situation.
Felony cases are different. And we know it. After arraignment, we set what is known as an RH or readiness conference. There we meet with the judge and the prosecutor at the same time. It is very important to know if the judge is a former prosecutor because sometimes they still act like one. So the approach is different and sometimes it is more important to meet with the felony disposition deputy district attorney away from the judge. Sometimes we smile and sometimes we bark, but it is important to know who you are dealing with and what their recent history has been.
San Diego Defenders is the law firm that knows Chula Vista or South Division of the San Diego Superior Court the best and it shows in our results. Call us today for an affordable payment plan for the best defense team for Chula Vista South Court. (619) 258-8888
