Plain-language explanations of California criminal law and San Diego court procedure. The questions defendants and their families actually ask.
Criminal cases from the South Bay are heard at the South County courthouse on Third Avenue in Chula Vista. Here is which cases go there, where to check in, and what the first hearings look like.
Read the guide →Criminal cases from East County San Diego are heard at the El Cajon courthouse on East Main Street. Here is which cases go there, where to check in, and what the first hearings look like.
Read the guide →Most criminal cases from the City of San Diego are heard at the Central Courthouse on Union Street. Here is which cases go there, where to check in, and what the first hearings look like.
Read the guide →Most criminal cases from North County San Diego are heard at the Vista courthouse on South Melrose Drive. Here is which cases go there, where to check in, and what the first hearings look like.
Read the guide →An arrest is frightening, but the first 24 hours follow a predictable path. Here is what actually happens, and the few decisions that matter most.
Read the guide →The court fine is the smallest part. Here is an honest, line-by-line accounting of what a first-offense DUI in San Diego typically costs, and why the conviction itself is the expensive part.
Read the guide →California's mental health diversion law can pause a San Diego criminal case and replace it with treatment. This guide walks through the process step by step, from the first motion to dismissal and a sealed record.
Read the guide →A step-by-step look at how service members and veterans in San Diego can use Penal Code 1001.80 to resolve misdemeanor and most felony charges through treatment instead of prosecution.
Read the guide →A practical walkthrough of judicial diversion under Penal Code 1001.95 in San Diego County courts, from the first court date to dismissal, including what judges weigh and what the conditions usually look like.
Read the guide →California offers several treatment-based paths out of a drug possession case, and they are not interchangeable. Here is how PC 1000, Drug Court, and the newer alternatives compare in San Diego.
Read the guide →Reasonable doubt is the standard every California jury must apply, and it is built step by step through witnesses, evidence, instructions and argument.
Read the guide →A drug possession case in San Diego follows a predictable path from the stop to the courtroom. Here is each step, the statutes that control it, and where the decisions are made.
Read the guide →A fair comparison of appointed and retained counsel in San Diego: what a public defender can and cannot do, what a private attorney costs, and the cases where the choice matters most.
Read the guide →A DUI is charged as two counts that fail in different ways, and most reductions to a wet or dry reckless come from finding the specific problem in one of them.
Read the guide →A false accusation moves faster than the truth. Here is what to do in the first hours, how charges can be stopped before filing, and how to clear the record afterward.
Read the guide →From reasonable doubt to self-defense, entrapment, and suppression motions, here is how the main California criminal defenses work, when each applies, and who has to prove what.
Read the guide →San Diego County has four layers of appointed defense, a set appointment process at each courthouse, and clear limits on what an appointed lawyer can do. Here is how it works locally.
Read the guide →A step-by-step explanation of bail in San Diego County: booking, the bail schedule, bonds, own recognizance release, the arraignment hearing, conditions, forfeiture and what happens to the money.
Read the guide →A practical directory for people facing charges in San Diego County and the families helping them: the courthouses, the jails, the prosecutors, appointed counsel, bail, records and deadlines.
Read the guide →A plain-language explanation of how California's Three Strikes law works: where it came from, which convictions count, what the second and third strike sentences are, and how strikes are proved.
Read the guide →How a California criminal appeal works from the notice of appeal forward: the 60-day and 30-day deadlines, the record, the briefs, the standards of review, and what the court can actually order.
Read the guide →White collar crime is a category, not a charge. This guide explains where the term came from, which California and federal statutes it actually covers, and what the penalties look like.
Read the guide →The actual work of a criminal defense lawyer, in the order it happens, from the call to a detective before charges are filed through discovery, motions, negotiation, trial, and the record afterward.
Read the guide →A statewide explanation of California record relief: what a Penal Code 1203.4 dismissal changes, who qualifies, what happens automatically, and the consequences that no order removes.
Read the guide →Most of the job is not the courtroom scene people picture. Here is what the hours actually look like, from the early phone call to the wait for a verdict.
Read the guide →These guides are general information about California law, not legal advice about any specific case. Published by the Law Office of Marc S. Kohnen, Attorney at Law, State Bar of California #255303; each guide notes whether and when Marc reviewed it.
The sooner Marc is on your case, the more he can do. Get a free, confidential consultation today and let Marc become your voice in the court.
