Representative Criminal Matters & Decisions:

  • Appealable Collateral Order:

    U.S. v. Benjamin, 812 F. 2d 548 (9th Cir. 1987) (holding that order denying defendants' motion to dismiss indictment for violation of rule prohibiting disclosures of matters before grand jury is appealable as collateral order)

  • Federal Forfeiture:

    U.S. v. Saccoccia, 913 F. Supp. 129 (D.R.I. 1996) (defendant against whom criminal forfeiture judgments had been entered was entitled to be present during post-trial depositions of attorneys who represented him during criminal prosecution, conducted for the purpose of locating assets subject to forfeiture)

  • Federal Habeas Corpus:

    Douglas v. Woodford, 316 F. 3d 1079 (9th Cir. 2003) (trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance to capital defendant in failing to investigate and present mitigating evidence at the penalty phase of state trial)Gonzalez v. Wong, 667 F.3d 965 (9th Cir. 2011) (reversal of guilt and death verdicts due to prosecution’s violation of its obligation under Brady v. Maryland to disclose favorable impeachment evidence of jailhouse informant)

  • Preemption:

    People v . Orozco, 266 Cal. App. 2d 507 (1968) (determining whether a local criminal ordinance is preempted by state law pursuant to then Article 11 §11 of the California Constitution)

  • Search & Seizure:

    People v. Rosenfeld, 16 Cal. App. 3d 619 (1971) (whether disposal of contraband by defendant was product of unlawful police conduct requiring suppression of evidence)

  • Transfer:

    U.S. v. Benjamin, 623 F. Supp. 1204 (C.D. Cal. 1985) (granting motion to transfer to Central District in the interests of justice and judicial economy).

Jury Trials

  • People v. Brian Lee Randone, Los Angeles Superior Court No. GA07787901 (2011)

    (obtained acquittal in murder/torture prosecution for the death of actress by former reality television bachelor contestant/evangelical pastor).

  • People v. Levens, Los Angeles Superior Court No. BA 398474 (2014)

    (Wife acquitted of soliciting murder of husband).

  • People v. Alarcon, Los Angeles Superior Court No. BA 397296 (2014)

    (Charged with 9 counts of election fraud and fraud; trial acquittal on 6 counts; ultimate reversal on appeal of remaining counts).

Federal Sentencing

  • United States v. Pezhman Ebrahimzadeh, Case No. 2:12-CR-01191 (2013).

    (Reduced sentence in over $3 million Medicare fraud).

  • No custody sentence for an 86-year old individual charged with ten counts of felony vehicular homicide that occurred in 2003 at the Santa Monica Farmers Market.
  • Represented a former Los Angeles Police detective charged with the cold case commission of a 1986 murder.