Felony Possession of a Controlled Substance & Grand Theft

FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY

Client, a Paramedic, developed an addiction to prescription pain medication after two orthopedic surgeries from an off-the-job injury.

After returning to duty, client responded to a call at a home where the patient had several bottles of prescription pain medication. Client secreted away several of the pills. However, although nobody had seen the act, after the ambulance had taken the patient, client realized that it was time to seek help for the problem because stealing from a patient’s home was inexcusable and contrary to the past 20+ years of exemplary service.

Client immediately, without external provocation – and still on the scene – confessed the taking to the company officer and requested substance abuse help. The company officer responded to the client’s courageous act by reporting it to the police, to whom client reiterated the confession.

Client was forced to resign and forced to surrender the paramedic license client had held for over 20 years.

Client was charged with two felonies and faced a significant state prison sentence. After hours and hours of reviewing evidence and researching options with no cooperation from the prosecutors in the court, I met with the head deputy prosecutor and discussed the case in great detail.

I was able to show the prosecutor the human side of this case and worked with him to reach an appropriate solution.

In the end, the theft charge was dismissed, the felony was amended to a misdemeanor, and the client was permitted to participate in a deferred entry of judgment drug program. Upon successful completion of the program and informal probation, the entire case was dismissed.

Felony Domestic Violence

Client, a Paramedic, found himself in a heated argument with his wife. The exchange, just one of many sparked by economic difficulties, led to yelling and, ultimately, both spouses removing themselves from the situation.

Nevertheless, before separating themselves to cool off, both had called police claiming the other had assaulted them. When police arrived, client’s wife – who had scratched her own arms out of frustration – claimed the scratches were caused by client. He was arrested and booked on suspicion of felony spousal battery.

Attorney Givot met with client prior to the arraignment and noted right away that client’s fingernails had been so frequently bitten for so long, that the finger tips had literally begun to grow over the nails – thus making it impossible for client to have scratched anyone.

On the day of the arraignment, Attorney Givot went to both the District Attorney and the arresting Police agency to discuss the matter BEFORE any formal charges were filed.

After a harried morning of running around, no criminal charges were filed

Felony Commercial Burglary: Client, a sworn peace officer, was arrested and booked on suspicion of Commercial Burglary when it was discovered that, without her knowledge, her shopping companion – now former friend – had shoplifted merchandise from a Beverly Hills department store.

Within hours of receiving the call, I had been to the store, met with the lead detective, and reviewed the surveillance video that showed no criminal conduct by my client.

The following morning, I met with the charging DA and the case against my client was rejected, although her companion was arraigned. No charges filed against my client.

Misdemeanor Domestic Battery & Criminal Threats: Client, a Registered Nurse, was arrested after allegedly striking his wife and threatening to kill her with a knife.

After my own investigation, separate from the police, I was able to show the prosecutor that, while there may have been an unwanted physical contact, there was no threat to the wife involving a knife.

The client accepted responsibility for the alleged battery and received probation. The criminal threats charge was dismissed.

Misdemeanor Obstructing/Interfering with Police Officer: Client, an off-duty paramedic, was out for an evening in Newport Beach with her husband and brother-in-law.

The brother-in-law was involved in an altercation inside a bar and the police were called. The brother-in-law and husband were detained by police for questioning while my client waited patiently several feet away.

Sometime later, an additional officer arrived and directed my client to move along. She explained that she was with her husband and they were far from their home, but the officer did not care and told her to leave the area. She again explained that she had nowhere to go and no way to get there without her husband.

The officer became aggressive and abusive telling her to leave lest she be arrested. When she asked him where she was supposed to go, he arrested her and took her to jail.

I took the case and worked closely on a resolution with the DA. I collected and presented evidence of my client’s character, professionalism, and ongoing career-oriented education to show that this was most likely a case of a police officer abusing his authority.

We jumped through a few hoops, however at the end, the case was completely dismissed.