So you either just got cited with a ticket that states you need to appear in court for a violation of either a vehicle code or penal code offense, or you got arrested, or at worst you were told you are being charged with a felony. You are told you need to come to court and make an appearance. What should you do?

The first court appearance for charges involving a crime is called an arraignment. It really is the first court appearance whereby the person accused of a crime is brought before a judge, is informed of the criminal charges he or she faces, and asked by the judge whether he or she wants to plead guilty, not guilty, or nolo contendere (no contest) to the charges.

The arraignment is not for the person to tell his or her story to a judge about what did or did not happen when that person received that ticket, citation, notice to come to court, or was arrested. The arraignment is not the time for that person to provide excuses- justified or otherwise- as to why he or she should not be in court. Any judge in a criminal court case is not interested in hearing such things from a person who is accused of a crime. The judge wants to know whether a person wants to plead not guilty or guilty.

At an arraignment, if you go without a lawyer, a judge is required to inform you of your right to be represented by an attorney, or if you are poor or have very low income means, you should be told of your right to be have attorney appointed for you- in other words, a public defender.

Some people who have been charged with a crime believe that going to the court and pleading guilty is the best thing to do. Beware of going to court by yourself. Typically you will receive the harshest sentence possible or recommended by the prosecutor assigned to your case. The prosecutor represents the People and is not interested in making friends with those accused of crimes.

It is best to get legal consultation before going to court when you are facing criminal charges. The penalties for pleading guilty may have a great impact on your record, employment, and your liberty. After consultation, you should make a decision to have an experienced criminal defense attorney represent you at all stages of any criminal proceeding. Contact the Gonzalez Law Firm for that consultation and representation. David Gonzalez has many years of experience helping persons charged with infractions, misdemeanors, or felonies. Facing criminal charges can cause much stress upon you and the ones you love. Contact Criminal Defense Attorney David Gonzalez. His offices are located in Santa Ana and Fullerton. He gets results. 1-877-345-2997.

Imagine you have been stopped by the police and you are asked to present your identity to that officer. In the event, you provide another identity to that officer other than your own actual identity, can you be charged with a crime?

California Penal Code Section 148.9 is labeled as false representation of identity to a peace officer. More specifically, Penal Code Section 148.9 (a) states that any person who falsely represents or identifies himself or herself as another person or as a fictitious persson to any peace officer...., upon a lawful detention or arrest of the person, either to evade the process of the court, or to evade the proper identification of the person by the investigating officer, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Certain elements need to be met for a person charged with PC 148.9 (a) to be found guilty of that offense. It is in fact the duty of the prosecutor to make certain all elements of the crime are met with the evidence from any police investigation. In Penal Code Section 148.9(a), the prosecutor must prove:

The person falsely represented himself or herself or the person identified himself or herself as somebody else.

There was in fact false representation or identity.

The false representation of identity was given upon a lawful detention or a lawful arrest.

The false repesentation or identity was given to the police for evasion, either to avoid further court process or evading being properly identified by the officer.

The crime is a misdemeanor in the event the person accused of it pleads guilty to the crime or is found guilty by a jury. A penalty for a misdemeanor can be up to 6 months in jail.

There are defenses to being charged with false representation of identity to a police officer. A defense can be that the police officer had not made a lawful detention or a lawful arrest. A person cannot simply be targeted by an officer and then be asked by the cop to hand over or give over one's identification.

Another defense can be that the identification provided was not given for an evasive purpose. If an individual did not understand what the officer was asking for when requested from the officer, it can be argued that evasion was not the purpose.

False information to a police officer is a crime and can if one is convicted of such a crime there can be consequences resulting from it including fines, fees, jail time, probation, and immigration consequences such as denial of legal residency or naturalization of citizenship as federal authorities such as the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, otherwise known as USCIS, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may treat such a crime as a crime of moral turpitude under the immigration laws of the U.S.

If you or a loved one are charged with such a crime, contact the Gonzalez Law Firm to speak to Attorney David Gonzalez before you go to court and definitely before you decide to plea guilty to any crime. You are innocent of any criminal charge until you are proven otherwise guilty by the prosecution. You have legal rights and defenses.

The Gonzalez Law Firm has offices in Santa Ana and Fullerton and assists clients throughout the Southern California region whether your case is in Newport Beach, Fullerton, Norwalk, Santa Ana, Pomona, Riverside, San Bernardino,West Covina, Downey or Los Angeles. Attorney David Gonzalez can be reached at 714-992-5217 or 1-877-345-2997.