Criminal Defense Resources

If you have just been arrested or received a court date, start with the paperwork in your hand. Every California criminal filing lists the exact code section you are charged under — for example "PC §273.5(a)" or "VC §23152(b)". Look that citation up on our Penal Code Library to see the elements the prosecution must prove, the maximum penalties, and the defenses that most often apply. If your code is not in our library, the primary source is California Legislative Information — the state's official statute database.

If a friend or family member has been booked into a Los Angeles County jail, use the LASD Inmate Information Center to confirm booking, bail amount, and next court date. Then cross-reference the court on our Courthouse Directory and the holding facility on our Jails Directory for visitation hours, address, parking, and phone contact. If a DUI is involved, the ten-day window to request a DMV APS hearing starts the moment you were released — do not miss it.

If you are researching an attorney — ours or anyone else's — the California State Bar lets you verify active status, bar number, and any public discipline history. Daniel Rubin's bar number is 302093. Every attorney you consider should clear those checks before you sign a retainer, and every consultation you take should be with the lawyer who will actually appear in court on your behalf — not a case manager or intake specialist.

California law protects everyone taken into custody with the same rights, regardless of the charge. The moment officers begin custodial questioning, you have an absolute right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment and the right to have an attorney present under Miranda v. Arizona. Invoke both clearly and out loud — "I am invoking my right to remain silent and I want a lawyer." — and then say nothing else about the incident. Do not try to explain, do not sign anything other than a booking form, and do not consent to a search of your phone, car, home, or accounts.

Once you are booked, LA County will assign you to one of the facilities listed in our Jails Directory — Men's Central Jail, Twin Towers, CRDF, or a local city or station jail depending on the arresting agency. You will be arraigned in Superior Court within 48 court hours. That arraignment sets bail, appoints counsel if you cannot afford a lawyer, and enters your initial plea. Every subsequent deadline — motion cutoffs, preliminary-hearing dates, DMV hearing requests, and any protective-order return date — flows from that first appearance.

If a DUI is involved, remember the ten-day rule: you have ten calendar days from the date of your arrest to request an Administrative Per Se (APS) hearing with the California DMV. Missing that deadline waives your right to challenge the automatic license suspension. If firearms were seized, custody of your weapons is now governed by PC §33850–33895 and any protective order in place. And if federal agents were the arresting authority, your case will be in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, not LA Superior Court — a different courthouse, a different prosecutor, and different sentencing exposure. Any one of these threads can change the outcome of the case, which is why the first call after a serious arrest should always be to a criminal-defense attorney.