First-hand knowledge of the prosecution’s concerns can be very helpful to criminal defense work.

Many defense attorneys begin their careers working for the county, either as a public defender or as a prosecutor. Both of these roles are essential for a fair criminal justice system that respects the rights and interests of both victims and defendants, and both roles offer experience that can be very important in informing later work as a private criminal defense attorney.

However, serving as a prosecutor does add something special to a defense attorney’s skills that cannot be learned in any other way: a firsthand, insider’s understanding of how prosecutors think and act and how the entire DA’s office operates.

Before opening his criminal defense practice, Michael L. Fell spent 18 years with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. He served in a variety of prosecutorial roles including Arson Prosecutor, Senior Deputy District Attorney, and Supervising Prosecutor at the Orange County Juvenile Court. Experience gained in these roles now helps Attorney Fell to:

Intervene Early: After writing Arson Manuals for the DA’s office, teaching classes for arson investigators, and overseeing numerous cases as a Senior Deputy District Attorney, Michael L. Fell understands exactly what prosecutors need to see when they are reviewing police reports prior to deciding to file formal charges. When the police investigation is flawed or has resulted in weak or incomplete evidence, he can often intervene with his former colleagues in the DA’s office at this early stage of the process and prevent charges from ever being filed against his clients.

Reach Favorable Plea Deals: After making many deals as a prosecutor himself, Attorney Fell has a keen instinct for when prosecutors will be most open to a plea deal. Prosecutors are often willing to deal when their evidence is questionable and they fear they could lose at trial. But they will also deal when a guilty verdict is certain, just to get low-level cases off their plates so that they can devote their resources to prosecution of more serious crimes. Attorney Fell is well known as an expert in securing “creative sentencing” (plea deals that do not involve incarceration) for his clients.

Provide Superior Juvenile Defense Representation: The juvenile court system is quite different from the adult system, so it is important that juvenile defense attorneys have specific juvenile court experience. After handling many cases as the Supervising Prosecutor in Orange County’s Juvenile Court, Michael L. Fell understands the juvenile system inside and out. He knows how work together with prosecutors to ensure the juvenile system’s goal of rehabilitation—not just punishment—is met in his young clients’ cases.

Call Now to Learn More

If you would like to learn more about working with Michael L. Fell on your criminal defense, please contact us at (949) 585-9055 now.