Pasadena Criminal Defense Lawyers

Discreet, strategic attorneys

Our approach is to provide a vigorous defense using proven defense strategies, law enforcement relationships and courtroom skill to achieve the best outcome.

Chudnovsky Law lawyers are:

• Former prosecutors that know Pasadena court inside out
• Experienced handling 8,000+ cases and jury trials
• Top-rated with excellent client reviews
• Expert at negotiating and resolving cases favorably

If your world has been turned upside down by any DUI, felony or misdemeanor criminal charge or allegation, rely on our expert lawyer to guide you through the storm.

Free consultation to review your case

Our Pasadena criminal defense lawyer offers a free, no-obligation consultation to explain the charges you’re facing, who we are and how we can help.

Call us today at (213) 212-5002 to start your defense. We offer affordable fees and flexible payment plans.

Pasadena criminal defense resources

• 17 top criminal defense strategies
• 20 best DUI defense strategies
• Types of criminal and DUI charges 
• Professional license criminal defense
• Criminal immigration defense
• Guide to DUI laws and penalties
• Understanding the arrest process 
• Pasadena court process
• About Pasadena courthouse
• Misdemeanor and felony penalties
• Questions to ask a criminal lawyer

Top-rated Pasadena criminal attorneys

As criminal attorneys in both Federal and LA Superior Courts, we understand what is at stake for you. We know criminal allegations and investigations can devastate your reputation and career, even before a single charge is filed.

Our Pasadena criminal defense lawyers have over seventy years of experience providing expert advice and a vigorous defense for clients caught up in the criminal system:

• Tsion Chudnovsky has been practicing criminal defense and criminal immigration law for over 17 years. Tsion is fluent in five languages and is a legal authority in criminal defense for both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals. Read bio →
• Robert K. Weinberg is a renowned trial attorney and former government prosecutor with over 30 years experience practicing state and Federal criminal defense and professional license defense law. Robert has unparalleled experience handling over 5,000 cases and jury trials. Robert is fluent in five languages and is an authority in criminal law, DUI and professional licensing law and their complex intersection for licensed professionals. Read bio →
• Suzanne Crouts is an accomplished trial attorney with over 19 years experience practicing criminal law. Suzanne is a tenacious, well-respected defense attorney with experience handling over 1,500 cases and trials. She has an outstanding track record resolving criminal defense, DUI, and professional license defense cases in LA courthouses. Read bio →
• Kareem Aref is a highly experienced former prosecutor and nationally recognized trial lawyer that has successfully handled thousands of criminal cases from simple misdemeanor to serious strike felonies and homicide. Read bio →

Experience you can trust

Clients and professional colleagues alike have rated us amongst the best criminal lawyers in southern California:

• Top 100 Trial Lawyers by National Trial Lawyers
• 5 Star rating by Martindale-Hubbell
• Rated best criminal defense lawyers in LA by Expertise.com
• 10.0 Superb rating by Avvo

You can count on our team’s knowledge and decades of experience when your freedom, career and future are at stake.

Call (213) 212-5002 for a Free Consultation to review your case and how we can help.

Our criminal defense attorney Pasadena handles all types of criminal matters in Pasadena Superior Court including serious felonies, misdemeanors, bond hearings, law enforcement investigations, warrants, restraining orders and probation violations. We have a proven track record in Pasadena court and all LA Superior Courts for criminal matters and handling DMV admin per se hearings for DUI charges.

Skilled at resolving all felony and misdemeanor criminal charges:

• Pasadena domestic violence
• Pasadena drug crimes
• Pasadena DUI, DUI with injury, felony DUI
• Pasadena elder abuse
• Pasadena federal crime defense
• Pasadena juvenile crimes
• Pasadena sex offenses
• Pasadena theft and property crimes
• Pasadena violent crimes
• Pasadena criminal immigration
• Pasadena white collar crimes
• Pasadena medical license and nursing license defense

Our Los Angeles felony defense attorney handles cases throughout Pasadena, CA and surrounding areas including: Normandie Heights, San Marino, Madison Heights, Old Pasadena, South Pasadena, Bungalow Heaven, Playhouse District, Muir Heights, Wilmington and South Arroyo.

Pre-filing investigation defense

Clients often hire us for pre-filing representation during law enforcement investigations with the goal of preventing or lowering charges before they are filed.

We have experience with all law enforcement agencies, including:

• Pasadena police department
• Los Angeles police and Sheriff’s departments
• Federal FBI and DEA investigations
• Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office federal investigations
• Department of Consumer Affairs license investigations

The Pasadena Police Department reports city arrest statistics for Pasadena assault, domestic violence, burglary, homicide, rape, robbery and theft crimes here.

Professional license criminal defense

Licensed professionals such as medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists and chiropractors must be very careful when investigated or charged with a criminal act.

Criminal charges or misconduct allegations can trigger DCA Division of Investigation investigations and board actions that risk your license. Professional licensees need a criminal defense lawyer that is also an expert in California and Federal licensing law.

Robert K. Weinberg, Melissa DuChene, and Suzanne Crouts are highly experienced Pasadena criminal defense lawyers and Los Angeles professional license defense attorneys skilled at handling both criminal defense and license investigations for all health care licensees:

• California nursing license defense attorney
• Medical Board of California license defense attorney
• Dental Board of California investigation attorney
• Board of Chiropractic Examiners investigation lawyer
• Board of Pharmacy license criminal defense lawyer

Chudnovsky Law defends clients for every type of professional license criminal matter. Some examples include: Pasadena nurse DUI defense, RN nurse criminal defense, medical license criminal defense, DEA registrant license defense, medical doctor DUI, nursing drug crime, dental license dentist DUI, Medical Board of California investigation, federal crime, doctor criminal defense, sexual misconduct and billing insurance fraud.

Call (213) 212-5002 for a consultation to review your case.

Pasadena criminal immigration lawyer

Noncitizen immigrants facing criminal investigations or charges risk their immigration status and ability to stay in the United States. There are a long list of deportable crimes and simply being fingerprinted during an arrest will flag your record in the FBI database.

Tsion Chudnovsky is a nationally recognized Los Angeles criminal immigration attorney that represents all noncitizens charged with a crime. Tsion is both a criminal defense attorney and immigration lawyer skilled in defending:

• Green card, permanent residents
• DACA recipients
• F1 visa international students
• Any visa holder, including E-2, H-1B, E-1, O-1, or L-1 visas

It is critical that noncitizens hire a defense attorney that is an expert in both criminal defense and immigration law in order to minimize the immigration consequences of the criminal matter. The intersection of criminal and immigration law is one of the most complex areas of U.S. law.

Call (213) 212-5002 to speak with Tsion Chudnovsky and get help now.

Pasadena arrest process

We help clients with bail bonds and release from jail custody and handle negotiating with prosecutors at the LA District Attorney’s office in Pasadena or Pasadena City Attorney office to resolve bench warrants, investigations, probation issues, restraining orders and criminal charges.

• Arrest: If you are arrested in Pasadena, you’ll be taken to Pasadena Police Department Jail for booking at 207 N. Garfield Ave, Pasadena, CA 91101. You can call the jail for information at (626) 744-4616. This is a temporary jail where detainees are held until release or transfer to LA County jail
• LA County Jail: If you’re not released on bail or your own recognizance, you will be transferred to LA County Jail.
• Court: Bond hearings and arraignment is handled at Pasadena Courthouse located at 300 E. Walnut St, Pasadena, CA 91101. You can call the courthouse for information at (626) 396-3300. There is a fee for parking at the courthouse.

How to find Pasadena inmates

• You can search for inmates in Los Angeles County jail custody using the inmate search tool. If held by Pasadena Police, call (626) 744-4616.

Pasadena bail amount

• Bail for Pasadena inmates are set by judges based on the Los Angeles Superior Court bail schedule: Misdemeanor bail schedule | Felony bail schedule.

How court penalties are set

• Criminal penalties and fines are set at the judge’s discretion within parameters explained in the Judicial Council Uniform Penalty Schedules.

What happens after arrest?

After arrest, you might stay in Pasadena for up to three days until you:

1. Post bail,
2. Are transported to court for your arraignment, or
3. Judge orders transfer to an LA County jail, or
4. Are released on your own recognizance.

Fee Paying Inmate Worker Program

The Pasadena Police Department offers a Fee Paying Inmate Worker Program for those sentenced to serve time in jail. The program offers an alternative to serving contiguous time in LA County jail.

The main benefit is allowing working inmates to serve their time on weekends and/or weekday evenings in order to keep working in their job.

The pay to stay program does require the inmate to perform basic chores as part of their agreement to remain in the program. If you do not perform these basic chores, you will be removed from the program.

⤓ Download Fee Paying Inmate Worker Application

Pasadena’s criminal court process

When you enter the criminal court system:

1. Criminal charges originate from a police report or investigation given to the filing prosecutor who determines if there is probable cause to file criminal charges.
2. Court arraignment. The District Attorney will usually have to file charges within 48 hours if the defendant is still in jail. At your arraignment you will learn what you’re being charged with, your legal rights and enter your plea of not guilty, guilty or no contest. For most misdemeanor offenses, our Los Angeles misdemeanor attorney can appear in your place at arraignment.
3. Bail or O.R. release. You may be released on bail, on your own recognizance or be held in jail until your case is resolved.
4. After arraignment the prosecution and defense lawyers exchange discovery information, file pre-trial motions and negotiate how to resolve the case without going to trial.
5. Trial, where your innocence or guilt is decided by a judge or jury. Those accused of crimes are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
6. Erasing criminal record: California enacted new criminal laws in 2021 that create an automatic DOJ system to automatically erase criminal records once certain conditions are met.

Bail bonds

When you hire us to work on your case, we can appear in court to request to reduce or eliminate the bail requirement. We work with a bail bondsman that offers our clients a 7% bond fee instead of the standard 10%, saving you up to 30% on bail cost upfront.

Pasadena courthouse

Pasadena courthouse is one of twenty-four Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal court locations. The court is in the Northeast Judicial District of Los Angeles at:

PASADENA COURTHOUSE
300 East Walnut St
Pasadena, CA 91101
(626) 396-3300
Google Map

Pasadena courthouse information

The Pasadena court building is open 7:30am to 4:30pm, Monday – Friday. Court clerk’s offices are open 8:30am to 4:30pm, Monday – Friday.

• Courtrooms: The court contains 17 courtrooms. You can locate which of 6 floors your courtroom is located on here.
• Judges: Information about Pasadena court judges can be found here.
• Misdemeanor criminal clerk office: 1st floor, Room 106. (626) 396-3398
• Felony criminal clerk office: 2nd floor, Room 202. (626) 396-3393
• District Attorney office: 1st floor, Room 103. (626) 356-5620
• General Parking: Parking for a fee is available in a parking structure with an entrance at 240 Ramona St, Pasadena, CA 91101.
• Court process: The steps in Pasadena court criminal cases are explained here.

Criminal and felony charge penalties

Chudnovsky Law attorneys use their experience handling over 8,000 cases and trials to obtain the best outcome and lowest penalties possible for you.

Under California law, penalties vary widely based on the charges and case facts:

• Misdemeanor: An offense that is punishable by up to 364 days imprisonment in county jail. Fines will often be in the $1,000 to $2,000 range.
• Felony: While it is possible to be convicted of a felony and not go to prison, most felony offenses will result in a prison sentence of 1 year to life. California subdivides felonies and their penalties into degrees depending on the severity of the offense.

Collateral consequences

Beyond fines and prison time, criminal convictions have other collateral consequences such as: loss of voting rights, loss of drivers license, loss of firearm rights and barriers to employment or advancement opportunities. Immigrants can even be deported. And licensed professionals can lose their license or ability to practice.

Call a Pasadena criminal defense lawyer today

California’s “Three Strikes” sentencing law raises the stakes for anyone facing serious charges. If you or a loved one needs a Pasadena attorney, we are here to help.

Call us today at (213) 212-5002 to speak to a member of our firm about your case.

Questions to ask a criminal lawyer

How do I get criminal charges dismissed?

Criminal charges may result in a jail or prison sentence, but a lot of charges will never go to trial or a plea. Your Pasadena criminal attorney will try to get your case dismissed. A dismissal is the best-case outcome for any criminal charge and can be due to:

• An illegal search or stop
• Lack of probable cause
• Lack of evidence
• Document errors

Prosecutors may also dismiss minor charges at their own discretion, but this dismissal is rare. There are many ways a charge can be dismissed, but they all start with one person: your attorney.

What should I consider when choosing a criminal defense attorney?

Experience is key when hiring a criminal defense attorney in Pasadena. You should consider an attorney or firm that has:

1. Experience with your specific criminal charges
2. Reviews and testimonials from other clients
3. Experience navigating Pasadena’s court system
4. High ratings on Avvo, Google Reviews and Martindale-Hubbell

The right lawyer will be experienced, compassionate and help you through the entire process, from the arraignment and bail to court appearances and trial.

Will I be detained until the trial ends?

Prosecutors know that the California jail system is overcrowded already. In most cases, you’ll be able to post bail or will be released on your own recognizance. If you cannot post bail, you may have to stay in detainment until the case is resolved.

Your Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer will, in most cases, work to get you out on bail or on your own recognizance while the cases is being resolved.

Disclaimer

This information does not constitute legal advice. No representations are made as to it’s accuracy and appropriate legal counsel should be consulted before taking any actions.  Contact us to see if Chudnovsky Law is the best criminal defense attorney Pasadena for you.

We represent clients throughout Los Angeles County and the following Pasadena, CA zip codes: 91001, 91011, 91101, 91102, 91103, 91104, 91105, 91106, 91107, 91108, 91109, 91110, 91114, 91115, 91116, 91117, 91121, 91123, 91124, 91125, 91126, 91129, 91182, 91184, 91185, 91188 and 91199.

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Written by Tsion Chudnovsky and Nicole Enyart