Santa Barbara Criminal Defense Lawyer

Our Santa Barbara Criminal Defense Practice Can Help You

We have vast experience handling almost every criminal charge filed against someone in California. These are just some of the types of cases that we have successfully handled over the decades:

Domestic Violence

We handle domestic violence cases, including corporal injury to a spouse or partner, domestic battery, threats, stalking, and child endangerment.

Drug-Related Crimes

We handle drug crimes such as possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to sell, manufacturing drugs, prescription crimes, pot dispensary crimes, and methamphetamine charges.

Federal Crimes

We even take on the federal government for our clients with FBI investigations, DEA dealings, fraud and conspiracy, white-collar crimes, financial fraud, tax evasion, and Medicare fraud.

Sex Crimes

We handle sex crimes, including human trafficking, indecent exposure, lewd public conduct, prostitution, rape, sexual assault, solicitation, sex offender registration issues, sexual battery, and statutory rape.

Theft and Burglary Crimes

We handle theft and burglary crimes such as grand theft auto, grand theft, robbery, carjacking, armed robbery, petty theft, and shoplifting charges.

Violent Crimes

We handle murder charges, criminal threats, assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, hit and run, arson, manslaughter, false imprisonment, and simple assault charges.

White-Collar Crimes

Our criminal defense lawyers offer representation for identity theft, extortion, forgery, bribery, commercial burglary, mail fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, embezzlement, financial fraud, credit card fraud, computer fraud, and insurance fraud.

DUI Crimes

We offer strong criminal defense to our DUI clients no matter how many DUIs they have on their record. We have a history in some cases of being able to have DUI charges either dismissed altogether or reduced so that there is very little impact on your life.

These are just a sampling of the crimes where our criminal defense attorneys offer substantial representation where we leave no stone unturned in providing a strong and aggressive defense.

Pre-Arrest Investigation Defense Strategy

If you believe you are under investigation for a crime, do not just hope that it will go away. Don’t just sit there and do nothing. And by all means, do not talk to the police without first hiring an experienced Santa Barbara criminal defense lawyer.

The moment you realize that you might be the subject of a criminal investigation, contact us immediately. We can try to have the matter dismissed without any charges filed against you.

At the very least, we can speak to the police on your behalf to find out what information they have, if they have any evidence, and whether they intend to charge you. In many cases, we can help the police with information that will point the finger away from you and toward the actual responsible parties.

We can do all of this without you talking to the police at all. We don’t protect your rights just when charges are filed. We protect your rights from the very beginning—even when you’re just a suspect.

We know what the police and the DA’s office are looking for and the tactics they use to find evidence of guilt against someone. We will be by your side and protect your rights no matter what law enforcement agency is investigating you.

We will provide a defense against investigations by:

• Santa Barbara Police Department
• Los Angeles Police Department
• Federal FBI
• DEA investigation
• California Attorney General’s Office
• U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice
• Department of Consumer Affairs license investigation
• Securities and Exchange Commission

We know how to shut down an investigation and protect your freedom and the life that you know. Just because authorities investigate you doesn’t seal your fate. Allow us to fight for your rights.

Non-Citizen Immigrant Criminal Defense

Non-citizens who police arrest and charge with crimes deserve the same vigorous defense from our criminal defense lawyers that everyone gets. Non-citizens with criminal charges can face more severe consequences than citizens.

When police arrest a non-citizen immigrant, it can trigger automatic visa revocations and deportation. It can also jeopardize any chance of naturalization and permanent residency applications.

A non-citizen immigrant who is arrested and charged with a crime, even if they are innocent of the crime, can be permanently prevented from re-entry into the country, and it doesn’t matter if they’ve been here for decades, have a family or children who are citizens, have a job, or have been paying taxes for decades.

Our criminal defense lawyers understand this and will fight for our clients’ rights, no matter their citizenship status. That said, we have attorneys and staff in our Santa Barbara criminal defense practice who speak fluent Spanish, French, and Italian.

Contact us immediately if you are a non-citizen and need help with a Santa Barbara criminal arrest.

Medical and Nursing License Criminal Defense

Another area of criminal defense that we focus on is medical and nursing license criminal issues. When California’s licensed healthcare professionals face license disciplinary actions after being charged with a crime, we are there to provide a robust defense.

Nurses, doctors, pharmacists, chiropractors, dentists, and other medical license holders all face extra scrutiny merely because they are healthcare license holders. They face additional risks geared toward their professions—much more so than the average person.

For instance, if an average person faces DUI charges, usually nothing will happen to their job or profession. But when a healthcare professional faces a DUI, an ethics investigation could begin, which could cost them their license.

One of our criminal defense attorneys, Attorney Robert K. Weinberg, has decades of criminal defense experience, but he is also a California professional license defense attorney.

He focuses his practice on defending both licensing board investigations and criminal defense cases for any health care licensee, including:

• Medical Board of California
• Nursing license defense
• Dental Board of California investigation
• Board of Chiropractic Examiners investigation
• California Board of Pharmacy investigation

The best way to protect your profession is to contact us so we can fight for your rights to continue to help society with their health needs.

Huge Consequences

Most criminal cases have huge consequences attached to them. Some of these criminal charges can put you in jail or state prison for years if not handled properly. These charges can completely take away your life, family, liberty, and freedom. You cannot afford to leave criminal charges up to chance or take these cases lightly.

You must do everything possible to protect your rights, family, and freedom. That’s where we come in. We can provide the first and last line of defense to ensure that you get the best and most robust criminal defense.

But don’t take our word for it. Take a look at some of our successful defenses of criminal cases from prior clients:

Drug Transportation

A defendant was charged with felony transportation and the sale of 1kg of cocaine. There was a potential state prison sentence of ten years. The Chudnovsky result: There was a not-guilty verdict on all counts after a jury trial.

First-Degree Murder

A defendant was charged with felony first-degree murder. The client faced life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Chudnovsky result: After a jury trial, there was a not guilty verdict on all counts.

Foreign Citizen Battery of Police Officer

After the felony battery of a police officer by a foreign citizen at the airport, our client faced a sentence of 16 months in jail and then deportation, plus a permanent ban from the United States.

The Chudnovsky result: The charges were reduced to a misdemeanor, no jail time was given, no immigration consequences were imposed, and the client was not deported.

Domestic Violence

The defendant was charged with felony domestic violence with an enhancement for great bodily injury. The client faced seven years in state prison if convicted. The Chudnovsky result: We negotiated the charges down to a misdemeanor simple battery charge with no jail time.

Rape and Aggravated Assault

The defendant was charged with felony rape and aggravated assault. The client faced a significant sentence of 20 years in state prison. The Chudnovsky result: The charge was negotiated down to false imprisonment with a prison sentence of two years with credit for time served.

Grand Theft

The defendant, a foreign student studying in the United States, was charged with felony grand theft. The student faced jail time, deportation, and permanent restriction from the United States. The Chudnovsky result: The charges were dismissed before trial, and the student could continue their education.

Corporal Spousal Injury

The defendant, a foreign citizen, was charged with felony corporal injury to a spouse. The defendant was a foreign executive of a large company who faced two years in jail, an aggravated felony conviction with deportation, and permanent restriction on entering the United States again.

The Chudnovsky result: The charges were dismissed before trial, and there were no immigration consequences. The client didn’t even lose his job.

Strong and Experienced Defense for Santa Barbara Criminal Charges

When you face criminal charges, you can sometimes feel that your life is over. Many criminal defendants fear losing their jobs, families, and freedom. The fear and anxiety caused by being investigated for a crime can paralyze you mentally and emotionally.

But you’re not alone in this. The criminal defense lawyers at Chudnovsky Law will be with you every step of the way. Not only will we answer all of your initial questions in a confidential, honest, and compassionate way, we will immediately start crafting a criminal defense strategy.

First, we will work on investigating the case and developing all of the facts. We will attempt to get the matter dismissed even before charges are filed so that it doesn’t have to affect your family or your job.

If we can’t get the investigation dismissed or the charges lowered, we will mount a vigorous defense, not leaving anything behind.

If you need help with a criminal defense matter in Santa Barbara, contact the criminal defense lawyers at Chudnovsky Law today at (213) 212-5002.