Dealing With a Felony Charge in Ventura County
A felony is the most serious category of criminal charge in California, and felony cases move through the courts differently than misdemeanors: more stages, more procedure, higher stakes at every step. But here is what 30 years and more than 20,000 court appearances in the Ventura County courthouse have taught me: every one of those stages is also an opportunity, to dismiss, to reduce, to suppress evidence, or to position the case for the best realistic outcome. This page walks you through the entire process, start to finish, so you know exactly what is coming. If you or a family member has been charged with a felony anywhere in Ventura County, call me at 805-889-9000. I appear on felony cases in this courthouse every week, and the consultation is free.
What Makes a Felony Different
A felony conviction can mean a year or more in custody, and under California’s realignment law, many felony sentences are now served in county jail rather than state prison, sometimes as a “split sentence” with part served under supervision in the community. Beyond custody, a felony conviction carries consequences that follow you for life: a lifetime loss of firearm rights, exposure under the Three Strikes law if the felony is serious or violent, professional licensing problems, immigration consequences for non-citizens, and the felony question on every job application. Felony probation, where granted, is now generally capped at two years. All of which is why the goals in a felony case are the same three questions I ask in every case: can it be dismissed; if not, can it be reduced, ideally to a misdemeanor; and can my client stay out of custody?
When the Felony Is a “Strike”: Why It Changes Everything
One feature of a felony case matters more than almost any other: whether the charge counts as a “strike” under California’s Three Strikes law. Serious or violent felonies, such as residential burglary, robbery, many assaults, and weapons and sex offenses, are strikes, and a strike does two things that an ordinary felony does not. It can double the sentence on this case and on any future felony, and a third strike can expose you to a sentence of 25 years to life. A strike also stays on your record permanently and follows you into every case that comes after. That is why, when a case carries a strike allegation, getting the strike removed or avoided becomes the single most important objective, sometimes more important than the underlying charge itself. There are real tools for this: negotiating the strike away at the Early Disposition Conference, reducing a wobbler to a misdemeanor so it is no longer a strike, defeating the strike count at the preliminary hearing, or bringing a Romero motion asking the court to dismiss a prior strike in the interest of justice. I have had strike felonies become non-strike misdemeanors at the preliminary hearing. If your case involves a strike, read more on my Three Strikes defense page, then call me, because the early decisions are the ones that determine whether a strike sticks.
How a Felony Case Moves Through the Ventura County Courts
Most felonies are charged by complaint. A smaller number are charged by grand jury indictment. The paths differ, and I will walk through both.
Cases Charged by Complaint
Arraignment. Your first court date, typically within days of arrest. The charges are formally presented, and in almost all cases I enter a not guilty plea, which preserves every option and sets two future dates: the Early Disposition Conference and the preliminary hearing. Arraignment is also where bail and release conditions get argued, and where I begin obtaining the police reports, bodycam footage, and other discovery.
The Early Disposition Conference (EDC). Ventura County’s settlement conference, and one of the most important dates in the case. Before the EDC, I will have reviewed all the evidence with you and built our strategy. At the conference, I negotiate directly with the judge and the prosecutor. If the case should settle, and only if there is no path to dismissal, this is frequently where I can secure a reduction to a misdemeanor, a grant of probation, entry into a treatment-based resolution, or the disposition that best protects what matters most to you. If the case should not settle, we litigate.
The preliminary hearing. A “mini-trial” before a judge, where the prosecution must call witnesses and prove there is probable cause to believe you committed the offense. The prelim is far more than a formality:
- It is my first chance to cross-examine the state’s witnesses under oath, locking in testimony that can be used to impeach them later.
- Suppression motions challenging an illegal stop or search can be litigated right at the prelim, and a granted motion can gut the case on the spot.
- Weak counts get exposed. Judges can refuse to hold you to answer on charges the evidence does not support, and wobblers can be reduced to misdemeanors at the prelim under PC 17(b). I have had strike felonies become non-strike misdemeanors at this stage.
Arraignment on the Information. If the judge holds you to answer, the prosecution files the “Information,” essentially the post-prelim version of the complaint, which may contain the same or different charges. I enter another not guilty plea, and the case is set for a pretrial conference and trial. This is also the window for a PC 995 motion, asking a judge to dismiss charges the preliminary hearing evidence did not legally support. Pretrial conference and trial. Most cases resolve at or before the pretrial conference, with the benefit of everything the prelim revealed. Those that do not go to a jury trial, anywhere from a few days to a month or more depending on complexity. The decision to go to trial is always yours, made with my honest assessment of the evidence, the realistic outcomes, and the risks.
Cases Charged by Indictment
Most cases in Ventura County are not charged by indictment. An indictment is obtained by the District Attorney in a closed grand jury proceeding; you have no right to participate or be heard. If the grand jury indicts, the case skips the preliminary hearing: we appear at arraignment on the indictment, enter a not guilty plea, and set a pretrial conference and trial date. The pretrial conference functions like the EDC, negotiation with the judge and prosecutor toward dismissal, reduction, or the best available terms. And if the prosecution cannot prove its case, the answer is the same as ever: do not settle, try it.
The Defense Work Behind the Scenes
The court dates are only the visible part. Between them, the case is won or lost in the preparation: obtaining and scrutinizing every page of discovery; locking down surveillance video before it is erased; interviewing the witnesses the police never talked to; consulting experts where the case needs them; researching the suppression and dismissal motions the facts support; and building the mitigation file, work history, family, treatment, restitution, that gives a judge and prosecutor a reason to say yes to the outcome we want. When you hire me, I do this work personally. You will have my cell number, you will always know what is happening next in your case, and there will never be surprises.
Local Knowledge Is Not a Cliche; It Is the Job
I have practiced in the Ventura County courthouse nearly every day for 30 years. I know the judges, and each judge is different: some are more receptive to certain charges, certain motions, certain dispositions than others. I know the prosecutors, what their office can and cannot approve, and how cases like yours have actually resolved in these courtrooms. That knowledge shapes every strategic decision in a felony case, from what to argue at the EDC to when to push a 17(b) motion to whether a case should be tried.
After the Case: Cleaning Up
A felony case does not have to define the rest of your life. Depending on the outcome: wobbler felonies can later be reduced to misdemeanors (PC 17(b)); probation can be terminated early (PC 1203.3); and convictions can be expunged (PC 1203.4). See my expungement and probation violations and sentence modifications pages. I plan for these endgame options from the beginning, because the disposition we negotiate today determines what relief is available tomorrow.
The Felony Charges I Defend
I defend the full range of felony and misdemeanor charges filed in the Ventura County courts. Whatever you are facing, you can read more about it here:
- DUI/DWI
- Felony DUI Causing Injury
- Driving While Suspended & DMV Issues (including medical suspensions)
- Drug Crimes
- Assault and Battery
- Burglary
- Robbery
- Theft & Shoplifting
- Judicial Diversion in Ventura County
- Domestic Violence
- Sex Crimes
- Three Strikes Cases
- Conspiracy
- Carjacking
- Vehicular Manslaughter
- Homicide (overview)
- Criminal Threats, Firearms Offenses, Hit and Run & Other Crimes
- Expungement & Record Clearing
- Probation Violations
- Getting Charges Reduced
- Getting a Bail Bond
Charged With a Felony? Call Me Today
The most important decisions in a felony case happen early, before the EDC, sometimes before charges are even finalized. Call me at 805-889-9000 for a free consultation. I will tell you what you are facing, what your realistic options are, and exactly what I would do, and I will answer the phone personally. No secretary, no paralegal, no associate. Available 24/7, serving Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, and all of Ventura County.
