520 112th Ave. N.E., Suite 101
Bellevue, WA 98004
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425 643-9424
206 623-1336
fax 425 454-8661

Thank you for visiting the Stein, Lotzkar & Starr, P.S. for assistance. In order for an attorney to represent you well they will need as much information about you and your case as possible.

A CRIMINAL CHARGE IS SERIOUS BUSINESS

HIRE A SERIOUS SEATTLE CRIMINAL ATTORNEY

In 23 years of practice Howard Stein has represented people from almost every walk of life. Lawyers, doctors and commercial airline pilots have all trusted their careers to Mr. Stein. Each client has especially sensitive needs when it comes to Seattle criminal representation. Whether you are an engineer a contractor a salesman or in the software industry Stein Lotzkar and Starr will guide you past or through the potential pit falls that may affect your driver's license, your professional license, your ability to travel, immigrate or even fly a commercial airliner.

STATE OF WASHINGTON v. YOU

A criminal case is started when a prosecutor files a complaint with the court. In a few places the police officer will file a citation with the court to start the case. Because of the complexity of the law the most common procedure is for the police officer will complete his or her report and the forms that go along with it. The officer will also send the package to the prosecuting attorney. That attorney may need a few days or a few weeks before they have an opportunity to review the package and prepare a complaint.

You may be given notice to appear in court by the police officer at the time of arrest. If you are released or post bail your court date is usually the next day or within 48 hours.

The police officer sends the report to the prosecutor. The prosecutor files a complaint with the court. This process often takes 30, 60 or even 90 days.

Once the court receives the complaint the court will mail you notice of an arraignment date (Seattle Municipal Court calls this hearing an "intake"). The notice will come in a plain envelope and will be mailed to the address that is on your driver's license or the address that you provided to the police officer.

At arraignment the court will call you forward and ask you to confirm your true and correct name. The court will advise of the charge(s) against you and provide you with a copy of the complaint. The court will also advise you of your rights as a criminal defendant and of the maximum penalties that you face.

THE COURT WILL ASK YOU TO STATE YOUR PLEA, GUILTY OR NOT GUILTY. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS ENTER A PLEA OF NOT GUILTY it does not matter how guilty or embarrassed you feel, there are very, very few cases where a person should ever consider pleading guilty at arraignment . You can always change your plead to guilty later. Once you enter a plea of guilt the charge goes on your record no trial no negotiations and no way to avoid the mandatory penalties! The best way to make sure that you are protected is to HIRE AN ATTORNEY BEFORE ARRAIGNMENT.

AFTER YOUR PLEA THE COURT WILL CONSIDER BAIL AND CONDITIONS OF RELEASE. The court may set bail and conditions of release based upon you criminal history the allegations in the case and based on the risk of you failing to appear for future court dates. If bail is set you are taken to jail and must actually deposit money with the court or hire a bondsman to post a bail bond for you. This generally only occurs it you have prior offenses. Conditions of release are conditions that you must agree to if you wish to be released without bail. The most common conditions are that you; appear for all court dates and have no violations of the criminal law. These conditions will continue in effect as long as your case is awaiting trial.

The next Court date, in most courts is called a Pre-Trial Conference or Hearing. That is not the Trial it is a time for you and your attorney to come to court and file any motions that you may have. A defense may move to dismiss the case or suppress other evidence. Any motion that your attorney and you feel should be brought can be raised at this time. For instance it is common to bring a motion to continue the case at this stage if you and your attorney are still investigating the case or wish to have more time to negotiate the case with the prosecutor.

After the Pre-Trial Conference the court will schedule a Pre-Trial Motion Hearing. This hearing is often like a mini trial without the jury. The court may hear testimony form the police officer and other witnesses. After the court has heard form the witness(es) the lawyers will argue the motions to the court. The judge will then make rulings. The court may suppress evidence; even dismiss the case at this point. Depending on the strength of the motions or depending on the Judge's rulings this is the time when your attorney and the prosecutor are most likely to discuss the case in earnest. Negotiated resolutions are more likely to occur at this stage then earlier in the process. After the Pre-Trial Motions the case is set for trial (if it has not been dismissed or negotiated).

Next the case is set for Jury Trial or Readiness to verify the exact trial date. There will be one last opportunity to negotiate the case, but in some courts if you and your attorney certify that you are ready for trail the court may impose restrictions or penalties upon the party who changes his or her mind.

TRIAL

Trial consists of several stages. A good lawyer will often have Motions in Limine or preliminary motions. These are requests that the court direct the parties and the witnesses to proceed in a certain way. After that the Court will bring into the courtroom 18 -24 perspective jurors. Each party can excuse up to three jurors for any lawful reason. Jurors who are biased incapable or who may be greatly inconvenienced if required to sit on thee case may be excused by the Judge for good cause.

Once the Jury is chosen the Prosecutor makes an Opening statement that is suppose to tell the jurors what evidence the prosecutor believes he or she will produce. The defendant may also give an opening statement at this time or later in the case.

The prosecutor then calls its witnesses. Each witness is sworn under oath and testifies in response to questions asked by the prosecutor in front of the jury. The defense may then ask cross examination questions of the witness. The prosecutor will usually call the arresting officer(s) any civilian witness who may have seen the alleged criminal activity. Each witness maybe cross examined by the defense.

Once the Prosecutor has complete its case the Defense may call witnesses. The defendant never has to testify unless he or she chooses to. The Jurors are told that they may make no inference form the fact that the Defendant chooses not to testify. Defense may call other witness people who know or saw the defendant on the night in question, doctors or others who may testify about a disability or a trait of the defendant that the officer did not know about and might have misinterpreted. Your attorney should guide you and work with you in developing the case and the witness testimony.

PLEA BARGAINS AND ALTERNATIVES TO TRIAL

Trials are expensive; witnesses must be issued and served with subpoenas. Experts must be paid for there time and exhibits must be prepared and copied. A good lawyer may spend two hours preparing for every hour in court and cases with multiple witnesses may take two days or more to try.

Trials are uncertain. The cases that tend to go to trail are the cases that the parties disagree about most. So the parties and their attorneys each feel that they can win. These cases are by their nature the most unpredictable.

Trials tend to be high risk. Trials may be fun and challenging for the attorneys and expert witnesses but a defendant who is looking at a one year suspension on a first offense or the very serious penalties involved in a second or subsequent offense has a lot on line.

What can you expect in plea bargain negotiators? It depends on your case, your history and the particular prosecutor and court that have your case.

The most common plea bargain negotiations result in a reduction or amendment to one of the following charges with the understanding that the defendant will plead guilty to the amended charge.

Fees

Because of this Stein Lotzkar & Starr offers its clients a bifurcated (two step) fee agreement. The initial retainer is a flat fee that will cover the attorney's fees for the criminal case up to and including the Pre-trial Motions. That fee will depend upon the nature of the charge(es) and the clients history and needs. Only if the case is set for trail will the client have to pay the second part of the attorney fee retainer. This is the fairest way to treat your case because 9 out of 10 ten case never actually go to trial. The case that do go to trail require substantially more time and effort.

YOU KNOW YOU HAVE THE RIGHT ATTORNEY WHEN

• YOUR ATTORNEY HAS OVER TWENTY YEARS EXPERIENCE
  
• YOUR ATTORNEY HAS BEEN BOTH A PROSECUTOR AND A DEFENSE ATTORNEY
  
• YOUR ATTORNEY HAS ARGUED AND WON CASES LIKE YOURS IN FRONT OF THE SUPREME COURT.
  
• YOUR ATTORNEY HAS A TEAM OF ATTORNEYS AND STAFF BACKING THEM UP
  
• YOUR ATTORNEY RETURNS YOUR PHONE CALLS WITHIN 24 HOURS
  
• YOUR ATTORNEY HAS TAUGHT OTHER LAWYERS
  
• YOUR ATTORNEY HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN RATING ENDORSING AND/OR SUPPORTING JUDICIAL CANDIDATES
  
• YOUR ATTORNEY MAKES ADEQUATE TIME TO MEET WITH YOU AND ENCOURAGES YOU TO ASK QUESTIONS AND PROVIDE INFORMATION
  
• YOUR ATTORNEY ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS CLEARLY EVEN WHEN THERE IS NO CLEAR ANSWER.
  
• YOUR ATTORNEY PROVIDES YOU WITH WRITTEN DIRECTION ON THE THINGS YOU NEED TO DO.
  
• YOUR ATTORNEY PROVIDES YOU WITH A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS

WHEN YOU RETAIN US you will get a check list of things to do and look out for. We will work together to avoid and or minimize the impact of any charge against you.

We will enter a Notice of Appearance on your behalf and demand that the prosecuting attorney provide us with the officer's report and any other document or information that they have which they intend to use against you or which tends to establish your innocence.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

Stein Lotzkar and Starr also makes it a point to obtain the officer's training history. We will demand all recorded communications between the officer and the dispatcher any "911" communications and something called the "MCD" traffic which is the written communication that the officer has over his or her mobile computer terminal. In individual cases we may seek additional information such as aerial photographs, previous reports of or reprimands regarding an officer. This kind of information allows us to dig deeply into the case by knowing exactly what was said and done at what time.

A GOOD LAWYER KNOWS THE LAW

A GREAT LAWYER KNOWS MUCH MORE

WE don't leave anything to chance or any rock unturned. In order to defend people charged we want to know everything. When your hire us we will give you're a checklist to make sure we get everything we need to guide you through. Everyone should consider gathering the following in order to assist their attorney in representing them, the following things.

1. Written narrative: A written statement of everything that happened on the day in question. I do not need to know every single detail, but it is important to know what you did that day, when you ate and who you were with. It is very important to know everything about your alcohol and/or drug use. Please be very specific about what you drank, when, where and how much. It is also important to know about any interaction or conversation you had with the police officer(s).
   
2. Witness list: The full, legal names, street addresses and telephone numbers of all potential witnesses in your case, along with a short written summary of what the individual may be able to testify. Anyone whom you were with prior to your arrest, during the period or after your release.
   
3. Medical records: Any medical records that may be important to your case. If you have diabetes, asthma, acid reflux, corrective lenses, or any other condition or injury which may have affected you on the date in question, obtain the doctor's or hospital's charts and notes on your case. Please provide us with a description of your illness or injury, the name, address and telephone number of your treating physician, and the doctor's charts. You will be requested to sign a medical release in order to allow us to have and use this information.
   
4. Letters of Recommendation: It may be helpful to have letters of recommendation from your employer, family, friends and associates. If you do any community service, volunteer work, or have religious or social commitments, the Court may find this information helpful for the purposes of arraignment, and it may be helpful to the prosecution's evaluation of your case.

Please contact us immediately if you have any questions or problems. You can also see information regarding expungement by clicking here.

It is possible to obtain investigative services to assist you; however you may be required to pay for those services. If you need assistance, please let us know right away.

Thank you.

520 112th Ave. N.E., Suite 101
Bellevue, WA 98004
email

425 643-9424
206 623-1336
fax 425 454-8661