Rancho Santa Margarita Criminal Lawyers

I am a State Bar Certified Criminal Law Specialist. I have been named Criminal Defense Attorney of the Year on two occasions by the San Diego County Criminal Bar Association and Trial Attorney of the Year by the North County Bar Association of San Diego.

While in law school, Mark worked for the United States Attorney's and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's offices. Upon graduating law school, Mark was an attorney for one of the largest civil litigation law firms in the nation. Thereafter, Mark worked for one of the largest criminal defense law firms in Southern California. Finally, Mark also has over five years experience as a reserve Deputy Sheriff. These experiences have enabled Mark to more fully understand the arresting agency and prosecuting office, thus giving him the insight necessary to better represent his clients' needs. Mark is an aggressive attorney who understands...

Criminal defense attorney William S. Kroger has dedicated 100% of his career to helping men and women caught up in a criminal prosecution. He regularly defends clients in court throughout the Los Angeles area, including all Southern California Courts State and Federal.

Every day in court, I work to place checks on the power of the prosecution. I am honored to defend each one of my clients, no matter what crime they are accused of or where they come from.

Sometimes the best results in a criminal case can come from meeting with the prosecutor and convincing them that the charges...

Samuel Spital is the Managing Attorney at Spital and Associates. He is committed to personal service; his honesty, integrity and trustworthiness are only surpassed by his exceptionally high level of concern for his client. The law firm serves individuals and businesses in a wide array of administrative law, criminal defense and civil litigation. Sam Spital began his legal career as a Deputy Attorney General for the California Department of Justice (serving from 1970 - 1978, in both the Criminal and Civil Law Divisions). As a Deputy Attorney General, he handled over 50 appeals, in all State and Federal...

Doug Ridley has experience with thousands of criminal cases. He has the voice and demeanor to handle matters cooperatively with the courts, along with the experience and savvy to be a tough defender when necessary. Doug’s job as a prosecutor started in the case file review department where he reviewed up to a hundred files per day, and led him all the way to lead prosecutor for the Special Victims Unit (The most serious crimes in the county). His background gives him an expert eye and unique ability to see the case the way the prosecutor sees it. Understanding how...

Mr. Dmitry Gorin specializes in major criminal defense matters throughout Southern California courts. He left the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office after 12 years of extensive trial experience. Mr. Gorin has litigated everything from Death Penalty murder cases to complex fraud cases, being nominated Prosecutor of the Month several times. Many of his cases have been profiled in the media including ABC, NBC, Court-TV and others. Mr. Gorin is also a Professor at Pepperdine and UCLA, teaching courses to undergraduates and law students on jury trial advocacy, public speaking, and comparative trial systems.

Tate represents clients in Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) grievance proceedings throughout California.

Josh is a graduate of Cornell Law School, an Ivy League institution and one of the top 10 law schools in the country. At Cornell, Josh was a general editor of the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy, and published a law journal article.

Josh knew early in his law school career that his passion was in criminal law, defending individuals who had made a mistake and were now facing punishment in one of the harshest and most punitive criminal justice systems in the world. Josh externed for a judge in New York and experienced firsthand the inner...

Practicing exclusively criminal defense and forfeiture seizure law since 1990. I started my career with Federal Defenders of San Diego. I was admitted to the Arizona State Bar in 1992 and have handled both state and federal matters in Arizona. Our firm is kept organized by our Spanish speaking certified paralegal, Layla Smith. We have an accomplished attorney in Jon Pettis who teams up with Dan Smith on every criminal case. Mr. Smith takes the lead on all felony federal cases and Mr. Pettis on state criminal matters which makes for a well balanced office located across the street from...

5 Star Accident Lawyer/DUI Attorney Career Honors: 35 TOP LAWYER awards, 4 Dale Gribow Days, 9 Man of the Year (The City of Palm Desert/The City of Hope/The California Senate), Mr. Charity- recognizing dozens of philanthropic awards. He limits cases and personally answers phones. You may not need a lawyer! “Whether I accept your case, I will direct you." Don’t let a lawyer who hasn’t walked in your shoes as a fellow accident victim or had handled 1000's of criminal cases, tell you how to tie your laces. You need an Esquire, not an Escort! People don’t plan to fail, they...

Award winning San Diego Criminal Defense & DUI Attorney Patrick Griffin was raised in a large family in a rural Montana community where he learned the value of hard work and perseverance. A true trial attorney who is dedicated to getting results in the courtroom, Mr. Griffin has done just that. He has won jury trials in every courthouse in San Diego County and has achieved hundreds of pre-trial victories for his clients.

Mr. Griffin has represented over 900 clients and successfully defended nearly every type of criminal case, from first degree murder to driving under the influence. His success is...

Distinguished as Top "SuperLawyer" in 2020 and 2021 and a "Rising Star" in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 by SuperLawyer magazine, as well as a "Top Attorney" by Pasadena Magazine in 2010, 2014 & 2016, Phil Hache represents clients in California state and federal criminal matters, including misdemeanors (with a focus on DUI cases) and felony charges. Along with having a good understanding of criminal matters and Court procedures, he has been trained in forensic toxicology which he puts to good use when handling DUI and other Drug related offenses. Mr. Hache represent clients on criminal matters in...

As a child, all Arash Hashemi wanted to do was to play basketball in the NBA. One day, when he was 14, a family friend commented that Arash would be a good lawyer and should pursue law. Something clicked in Arash’s head and from that day on he wanted to be a lawyer. He had no clue about the journey that lay ahead, but he was determined to get to the finish line. In December of 2002, Arash was officially sworn-in as an active member of The State Bar of California. The very next day Arash was in court, taking...

Named Top Los Angeles Criminal Attorney by LA Times and named one of the Top 100 criminal defense attorneys in California by the National Trial Lawyers Association.