Mark McDonald | Laguna HIlls Criminal Lawyer | California

As the client, you are also the most critical component of your "defense team." Our firm ensures that you learn every legal aspect of your case, as well as the court process. Here, we are committed to our clients and to winning cases! We can assist you at any stage of your case, but achieve the best results if we become involved before any law enforcement interrogation. If an officer wants to interrogate you, it is possible there may not be enough evidence against you. The intention of any law enforcement personnel is to get the information needed to prosecute you. By accompanying you in any interrogation process, the criminal defense lawyer at our firm can protect you and ensure that your rights are not violated.

We have offices in the city of San Bernardino and Laguna Hills, we handle cases throughout all of San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange and Los Angeles Counties.

Why do you need a criminal defense lawyer by your side?
You are better off hiring an attorney to defend you when facing criminal charges. It is never a good idea to represent yourself in a criminal case. The law is far more complex than most people think, and having a skilled criminal defense attorney at your side causes the court to take your defense seriously. Courts will afford no special treatment to defendants representing themselves.

A thorough understanding of your constitutional rights and how to exercise them is vital to your defense. How you present your defense to the court or a jury is equally important. Your freedom can depend upon something as simple as how a particular law is interpreted. There is no sense in being convicted or going to jail because you represented yourself or had an attorney who was too busy or inexperienced to give your case the time it deserves.

As a Riverside County prosecutor for over seven-years, Mr. McDonald became very familiar with how a District Attorney's office views various crimes, evidence, and defenses, and how the various agencies will use evidence against you. The District Attorney's office is not looking for ways to find that you are innocent. You need an experienced defense attorney like Mr. McDonald to conduct the proper investigations to show the DA that you are innocent. His knowledge of the opposition will benefit you immensely when you go to court. He has been practicing law since 1990 and has a wealth of experience and skill to apply to your case. His principal office has been located in San Bernardino since 1996, and he has earned the respect of the courts, prosecutors and other defense lawyers throughout southern california because of his skill and dedication.

Zealous Criminal Defense Counsel in Riverside and San Bernardino, CA
An attorney's advocacy on behalf of his or her client is, by oath, meant to be "zealous," not timid. The California Court of Appeal in Los Angeles best described Mr. McDonald's dedication to his client in a recent published opinion, where the appeals court referred to "Herculean efforts" by him on behalf of his client. See In Re Michael I, on Habeas Corpus (1998) 63 Cal. App 4th 462. Mark McDonald exerts this Herculean effort on behalf of all of his clients.

Our law firm represents clients facing all types of criminal charges, from theft crimes (Penal Code section 487(a)) to homicide, taking care to provide personal attention and aggressive defense counsel every step of the way. We can handle all felonies and misdemeanors in state, federal and juvenile court proceedings. We can even help clients with DMV matters if they are facing license suspension due to a traffic violation. We are skilled with motions to dismiss in all the criminal cases we handle, working to suppress evidence, challenge the validity of search warrants and more. Some of the specific types of cases we take on include drug offenses (Health and Safety Code section 11357(a)) such as possession, medical marijuana cases and trafficking, sex offenses, three strike crimes, white collar crimes, DUI, firearm/weapons charges, domestic violence, child molestation,(Penal Code section 288(a)), identity theft and securities violations.

In terms of post-conviction relief, we can help clients with expungements and pardons who wish to clear their criminal record and good name after a conviction. We also handle criminal appeals if a client has been wrongfully convicted or unfairly sentenced and can assist with matters related to probation and parole, such as alleged violations. This site contains a great deal of information about our different areas of practice, but we also welcome you to call us at your earliest convenience to schedule a consultation, during which we can discuss your particular case and concerns.

We are Always Honest With Our Clients About What We Can Do For Them
Too many criminal defense lawyers will promise an outcome they know they can never deliver. They want your business and if they tell you what you want to hear, you will pay them. When the result is not what the attorney sold you on, they simply say, "Oh well, nothing is guaranteed." It is true that criminal defense lawyers can never guarantee any outcome, but they owe it to you to honest from the beginning about the "likely", "unlikely" and "impossible" outcomes of your case. A consultation must be detailed enough that you walk away having an idea of what potential motions you may have, how your record factors into things, how some license of yours might be affected, whether you will possibly go to jail or prison, etc.

A personal message from Mr. McDonald:"As the attorney in this office, I will always give you an honest appraisal of what I can do for you. You will never come back to me later and say that I promised you one thing and did something else. A source of great pride within our whole office is knowing that our clients participate in their defense strategy every step of the way, beginning with the first consultation. Here, you may not always like what I tell you about your case, but you will always hear the truth. This philosophy in how we treat our clients contributes to the great results we are able to achieve in our cases."

Contact an Orange County or Inland Empire Criminal Attorney
Because he is a sole practitioner, you will receive individualized service from the San Bernardino and Riverside criminal defense attorney at the firm. Mr. McDonald handles all of his cases personally, rather than hand them off to someone with less experience. Client service and satisfaction is his number one priority and his goal is to provide the most thorough, intelligent, and vigorous defense available. A DUI (Vehicle Code section 23152(a) and 23152(b) is just as important to Mr. McDonald as a homicide (Penal Code section 187(a)), because to the client, that client's case is the most important happening in their life at that moment.

Position	Organization	Location	Duration
Deputy District Attorney	Riverside District Attorney's Office	Riverside, California	1990 to 1996

School	Degree	Major	Graduation
McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific	J.D.	Law School	1990
Duke University, BA 1985	Political Science, English, Psychology	Political Science, English, Psychology	1985

State / Court	Date
Federal Distrcit Court	12/5/1990

• Prosecutor of the Year 1993 and 1994, Riverside District Attorney's Office.

• People v. Sessions (2013). Female facing a new robbery charge, and with a prior strike for residential burglary. When we took over her case, she was looking at 10 years in prison at 85%. We worked with the district attorney and explained that her failings were drug-based. The case settled as a huge victory when Ms. Sessions was admitted into drug court, had the robbery reduced to a non-strike, and was released People v Rodriguez (2012) Defendant wrongfully accused of child molestation by daughter who wanted more freedom with her friend. She held onto her accusations, while we went out and pursued the truth. The girl's friends caslled her a big liar. Church pastors caught her making up lots of stories. Through exhaustive interviewing withesses, the girl's lie was exposed and the district attorney DISMISSED the case just before trial. People v Carter (2012) Defendant charged with carjacking, terrorist threats, spousal battery, car theft and assault on police officers causing serious injury. Defendant was looking at 24 years in prison. We convinced the prosecution, through exhaustive witness interviews, that the lead officer had a personal vendetta against the defendant based upon a personal relationship. The officer had written a grossly exaggerated and misleading report and it came back to bite him. The defendant pled no contest to a misdemeanor "resisting arrest." Everything else was dismissed. People v Robles (2012) Defendant charged with kidnapping and child abduction. Defendant faced 14 years prison.. Mr. McDonald negotiated a plea bargain where defendant received probation and no jail time. People v Andrew L. (2012) Defendant charged with possession of body armour, prior strike conviction and gang enhancements. Exposed to 14 years prison. Case dismissed at preliminary hearing for insufficient evidence. People v Maria P. (2011) Defendant charged with commercial burglary of merchandise in excess of $500. Case settled for an infraction. People v Donald D. (2011) Defendant charged with child molestation against three separate victims over the course of years. He faced life in prison. After an exhaustive re-investigation of the facts by our in-house investigator, the alleged victims’ stories began to unravel. Based upon our investigations, the district attorney conducted its’ own re-investigation of the case, eventually agreeing with the defense that the victims’ horrible allegations against our client were false. Donald D. went from facing life in prison to being a free man when the prosecutor dismissed the entire case prior to the preliminary hearing. People v Martin S. (2011) Possession of illegal Assault Rifle. Case dismissed.

• Prejudicial Joinder Under California Penal Code Section 954: Judicial Economy at a Premium, 20 Pac" L.J. 1285 (1989). (Article cited by West Publishing Company as authority interpreting California Penal Code Section 954)
  
  "Literary Rights Fee Agreements: Letting the Rabbit Guard the Carrot Patch of Sixth Amendment Rights and Attorney Ethics" 24 Loyola Law Review 365 (1991) (Article cited as authority by the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas in 1994)
  
  PUBLISHED OPINIONS
  
  Mr. McDonald has argued cases before the court of appeal, and had a case reversed in the California Supreme Court. These cases resulted in "published opinions." Courts publish opinions when the issue in the case is so important that becomes law for future cases to rely upon. Below are the case citations of some of these cases.
  
  People v Cuccia (2002), 97 Cal. App. 4th 785, 118 Cal. Rptr. 2d 668
  Mr. McDonald had a case reversed after the court of appeal agreed that the judge had bullied the defense during a securities fraud trial in Orange County. The trial judge interfered in the defense attorney's ability to present a defense for his client, and the court of appeal ended up throwing out the conviction. This case has been cited many times since the appeal in situations where trial judges have overstepped their authority.
  
  In Re Michael I, on Habeas Corpus (1998) 63 Cal. App. 4th 462, 73 Cal. Rptr. 2d 650
  
  A juvenile housed at the California Youth Authority was denied his right to prepare for a parole hearing, because the staff at the Youth Authority kept Mr. McDonald from having assess to his client's file. The court of Appeal granted a writ by Mr. McDonald, and ordered the Youth Authority to turn over the records and provide a new hearing. The court applauded Mr. McDonald's "Herculean Efforts" in trying to represent his client, Michael I.
  
  In Re Vargas:
  
  The California Supreme Court (en banc) in this case agreed with Mr. McDonald, in a 9-0 vote, that his client's guilty plea in the trial court was possibly the result of an undisclosed "package deal." between the prosecutor and the co-defendant. The Supreme Court sent the case back to the trial court for a full
  

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