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.