Testimonials

Some Notable Cases and Testimonials from Clients:

SOME NOTABLE CASES

People v. L.H.

L.H. was arrested and charged with a felony charge of possessing a dangerous/deadly weapon as well as two gang enhancements. He was also charged with violation of his probation. L.H.’s bail was raised to $100,000.00 and was held in jail for over three months before we were able to adjudicate his case. L.H. was facing lifetime registration as a gang-member and up to 10 years in State Prison if convicted. After an extensive investigation and several motions filed by our office, ALL charges against L.H. were dismissed by the District Attorney at the preliminary hearing and he was immediately released. Our office has since then filed a claim against the city and police department for violation of his civil rights, false imprisonment and unlawful arrest.

People v. R.G.
While on felony probation, R.G. was detained by LA Sheriffs and his truck was illegally searched. Police found about $10,000.00 in US currency in his truck as well as drugs, packaging materials and a handgun at his residence. He arrested and charged with possession of narcotics for sale, possession of a loaded firearm by a convicted felon, and his probation was violated. Also, the $10,000.00 found in his truck was seized by the Federal government. R.G. was facing up to 12 years in State Prison if convicted. After filing and arguing a Motion to Suppress all evidence, the court ruled in our favor and ruled that all the evidence was illegally obtained by the police. ALL charges against R.G. were dismissed by the District Attorney and the $10,000.00 was returned to R.G. Our office has since then filed a claim against the city and police department for violation of his civil rights, false imprisonment and unlawful arrest.

People v. A.L.
A.L. was arrested and charged with kidnapping across International Borders, Rape and Torture after his ex-girlfriend reported she was forcibly taken into Mexico, repeatedly raped and tortured which led to her being becoming pregnant. A.L was facing life in Prison. After intense investigations and the filing of several Motions, ALL charges against A.L. were dismissed and A.L. was exonerated of all accusations against him.

People v. M.G.
M.G. was the passenger of a vehicle when he and the driver were stopped by undercover police officers who had been conducting a surveillance of the residence he had just come from. Police found over 15 pounds of heroin and methamphetamines in a duffle bag inside their car. M.G. was facing over 15 years in State Prison if convicted. After lengthy negotiations and presenting exonerating evidence to the prosecution, ALL charges against M.G. were dismissed and he was released.

People v. H.P.
H.P. was arrested and charged with his THIRD DUI. His blood alcohol level was over two times the legal limit and he had been involved in a traffic collision. H.P. was facing a felony conviction as well as up to 7 years in Prison. We were successful in getting ALL charges dismissed and H.P. did not serve even one day in jail.

People. v. L.O.
L.O. was charged with possession for sales of over 20 kilograms of methamphetamines as well as drug trafficking. L.O. was facing over 20 years in State Prison. ALL charges were dismissed by the District Attorney.

People v. G.V.
G.V. and his wife were charged with possession of ephedrine for the production of methamphetamine as well as manufacturing methamphetamine and child endangerment. G.V. was facing over 10 years in prison. All drug and child endangerment charges were dismissed and G.V. pled guilty to disturbing the peace, a misdemeanor. G.V. never served one day in jail.

People v. R.C.
R.C. was arrested and charged with multiple counts of commercial burglary, theft with priors and grand theft after she was caught on video stealing from a department store. Because R.C. had prior felony convictions for the same type of charges and had served time in prison, she was facing up to 7 years in prison. We were able to keep R.C. out of jail and in getting her simple house-arrest when she pled guilty.

People v. A.C.
A.C. was charged with domestic violence, child abuse and violation of felony probation after an independent witness called the police. At trial, ALL charges were dismissed against A.C. and he was exonerated of all charges.

People v. J.L.
J.L. was arrested while committing an armed robbery with three other accomplices. He was charged with two felony counts of second degree armed robbery and person use of a knife. J.L. had confessed to the police and was apprehended in the commission of one of the robberies. J.L. was facing up to 12 years in State Prison if convicted. We were able to successfully negotiate J.L.’s sentence down to 9 months in county jail and 3 years of probation.

People v. I.L.
I.L was arrested for DUI when a citizen called the police to report he was driving erratically on the freeway. After exposing several Constitutional violations against I.L. and getting the arresting officer to admit he lied, ALL charges against I.L were dismissed by the District Attorney.

People v. M.S.
M.S. was also arrested for DUI after a citizen called the police. M.S. had his two children in the car and was also charged with two counts of child endangerment. After unmasking serious flaws in the police investigation as well as in the forensic analysis of M.S.’s blood work, we were successful in getting the child endangerment charges dismissed and the DUI charge was reduced to reckless driving only.

People v. J.O.
After breaking up with his girlfriend, J.O. was accused and charged with two counts of domestic violence and child abuse in two different counties. Despite witness testimony and a prior conviction for domestic violence, ALL charges in BOTH counties were dismissed at trial.

Hugo L.
Hugo was divorced for over two years and had 50/50 joint custody of his three children. Despite this arrangement, Hugo had been ordered to pay over $1,000.00/month in spousal and child support by the court with his former attorney. Once we were retained to represent Hugo, we were able to terminate all spousal support payments and Hugo’s ex-wife had to pay him over $400.00/month in child support.

Blanca O.
Blanca’s ex-boyfriend and father of her child brought allegations of domestic violence against her. We were able to exonerate Blanca in criminal court and then filed for sole custody in family court. Despite the fact that Blanca was an illegal alien, she was neither prosecuted not deported. We were able to obtain a restraining order against her ex and Blanca was awarded sole legal and physical custody of her daughter.

Lauren O.
After getting into a fight with her boyfriend and father of her son, Lauren admitted to the police she had punched and kicked her boyfriend in the heat of the moment. Lauren was arrested and her boyfriend filed for an emergency restraining order as well as sole custody of their son. Lauren pled guilty in criminal court to disturbing the peace, an infraction, and then retained us to get her son back. We were successful in setting aside the restraining order against her and she now has primary custody of her toddler son.

Robert S.
Robert had been married over 25 years and had never been accused of any crimes. Robert’s wife filed and obtained an emergency restraining order against him in hopes of getting an upper hand in their divorce. After a FOUR DAY trial, we were able to get the restraining order dismissed and Robert’s reputation restored.

Crispin R.
Crispin’s wife and mother of their child filed for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order against him. After an evidentiary hearing, the restraining order was not granted and a finding of no violence was issued by the court.

Francisca F.
Francisca had joint custody of her two sons with her ex-husband. One day, when she arrived at her ex-husband’s home to pick up her sons she found the residence empty and her sons missing. Francisca’s ex-husband had fled the State with the boys and Francisca had no idea where they were. After an intense investigation and filing of emergency custody orders, we were able to obtain sole custody for Francisca, locate her sons and reunite her with them. The District Attorney was also brought in to prosecute her ex-husband for kidnapping. This story was broadcasted on television shortly after Francisca was reunited with her sons.

Vasi A.
Vasi had been married to his wife only a few years and they had two small children together. After obtaining her immigration papers, his wife alleged he had raped and beaten her numerous times. Vasi was arrested and charged with spousal rape but the case was later dismissed. Vasi retained us to obtain a restraining order against his wife, divorce him and get custody of his children. Once we filed for the restraining order against his wife, she filed a retaliatory restraining order against him. After a THREE DAY trial, the court dismissed the wife’s request for a restraining order, granted Vasi’s restraining order against his wife and we were able to get Vasi custody of his children. Vasi divorce should be finalized by the end of this year.

Valentine v. County of Los Angeles
Mr. Valentine, along with three other plaintiffs, were unjustly accused of 19 felony sexual abuse counts against minors. After successfully defending and getting all criminal charges dismissed, Mr. Roman and his colleagues presented a claim against the County of Los Angeles for various civil rights violations, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress. After a 1990 trial, the Court found in favor of Mr. Roman’s client and awarded $3.7 million in damages, plus $2.0 million in attorney fees. The case was appealed and reversed by the Court of Appeal on the grounds that the trial court did not exercise its discretion in relieving the County from their jury waiver. In 1995, the case was tried to a jury. The jury awarded the plaintiffs, $7.4 million plus $3.7 million in attorney fees for a total of $11.1 million.

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS & QUOTES

“Without Attorney Sergio Lopez on my side, I would have lost my rights as a father to see my children. My ex-wife accused me of Domestic Violence and asked for sole custody of our kids. Thanks to the aggressive representation of The SJL Law Group, we were able to destroy her false allegations of abuse, unmask her alienation and I now have custody of my children.” 

– Juan G., July 2010

“The attorneys at SJL Law Group saved my freedom. I falsely was accused of raping, kidnapping and forcibly taking my ex-girlfriend across International Borders but thanks to the unrelenting defense Mr. Lopez and his team of attorneys asserted on my behalf, I was completely exonerated and the District Attorney dismissed all charges against me!”

–  Martin G., December 2010