Our Bakersfield criminal defense attorneys fight to get felony, misdemeanor, and infraction charges reduced to lesser offenses or dismissed. Our local law office is located at:
1430 Truxtun Ave, 5th floor
Bakersfield, CA 93301
(661) 344-1500
We serve all of Kern County and Central Valley, including Arvin, California City, Delano, Maricopa, McFarland, Ridgecrest, Shafter, Taft, Tehachapi, Wasco, and more.
Expert Bakersfield legal representation
The Kern County court system is known for being conservative and tough on people who get charged with crimes. Some of these criminal cases involve local residents and incidents that occur in and around Bakersfield. Others involve people just visiting Bakersfield or Kern from out-of-town who get pulled over driving through on the I-5 Freeway.
Our experienced Bakersfield criminal defense lawyers defend people in all types of criminal matters, including:
- Bail hearings
- Criminal record expungements
- Domestic violence
- Drug crimes, such as drug possession (HS 11350)
- DUI charges, including the DMV hearing
- Fraud, such as credit card fraud
- Lewd conduct criminal charges
- Probation-violation hearings
- Sex crimes
- Theft crimes, such as shoplifting
- Traffic tickets
- Violent crimes
- White-collar crimes
Bakersfield jail
People arrested by the Bakersfield Police or Kern County Sheriff’s Office are initially booked at the Central Receiving Facility, located at:
1415 Truxtun Ave.
Bakersfield, CA 93301
(661) 868-6850
Eventually inmates may be transferred to the Lerdo Jail, located at:
17695 Industrial Farm Rd.
Bakersfield, CA 93308
(661) 391-7900
Search for inmate information here.
Bakersfield court
The Kern County Superior Court handles criminal and traffic matters in Bakersfield. Felony cases are heard at:
Metropolitan Division
1415 Truxtun Ave
Bakersfield, CA 93301
(661) 868-7206
Misdemeanor cases are heard at:
Justice Building
1215 Truxtun Ave
Bakersfield, CA 93301
(661) 868-7207
And traffic cases are heard at:
Traffic Division
3131 Arrow St
Bakersfield, CA 93308
(661) 335-7100
Search for case information here.
Criminal court process
After law enforcement arrests and books a criminal suspect, the jail will usually release him or her as long as he/she can make bail. In some cases, defendants will be released on their own recognizance; this means they do not have to pay anything in exchange for being released.
The main condition of being released is that the defendant must appear at all future court appearances. Though the defendant may be able to miss some of them as long as he/she hires a private lawyer to appear on his/her behalf. If the defendant misses a court appearance, then the judge will penalize him/her by issuing a bench warrant.
Bench warrants remain active indefinitely. The only way the judge will agree to recall a bench warrant is if the defendant formally asks the court to quash the warrant and then appears at a court hearing. (The defendants’ attorney may be able to appear on the defendant’s behalf.) The judge will then usually agree to quash the warrant.
Public defenders are available to defendants who cannot afford their own attorneys.
After the arraignment, the defense attorney and prosecutor will discuss resolving the case through a plea bargain. Prosecutors may be willing to lessen the criminal offense charges or possibly dismiss them, depending on the circumstances. But if the two sides cannot come to an agreement, the case will ultimately go to trial.
One difference between misdemeanor and felony cases is that felony defendants are entitled to have a preliminary hearing. (The only exception is if the defendant was indicted by a grand jury.) Prelims are like mini-trials, and the court holds them to determine if the District Attorney has sufficient probable cause to continue pressing charges. Even though defendants usually lose prelims, they are still advantageous because they reveal the state’s prosecution strategies. This can help the defense attorney determine the next best step forward.
There are two ways a defendant can get convicted. Either by being found guilty at trial, or by admitting guilt as part of a plea deal. After a conviction, the judge will sentence the defendant. But depending on the case, the judge may allow the defendant to serve probation instead of jail time.
Call our criminal defense law firm for legal advice. The law office of Shouse Law Group offers free consultations.
Accused of a crime? Our Bakersfield criminal defense lawyers know how to work the criminal justice system in pursuit of the best resolution possible for our clients. Longstanding members of the State Bar of California, our attorneys have perfect 10-point AVVO ratings and have been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers. We are headquartered in Los Angeles but have law offices throughout the state. And our practice areas include personal injury and family law in addition to criminal and DUI/DWI defense.