Personal Injury and Criminal Law in San Diego County And Beyond

For many people, needing help to bail a loved one out of jail is their first introduction to the criminal court system. The bail process can be confusing and costly when navigating it on your own, but having the right attorney can help you get him, or her immediately released from jail at the lowest possible cost to you. At Neal Gibbons, Attorney at Law, we know that time is of the essence. That is why we work hard to help and can oftentimes save you thousands of dollars as we assist you in getting your loved one out of jail. When a person is arrested and booked into jail, they can be held in custody until their case is resolved.

Practically speaking, this means that a person can spend up to 90 days in jail just waiting to have a trial. There are several ways to post bail, and we are more than happy to explain your options, represent the client at their hearing, and/or refer you to a well-respected bail bondsman. Below you will find some additional information about bail or bond options.

Cash bail is when an amount of cash equal to the amount of bail is deposited with the court. If the client is present at all court hearings as required by the judge, at the conclusion of the case, the money is returned in full to the person who posted the bail.

With a bail bond, you are essentially paying a fee to the bail bondsman guaranteeing that the client will be at all court hearings as required by the judge. The cost of the bond is typically 10% of the bail amount (for example, if bail is set at $10,000, then the bond will cost $1,000) and is non-refundable. Because the bondsman becomes personally responsible for the defendant attending all hearings, oftentimes, they will require collateral equal to the bail amount to ensure the promise to appear in court is kept.

With a property bond, real estate such as homes, condominiums, or vacation property can be used as security to guarantee the client’s appearance in court. The real estate collateral must be worth at least two times the amount of bail (for example, if bail was set at $250,000, then the property must be equal in value to, or exceed, $500,000). This process can take up to 7 business days to acquire the necessary documentation but can actually be the most cost-effective method when dealing with extremely high bail amounts.

Of all the options listed, this is one that has no financial cost to the client. In this case, if the judge decides that the client is neither a flight risk nor a danger to society, the client can be released on their promise that they will attend the required hearings. A failure to appear in court will result in being remanded back into custody and the judge either setting bail at that time or making the defendant remain in jail until trial.

At Neal Gibbons Attorney at Law, we have over 30 years of criminal law experience, and we know all too well that embarrassment and fear are perhaps the two most common reactions to drug crime charges. Fortunately for our clients, our reactions are consistent – we want to help our clients fight these charges, mitigate negative consequences, and provide each client with a comfortable, nonjudgmental atmosphere where they can be completely candid with us. We have a genuine desire to help and a commitment to follow through with all available options to reduce or eliminate legal consequences.

We can help if you face any number or type of drug charges, including:

If you are facing any drug offense allegations, you are likely concerned about going to jail, paying hefty criminal fines, losing your driving privileges or your professional license, losing your job, or having a conviction on your criminal record.

You’re not in this alone. You have options and rights, and Neal Gibbons, Attorney at Law, will help explain the different paths your defense can take the possible pros and cons of each option, and the best way to help protect your rights. We have successfully fought to have hundreds of clients’ drug charges reduced or dismissed, and we have taken many of these cases to trial and secured acquittals. Even if the evidence against you seems overwhelming, we can still pursue a residential drug treatment program under Proposition 36 or a deferred increment judgment.

We also have years of experience handling the administrative actions related to these charges and can represent you at DMV hearings, fighting to help you protect your driving privileges. At Neal Gibbons Attorney at Law, our background and over 30 years of experience give us the knowledge necessary to identify procedural police errors, poke holes in the prosecution’s case, and create an effective legal defense for you.

If you have a California driver’s license and have been arrested for DUI/DWI, you face much more than the criminal charges. There are also civil and administrative consequences imposed by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) as well. The DMV will automatically suspend your license if you don’t contact them within ten (10) days following a DUI/DWI arrest and request that a “stay” be placed on your license suspension. The process for preventing the suspension of your license is a civil matter, completely separate from your criminal charges.

Fortunately, Neal Gibbons Attorney at Law can help you with both the administrative and criminal aspects of a drunk driving arrest. DUI/DWI matters. It is imperative to contact a qualified attorney as soon as possible after your arrest to begin the process of combating your charges, protecting your rights, and preventing the revocation of your driving privileges.

Neal Gibbons, Attorney at Law, has the skills and experience to greatly decrease the likelihood of a driver’s license suspension. We have had years of experience dealing with criminal and administrative issues regarding alcohol-related traffic offenses. We can work to identify procedural errors in DUI/DWI paperwork, question the maintenance of Intoxilyzer/Breathalyzer machines, and present your side of the story to the DMV representative serving as de facto judge and prosecutor.

License suspensions can be as long as three years, depending on a number of factors, including if this is your first drunk driving charge, whether the charge is a felony or a misdemeanor-level offense, and if vehicular assault or manslaughter were involved. Before risking the loss of your license and possibly even your livelihood, as a result, contact Neal Gibbons, Attorney at Law, for a no-fee consultation about how we can help.

If you face a DMV hearing and driver’s license suspension, contact a firm with strong roots in the San Diego community, caring staff members, and skilled attorneys who focus their extensive efforts and experience on helping people who are threatened with serious legal consequences.

When you face domestic violence or abuse charges, it helps to know that your criminal defense attorney can truly empathize with your stress and anxiety. At Neal Gibbons Attorney at Law, my staff and I have families, have sat on juries, and are all local to the San Diego area. We have helped hundreds of clients over the years facing the criminal, civil, and social consequences associated with domestic violence allegations, even those that are totally unfounded and made for the purpose of securing an advantage in a divorce, separation, or child custody dispute.

We aggressively help clients facing these charges because we know how very destructive domestic abuse convictions can be – they can prevent you from seeing your children, make you leave your home, make you maintain a perimeter of distance away from your family, send you to jail, cost you your constitutionally protected rights to carry firearms, and vote and, depending on your particular situation, could even cost you your job. Neal Gibbons, Attorney at Law, can help. We have handled thousands of criminal defense cases and hundreds of domestic violence/abuse cases.

The ultimate result of our unique experiences is an incomparable and dedicated legal defense for every case we accept. Through time-intensive preparation and creative representation, we have been able to reduce charges, have charges dropped altogether, or plea bargain lesser sentences for hundreds of men and women facing domestic violence charges. We have worked with married couples, domestic partners, roommates, gay and lesbian couples not in a legally outlined domestic partnership arrangement, and a variety of other situations where domestic violence or abuse charges arise.

Credibility Can Make All the Difference. When standing before a judge, the presence and assistance of a well-respected, credible, and an experienced attorney could very well mean the difference between leniency and the harshest-possible legal consequences (including jail time, permanent restraining orders, court costs, and fines). Courts around the San Diego area know Neal Gibbons, Attorney at Law, for our honesty, our thorough preparation, and our candor. While we can make no guarantees of a particular result in your case, we have been successful in the past at convincing judges and juries about our client’s intentions and their innocence.

To arrange a no-charge discussion of your domestic violence charges, call (619) 850-6325. If you face domestic violence charges or have been served with a restraining order (sometimes referred to as an “order for protection”) in the San Diego area, you should contact Neal Gibbons Attorney at Law – with the skill, experience, and compassion to help people just like you facing the most serious of legal consequences.

We accept credit cards as payment for our legal services, make a commitment to client communication, remain accessible to clients at all hours, and offer free initial consultations on all criminal matters.

Unfortunately, lesser-skilled criminal defense attorneys start and end their drunk driving defense with the accused’s blood alcohol (BAC). At Neal Gibbons, Attorney at Law, we understand the disservice that this approach can do to our clients – the consequences of a conviction are much too high, and there is so much more to consider than the accused’s blood alcohol level or Breathalyzer test results when fighting DUI/DWI charges.

In California, even a first-offense DUI/DWI conviction carries a mandatory jail sentence of two to ten days, depending on the county and the level of the charges. Driver’s license suspension, fines, community service, and mandatory alcohol education classes are also common. To prevent the leveling of such severe penalties against you, we pursue every avenue that could lead to the dismissal or reduction of your DUI/DWI charges, including:

– Obtaining the police report.
– Obtaining copies of the initial dispatch.
– Following through with alleged witnesses and reviewing any statements they gave to the arresting officer.
– Investigating the maintenance and calibration records of any Intoxilyzer or Breathalyzer machines used in the arrest.
– Investigating the reasons behind the officer’s initial stop of your vehicle to make sure he had a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, necessary to perform a traffic stop.
– Hiring our own independent investigators.
– Examining any video of field sobriety tests, such as that which might be available from the officer’s dash-cam.

Our hands-on persistence has resulted in hundreds of positive results following drunk driving charges. When police commit procedural errors, we can spot them immediately, frequently resulting in the dismissal of charges. We can also handle your DMV administrative hearing to prevent the suspension of your driver’s license.

You have only ten days to contact the DMV following your arrest to prevent the mandatory suspension of your license.

For those new to the adult justice system, legal processes and procedures are confusing enough, but usually at least somewhat familiar just by information gathered through popular television shows like “Law & Order” and court shows like “The People’s Court” and “Judge Judy.” The juvenile justice system, however, operates under completely different rules than the adult system and can be overwhelming for even the most mature minor child.

Some major differences between the adult criminal justice system and the adult system are that the juvenile courts offer no absolute right to a jury trial, and if your child has been arrested, you have no right to free him or her by posting bail or bond. Unfortunately, the differences are significant enough that confusion regarding juvenile court procedures could result in missed opportunities to help protect your child’s rights and his or her future.

At Neal Gibbons, Attorney at Law, we have helped hundreds of families navigate the juvenile justice system and get their children back on track. We understand that, as a parent, you may fear that your child may be taken from you, placed in foster care or in the home of a relative, end up in jail or juvenile hall, or face a lifetime of educational, housing, and career-related consequences. We help by defending your child the way you would and the way he or she deserves – with compassion, commitment, and skill.

Regardless of whether your child is facing allegations of:

We handle the defense of all juvenile charges, and we do so by investing the time to learn about each child’s unique situation.

We want to know your child’s background, whether there are any extenuating circumstances (such as fear for his or her own safety or the safety of another person if your child didn’t participate in a criminal act), and what your child’s plans for the future are. We work with minors and alleged juvenile offenders holistically, addressing issues relating to family dynamics, self-esteem, any possible abuse or violence in the home, gang activity in the neighborhood, and any problems they may be having in school.

Our juvenile clients have a low recidivism rate – our presence and our taking the time to really listen to them are genuinely helping them get their lives back on track. While we cannot guarantee any specific result for your child’s case, however, you can feel confident that we will pour our heart and soul into protecting your child’s rights and future. The hundreds of letters from juvenile clients and their parents detailing how we have made a difference in their child’s life speak to our track record of success in handling these cases.

Robbery and theft charges range from the shoplifting of low-priced items to the embezzlement of millions of dollars and armed robbery. Legal consequences vary between felonies and misdemeanors, but all theft convictions, like those for other crimes, resulting in a criminal record and the threat of jail time, high fines, and weeks or months of community service.

At Neal Gibbons Attorney at Law, we have handled criminal defense matters for literally thousands of clients over the years, including countless cases involving robbery, armed robbery, theft, petty theft and shoplifting, embezzlement, and other white-collar crimes.

If you face theft-related criminal charges, we can provide comprehensive, skilled, and thorough legal help in a supportive, non-judgmental atmosphere. In today’s challenging economy, even a conviction for something as seemingly minor as petty theft can stand between you and a much-needed job.

If you face theft charges, contact an experienced criminal defense attorney at Neal Gibbons Attorney at Law.

We work with private investigators to investigate theft claims and obtain police reports and photos to build a strategic defense. We are skilled at countering prosecutors’ arguments and charges and at identifying and proving police errors that can lead to a reduction of or outright dismissal of charges against you. We also commonly work with alleged victims to work out a civil compromise.

By offering to make amends, serious and debilitating legal consequences can often be avoided. If you or a loved one is currently incarcerated, we can also provide experienced bail-bond legal services to obtain your freedom.

Sex offense charges come not only with criminal and civil penalties but also an underlying sexual stigma. We understand the embarrassment and shame that can immediately result from the filing of these charges. At Neal Gibbons Attorney at Law, we don’t judge you – we realize that people make mistakes, that actions are sometimes misinterpreted, and that sometimes there are ulterior motives for the pressing of charges.

Our goals are to protect your privacy, confidentiality, and rights while mounting an aggressive defense on your behalf. At Neal Gibbons Attorney at Law, we’ve handled hundreds of sex offense charges on both sides of the aisle. The result of our years of experience and commitment to dedicated defense? Hundreds of charges dropped, hundreds more reduced or mitigated, and many acquitted at trial.

We have helped people from all walks of life. Ranging from seemingly innocuous at-home violators to the CEOs/executives of huge national corporations and sports celebrities who are concerned with keeping their high-profile names out of the spotlight. Regardless of your economic, financial, or family situation, we will handle your case with discretion in a confidential manner that protects your privacy to every extent available under the law.

We can help if you have been accused of:

We know that false accusations of sex crimes are all too common, and we are skilled at coming up with creative legal strategies and following through with effective legal tactics to achieve our client’s goals.

Additionally, at Neal Gibbons Attorney at Law, with our over 30 years of criminal experience, we can immediately spot violations of police procedure. Often procedural violations can quickly lead to a dismissal of charges or to a plea bargain to significantly reduced charges that keep you out of jail and keep your name out of the public eye.

We also use experts, including psychiatrists and sociologists, to explain why certain sex offenses occur. By contacting victims, agreeing to make amends to an alleged victim, and humanizing alleged violators to judges and juries, we are often successful at having charges reduced or dismissed.

White-collar crimes are increasing as the nation faces growing economic challenges.

Regardless of the circumstances surrounding the allegations you face, at Neal Gibbons Attorney at Law, we understand that even the most conscientious people can find themselves in desperate situations where they make mistakes. We understand that anyone facing criminal penalties needs and deserves caring support and excellent legal help in a non-judgmental atmosphere. We have helped hundreds of individuals fight and beat charges of white-collar crime.

Although we cannot guarantee a specific successful result in your case, rest assured that we will put the full force of our experience and extensive knowledge of the law to work for you.

We can help if you have been accused of a variety of white-collar crimes, including:

Neal Gibbons, Attorney at Law, has in-depth experience with prosecutorial and police procedures, which gives us unique insight into the specific requirements necessary to prove these cases in court and how to defend you against them.

We also recognize that in such serious allegations as these, early intervention can possibly prevent cases from being filed or can at least have the charges reduced to be filed as a lesser charge. For example, early intervention may influence the district attorney to reduce your charge from a felony to a misdemeanor or to not file your case at all. We have helped people in small, family-owned “mom-and-pop” businesses and those with huge national corporations, from first-time offenders to those some would consider “serial embezzlers.”