Los Angeles, CA
Criminal defense Lawyer at Los Angeles, CA
Practice Areas: Criminal Defense, DUI & DWI ... +3 more
OUTCOME: Charges Dismissed
Michael's client, a registered nurse, was charged with assaulting her husband in the presence of her two children. To make matters worse, our client admitted to striking her husband. On the day of tria ... l, all charges were dismissed. As a licensed professional working in a hospital, the dismiss likely saved her job.
OUTCOME: Felony Charges Dismissed
Michael A. Goldstein represented a former LAPD officer that was charged with assaulting 3 police officers outside of a casino. He was also charged with felony vandalism after kicking out the window of ... the patrol vehicle. The incident started inside of the bicycle casino where the client was kicked out for public intoxication. While the client was being detained by casino security, law enforcement arrived and attempted to handcuff the client. The client head butted one officer causing him to bleed and thereafter kicked another officer in the shin. He thereafter head butted a third officer. The District Attorney filed 3 felonies and two misdemeanors. Michael negotiated a plea that resulted in a no contest plea to a single misdemeanor count of resisting arrest and no jail.
OUTCOME: Charges Dismissed
Our client, a very well know artist, was charged with DUI following a traffic collision. The client offered to take a blood test and the result was .13. Although this was the first DUI in ten years, th ... e client had two prior DUI convictions over the past 13 years. Michael filed a motion for a blood split and LAPD was unable to produce enough of a sample to have re-tested by the defense. Therefore, given the sufficient delay in obtaining a blood sample and the inability to retain a sufficient sample for the defense, Michael was able to negotiate a reduction to a “speed contest” with a minimal amount of community service. As a result of this case settlement, our client avoided an alcohol related conviction, an ignition interlock device in all vehicles and the problems associated with international travel for business.
OUTCOME: Charges Dismissed After Completion of Terms
In this case, our client was arrested following a Craig’s List sting operation. Our client responded to an ad and believed he would be meeting an attractive woman who was looking for drugs and sent him ... a photo. The client sent a photo of himself to the person who turned out to be law enforcement. When the client met the other party at the agreed upon location, law enforcement arrested him and he was booked for offering to furnish cocaine. The client could not afford a drug conviction given his employment as a bodyguard for a very wealthy and influential individual which requires him to travel internationally. Michael A. Goldstein worked out a creative disposition wherein the client only had to do 1 NA meeting per week for 6 months and the charges were thereafter dismissed.
OUTCOME: Case Dismissed
Los Angeles Criminal Courts Building - Mr. Goldstein was retained after an arrest warrant was issued for our client’s arrest. Michael reached out to the DA to negotiate the terms of surrender and bail ... and provided the DA with substantial documentation concerning the funds to be used for bail. However, the DA still demanded a 1275 hearing which would require the defense to make a showing that any funds to be used for bail are legitimate. Thereafter, FBI agents and investigators from the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office located and arrested our client. Although the DA wanted to proceed on the bail issue at arraignment, Michael reached out to the DA’s supervisors who agreed to back off of their demand. The Goldstein Law Group mounted an aggressive defense serving the prosecution with multiple discovery motions and locating Instagram posts confirming their victim continued to work as a prostitute. At the time of the preliminary hearing, the DA requested a continuance citing the unavailability of their victim or a law enforcement witness who was engaged in a federal trial in Nevada. Michael argued that the DA did not have good cause, the Judge agreed and the PH moved forward without the prosecution’s alleged victim. A few days before trial, the prosecutor announced that they had located their victim who had been arrested on a new felony in Nevada. On the day of trial, the DA dismissed the charges citing the victim’s 5th amendment rights. If convicted, our client faced 5,8 or 12 years in state prison as well as a lifetime requirement to register as a sex offender.
OUTCOME: Case Dismissed
Santa Clarita Courthouse - Our client was arrested concerning an alleged Domestic Violence incident that occurred three weeks earlier. The alleged victim, his girlfried, also sought an Emergency Pr ... otective Order. Our client works as a counselor for a City of LA sponsored program that assists reformed gang members in changing their lifestyle. The alleged victim claimed that during one argument, the defendant threatened to kill her and walked into their kitchen retrieving a large knife. She further alleged that in the presence of their young daughter, the defendant grabbed her, put the knife to her throat and told her he would kill her himself. According to the alleged victim, the defendant then pinned her down and told her she was not leaving with their baby before slamming her against the wall several times causing blurred vision and a headache. Finally, the victim recorded the victim wherein he apologized and stated he was ashamed for his behavior. However, in the recording, our client did not admit to any of the allegations made by the victim and believes the alleged victim used this incident as a way to deprive him of custody of their young child. Our office mounted an aggressive defense and Attorney Kian R. Magaña contacted several witnesses who cast doubt on the credibility of the alleged victim. After preparing a substantial mitigation package that also called into question the credibility of the alleged victim, the District Attorney continued to push the case so Mr. Magaña prepared for trial. On the day of trial, the DA announced unable to proceed and charges were dismissed.
OUTCOME: Probation & Drug Rehab
Los Angeles Criminal Courts Building - In this case, I was retained to represent a former client who was charged with 7 residential burglaries in two different courthouses while on probation. If c ... onvicted of all counts, our client would have sustained 7 strikes. In some of the burglaries, occupants were home which served as an aggravating factor. After several months of negotiations, I was able to get both cases into one courtroom and secure probation, time served and 6-12 months in a residential drug rehabilitation facility. The client was looking at more than 10 years of state prison and the potential of having 7 strike priors.
OUTCOME: Case Dismissed
My client was charged with the sale of methamphetamine after undercover LAPD officers observed what they believed to be a narcotic transaction in a Target parking lot. The offices contacted my client, ... ordered him out of the vehicle and according to their arrest report, “immediately cuffed him and placed him in custody. They tried to justify the arrest based on officer safety. A search of his pockets revealed 9 separate bags of methamphetamine and cash. According to the officers, my client consented to the search and admitted he was “just selling drugs to pay his taxes.” Our client denied consenting to the search, denied ever being read his Miranda rights and believed the officers were abusive and intimidating. I filed a suppression motion based on the lack of probable cause for the contact, detention and search of our client. At the time of the hearing, the officer tried to back off his original statement that they immediately arrested our client. However, I impeached him with his statements and the court granted the motion and dismissed all charges. Our client had a prior conviction for the sale of narcotics and was facing deportation if convicted.
OUTCOME: No Charges Filed
My client was arrested with several other Venice High School students based on allegations of sexual assaults. LAPD officers led the students from campus in handcuffs. After a very thorough investigati ... on by both the defense and prosecution, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office concluded there was “insufficient evidence” to file charges against any of the 15 students who had been arrested. This decision by the District Attorney comes just two months after LAPD announced their “high profile” investigation. During the investigation, our office cooperated with law enforcement and our own investigation revealed a video tape that provided clear evidence that any contact involving our client was consensual. As the Los Angeles Times reported, LAPD has now closed the investigation.
OUTCOME: Drug Trafficking Charges Dismissed
My client was charged with multiple felony counts of drug sales, gun charges, transportation and bringing an illegal substance into a jail. The plea offer was 6 years state prison due to a strike prior ... . The client was contacted by law enforcement via text using information obtained from an informant. The only description provided by the informant was a telephone number and a general description that his dope dealer was Hispanic. Several text messages were exchanged between the client and law enforcement posing as a buyer. Ultimately, a location was agreed upon and multiple law enforcement officers arrived at the location. Law enforcement made contact with a male Hispanic in an alley and arrested him after they observed him swallowing a baggie of what appeared to be cocaine. Law enforcement then used keys recovered from him to locate his vehicle and what they believed to be his residence. After illegally entering the property through a locked gate, law enforcement purportedly dialed his number and testified that they could hear the phone ringing in the residence. They proceeded to obtain a search warrant on executed the warrant. Drugs, guns, scales and credit card readers were recovered. I filed a motion to traverse and quash the warrant based on the initial entry into the car and the yard where they made the subsequent observations arguing that the officers withheld favorable information from the Judge who issued the warrant. Following a brutal cross-examination of the officers, The Judge agreed and suppressed all evidence with the exception of drugs recovered in his jail cell following his arrest. The prosecution was left with a possession charge only. The passage of Prop 47 deemed the possession a misdemeanor and the client got probation and no jail.