Karapet Karo Semerjian

Karo was able to help me with my case, i got pulled over after coming home from a bar because I did not have my headlights on and the officers breathalyzed me and I blew a .08 and had the car towed. I barely had anything to drink so I thought it was a little odd. But I’m so thankful I did not get a ...dui nor a wet and reckless!!! Thank you Karo for getting my case to a reckless driving!!! He really saved me!

Back in March, I visited my dying mom to spend some time with her. I drank afterwards, so I waited a few hours to drive, but 3 blocks from home I was in a collision with someone who blew a red light while racing down California Ave. I was honest with the officer about what happened, admitted that I h...ad been drinking earlier, and said yes to every sobriety test they asked me to take. I was under the legal limit, but I still got hit with a DUI. I was thrown in jail, my truck was impounded, my license was suspended, I halted my job search because I was going to fail the background checks, and I lost the part time driving job I DID have. My mom died a week later. I wanted to fight; I honestly didn't feel I was impaired. The arresting officer told me she wouldn't have known I had been drinking if she hadn't smelled it on my breath, but the police report said I failed the field sobriety test AND they had accidentally labeled my case as a drug case (?!). I talked to private DUI attorneys first. The absolute BEST rate I was quoted, however, was $3500 just to try and negotiate a wet reckless deal. A jury trial was definitely outside of my financial means. I went into my arraignment without representation, still trying to figure out how to raise the money for a "real" lawyer. Honestly, I didn't have a lot of faith in public defenders based on the caricatures I'd seen on TV and film. I imagined overworked pushovers who would be in a hurry to cut a deal, and get me out of their hair. Other than the "overworked" part, I was dead wrong about public defense in Kern County. I've only met 3 members of the public defender's office, but they were all some of the most intense and impassioned people I've ever met. At the arraignment, one chased after me while I was walking out the door, and insisted I get in touch with her office. One showed up to pre-trial with stitches across his forehead looking like he had just come from a bar fight, and could sound compassionate AND furious at the same time. And then there was the lawyer I was assigned: Karo Semerjian. From the first phone call, he was the only lawyer I talked to who was as ready for a fight as I was. He advised me on what the possible sentence could be if I were convicted, but felt confident that we had a good case of everything I said was true. When I said I was willing to risk it, he reassured me that he would have been too. At pre-trial, he already had a wet reckless deal worked out just-in-case, but I rejected it. All the private attorneys went first, and every one of their clients were taking deals that morning. I don't know what happened to Karo's clients after me, but I know none of his clients before me took a deal. He was going to fight for each and every one of us in a jury trial. Also, and I mean no-offense to my case's prosecutor when I say this, but Karo was CLEARLY the more experienced lawyer. On day 1 of the jury trial phase, he had 23 cases, but he still treated me like an important client. On day 2 he had news for me: "Go ahead and take off, you don't have to stick around for this today," he said. "I got the body cam footage." Apparently my arresting officer wasn't even sure she wanted to charge me; she was pressured into it by another officer. There was even discussion about charging me with being over the limit, even though my evidentiary breathalyzer results were under the limit. Suddenly I was feeling pretty good about my chances at trial. "I'll handle this from here and call you later to let you know what's next," he said. The District Attorney's office dropped the charges that same morning. "Dismissed in furtherance of justice." Karo saved me from what would have been a life-altering conviction in the middle of a really rough time. If you want someone who isn't afraid to fight for you, who isn't remotely intimidated by the DA's office, and who will do the work at every level to give you your best possible defense, Karo is your guy.