Pre-Filing Representation for Mental Health

What Is Pre-Filing?

Generally, a great deal of investigatory procedures can be employed prior to the actual filing of a criminal charge, which is known as the pre-filing stage. The objective of the pre-file is to help prevent criminal charges from being filed altogether.

During the pre-filing stage, the following typically occurs:

• Your defense attorney will investigate and gather evidence, which can include interviewing witnesses, doing background checks on an accuser, and consulting with experts if applicable.
• Upon completing the investigation, your lawyer will meet with the prosecutor to discuss the evidence and merits of a case.
• After the meeting, the prosecutor will make a decision on whether to file charges, end the investigation, or request that police continue with their investigations.

Thorough assessment into the circumstances which led to the arrest and criminal allegations made against you will be quickly enacted by prosecuting attorneys that are eager to gather unflattering evidence concerning your case. Therefore, having a criminal defense lawyer on your side as soon as possible - preferably before charges have even been filed - could greatly increase your chances of intervention. With the right line of defense on your side, intervening methods could be used to salvage the freedoms and rights at stake before you are formally charged.

Advocating for Mental Health Clients

Oftentimes, persons who suffer from mental health disorders are ruled as exempt from the typical forms of criminal punishment and instead are allowed stay in a mental hospital. However, being sentenced to a treament vs. jail must be determined after sanity hearings in the mental health courts have taken place, and this could span a great length of time.

Rather than making yourself susceptible to the harsh treatment of a stay in prison, aligning with an attorney that can undertake the pre-filing investigations necessary to benefit your situation beforehand could make a world of difference. When you take the time to hire the right pre-filing lawyer you could be proactively taking the steps necessary to prevent an arrest and term of imprisonment.

Lessem & Newstat, LLP can represent you in both the pre-filing intervention methods employed by criminal defense lawyers, as well as the skillful tactics used by those in the mental health field. Nowhere will you find a more winning combination of the two than in our team. The sooner you contact an attorney from our firm, the better our chances will be of negotiating with prosecution before your case is filed.

We Understand the Importance of Pre-Filing Investigations

At Lesem & Newstat, LLP we have over 50 years of courtroom experience in which we have successfully helped hundreds of clients obtain dismissal of their cases. While we are more than ready (and willing) to take your case to trial, using pre-filing investigatory methods prior to a filing and potential court hearing could prevent a lot of unnecessary stress for you and your family. Not for nothing have we been AV rated as preeminent in the field by Martindale-Hubbell. We know what it takes to adequately represent and defend you - before, during, and immediately following your case. Learn more about how an attorney from our firm can be of service with the criminal/mental health charges that have been made against you.

Contact a Southern California pre-filing mental health lawyer today.