My criminal caseload ranges from misdemeanors to serious felonies, and includes DUI cases, theft cases, drug cases, robberies and murders. I have also successfully represented clients in complex Federal Cases as well as expungement of criminal records. I know that your case is incredibly important to you, and weighs on you every day. I am ready to help, no matter what the charge.
The beating of Rihanna by Chris Brown sent the media into overdrive as the singer was not only caught in the spotlight by the media, but there were damning photos of the abuse which only made matters worse. It as no longer just a story, but a very vivid and visual event to the public. Reporting on such things said by Brown as "Now I'm really gonna kill you!" and other details, tabloids took the littlest details and put them in the spotlight for all to see.
The story becomes the most talked about story on social media for months. Chris Brown is charged with felony assault. Brown did not want the spectacle of Rihanna having to come to court to testify, so pleaded guilty, and received 480 hours of community service and three years of felony probation, along with anger-management classes.
As an apparent lack of remorse starts hurt his image after months of not apologizing or speaking to the issue, and album sales slump as radio stations refuse to play his music. Big sponsors like Wrigley's Gum drop him from their marketing plans, and even Sesame Street pulls the episode featuring the rapper.
Brown attempts to apologize to the public through a YouTube video, and it is not well-received by those who watched it, appearing to be forced and unapologetic in tone. In hindsight, it can be seen as doing too little, and much too late.
When Reese Witherspoon was caught getting arrested on a dashcam of a patrolman's car, the glimpse of the actress was less than flattering, and it led to a press onslaught of the A-list actress which only the star herself could finally come to terms with... and she eventually did.
Celebrities used to have the advantage of privacy in their everyday affairs, but with the proliferation of cameras and media in the world today, there are countless opportunities to catch someone acting up or misbehaving, and it usually tends to find its way into the public domain.
Witherspoon's husband is pulled over for driving drunk and Reese is the passenger in the car. She is caught on tape being rude to a police officer and obstructing the arrest of her husband, and her arrogant behavior becomes the talk of tweets, blogs and the news programs all over television. She was not prepared for 24/7 scrutiny, and the dashcam video proved to diminish her celebrity persona in the public eye.
A public apology given approximately two weeks later appeared to soften the blow to her career as she took responsibility for her behavior and gave a heartfelt apology for her attitude during the arrest. The way in which she handled this matter was hailed by many as a textbook example of how to do it right -- appearing to be both genuine and forthright.
Amanda Bynes who got her start as a Nickelodeon kid's television star, is arrested by the Police for drug possession and reckless endangerment. As the press goes after her and the story, she decides to use the internet and her Twitter account to attempt to tell her side of the story. Unfortunately, the manner in which some of it was done only raised more questions than it answered.
"I was sexually harassed... he slapped my vagina" was one such charge leveled at the Police that stirred the public.
As time progresses, the comments and online conversations Bynes is having with fans and the public at large become more and more strange. As the public learns more, they realize that it is not just the arrest they are finding out about, but a celebrity's private troubles. The shift in public attitude went from curiosity about a celebrity to actual concern for her health.
After an arrest for starting a fire on a random neighbor's driveway, Bynes was put on a 72-hour psychiatric hold. It turns out this incident was the breakthrough for her finally getting help for her bi-polar disorder and schizophrenia, and was a window into a celebrity's life that the public had never seen before.
Few scandals are able to grab the big headlines as a celebrity arrest, and one case in point is the arrest of Paul Reubens, or as you probably know him as better, "Pee Wee Herman". As a children's television superstar, being found masturbating in an adult theater could have not come as worse news to his career in Hollywood. The newspapers and television talk shows used the incident as fodder for jokes and stories, and it came at the expense of his career in children's entertainment.
As Reubens put it, "I turned on the TV and saw people I mistakenly thought were my friends making jokes about me."
When your entire career is children's entertainment, it could be easily said that taking out your private parts in an adult theater is not a good career move. And the press was relentless in their pursuit of this story. It even topped headlines of Jeffrey Dahmer, mass murderer, and somehow became the lead story. CBS immediately stopped airing Reuben's show, Pee Wee's Playhouse, merchandise was pulled from Toys R Us's shelves, and even Disney edited out his appearance in a ride at the MGM Themepark. The effect on his career was dramatic.
Pleading no contest, Paul Reubens settled his case in court without being able to proclaim his innocence, but even then, the tools of the media were only just beginning to set their sights on celebrities and their brushes with the law in a new and more powerful medium - the internet.
The Los Angeles Police Department was engaged in a prostitution sting in Hollywood, and as it turns out, they were going to catch one of it's newest actors in the act with a prostitute, and what happened next would alter how many celebrities choose to deal with fame and run-ins with the law. Hugh Grant was caught in a sexually compromising position with a prostitute, Divine Brown, and when the press caught wind of it, the news went wild.
With up to 6 months in jail possible, instead of hiding away and hoping it would fade from view with time, Hugh Grant faced the story head on. Instead of avoiding the cameras, he continued public appearances, including The Tonight Show, where he used the limelight to express his contrition and shame to the public at large. It was a game changer.
When it comes to what happens in a man's brain when sex is involved, no one can say for sure, but people who heard of the story were unable to understand why he would do something so reckless with a successful life, career and girlfriend at his side. However, by facing the problem directly, and without shying away from it, Grant was able to manage his way past this major episode in his life and continue on with only a small blemish to his name. Truly a new chapter in celebrity justice was written.
What started as a slow-speed pursuit on a Los Angeles freeway, ended up going down in the history books, as O.J. Simpson's trial forever changed the landscape of media and the judicial system in America. Simpson went on trial for the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman.
What the trial turned into is by many accounts a media circus, and not just nationally but internationally, as all of the eyes of the world were on the Los Angeles courtroom where the fate of the ex-sports hero lay in the hands of a jury. As television cameras were allowed in the courtroom, the trial becomes a day-to-day drama of must-see TV that plays out across the world, and played out for more than eight months.
The presence of TV cameras in the courtroom meant that lawyers were really talking to two audiences when they were speaking - the court, and the court of public opinion.
Lindsay Lohan's misbehavior has lead in some regards to her ability to stay in the limelight and maintain her celebrity status, despite run-ins with law enforcement. Having been sent to a Los Angeles County jail six times on charges ranging from drunk driving, to parole violation, and even theft, Lohan became a fixture in the news at her various court appearances and public functions.
I at one point joke that Lohan could be seen as a defense lawyer's dream -- she's literally a repeat customer. But getting into trouble repeatedly can have a huge impact on one's status in the entertainment business, and how the public views you, so this extensive negative publicity eventually can take a big toll on one's ability to work, maintain a public image and live a normal celebrity life.
In one particular court appearance, it looks like Lohan used the extensive media presence to try and send a message to the world at large, when it was discovered she had written on her nails a small message of F**k..U, and whether it was aimed at the judge, her situation, or the world at large, it became another instance where a story blows up in the media, and her celebrity attention grows online and in the press.
The writing on her nails came across as projecting disrespect to the person who was sentencing Lohan, the judge, and was found by many to be wreckless and stupid. The line between the public and private lives of celebrities is blurred as people such as Lohan then take to social media to engage on their acts, defiant or otherwise, to project the image they want to create directly to the public.
When Martha Stewart's name hit the headlines in an investment scandal, the gossip blogs and online celebrity commentators jumped at the opportunity to pile on. Martha Stewart, it was discovered, had invested in ImClone shares after her broker's assistant called her with favorable information about a potential future drop in stock she owned. She ended up selling the stock, saving herself a grand total of $50,000.00 in the deal.
But the Securities and Exchange Commission was tipped off to her trade and began investigating her for insider trading. When brought in for questioning, Martha and her broker gave false statements to Federal authorities, and it was these false statements, apparently made to cover up the earlier deed, that was actually seen as worse in the public eye. Bloggers jumped at the chance to go after Stewart.
Martha Stewart is eventually convicted and has to relinquish control of her multi-billion dollar empire as she entered Federal prison in West Virginia. Stewart was sentenced to five months of prison and five months of house arrest, but she somehow managed to make the most of the sentencing.
In the end, her determination to weather the storm appeared to provide a bridge to her company's future, and it continues now as a strong corporate success story, despite the insider trading charges and false statements to authorities -- and even her prison time.
