In the News

Fred Thiagarajah is a legal commentator on Fox News

Cases from our office in the news:

People v. Carlstrom

OC Weekly -- "Jurors Reject First Degree Murder" -- Orange County criminal defense attorney Fred Thiagarajah concerned that the jurors might come to a rush judgment.

OC Register -- "One Kick is Not Murder" -- Santa Ana criminal defense attorney Fred Thiagarajah argues that his client's one kick at the victim does not amount to murder.

OC Weekly -- " ... relentless questioning by Fred Thiagarajah" -- Southern California criminal defense attorney Fred Thiagarajah's relentless cross--examination of a police officer reveals mistakes in his testimony.

OC Weekly -- Cross-Examination of Coroner -- Orange County criminal defense attorney Fred Thiagarajah gets the coroner to admit that his client's conduct didn't cause the victim's death.

This high-profile homicide case involves an incident in the Theo Lacy jail in October 2006, when approximately a dozen to twenty inmates beat a suspected child molester to death. Nine of the inmates were charged with murder and four of them pled guilty to offers from the District Attorney's office. The remaining five defendants took the case to trial. The trial lasted approximately three months and the jury deliberated over three weeks. Fred Thiagarajah represented Defendant Stephen Carlstrom.

People v. M.K.

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/calif._judge_okd_seinfelds_festivus_as_legitimate_religion_ordered_special_/

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/us/14brfs-AHOLIDAYWHEN_BRF.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=thiagarajah&st=cse

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_16848252?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com&nclick_check=1

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/hottopics/detail?entry_id=79190

Defendant was incarcerated and wanted special meals. The judge initially ordered kosher meals but the Sheriff’s office wouldn’t enforce the order because the Defendant did not specify a valid religion. Fred Thiagarajah knew his client did not practice any major religions, but managed to convince the judge that this client practiced Festivus, a “religion” that was popularized on Seinfeld. Mr. Thiagarajah’s creative arguments made national headlines.

People v. S.H.

OC Register -- "Youth Pastor Gets Year for Sex with Teen"

Defendant was charged with 4 felony counts of Penal Code 288a (oral copulation with a minor), 1 felony count of Penal Code 288.2(b) (sexting a minor with the intent to seduce) and 1 misdemeanor count of Penal Code 647.6(a) (annoying/molesting a minor). The first 4 felony counts involved acts that occurred with a 16 year-old girl. The last two counts involved acts that occurred with the girl’s 15 year-old younger sister.

The case was specially assigned to a prosecutor on the Orange County District Attorney’s Sex Crimes Unit, and from the beginning, the DA wanted lifetime sex registration pursuant to Penal Code 290. After months of negotiations with the prosecution, Fred Thiagarajah persuaded the DA to offer a plea-bargain that didn’t involve prison and didn’t involve sex registration. However, even after this plea-bargain was set, the pretrial judge wouldn’t approve the deal. The pretrial judge believed that defendant should register as a sex offender because he moved onto a younger victim after the older victim was no longer interested in him. The case was forced to a preliminary hearing. After preliminary hearing, Fred Thiagarajah had to persuade the DA again to offer the same plea-bargain and then convinced the next judge (arraignment on information) to ignore the first judge’s notes and honor the plea-bargain.

Defendant was incarcerated for several months. Although this was difficult on him and his family, it was Fred Thiagarajah’s tenacity and relationship with the DA’s office that gave him the exact deal his family wanted – no prison and more importantly, no lifetime registration as a sex offender.

People v. R.P.

Auto Body Shops Targeted for Insurance Fraud

Defendant owned an auto-body shop and was charged in a massive sting conducted by the District Attorney’s office against numerous auto-body shops. Defendant was charged with felony insurance fraud and the case was assigned to a special prosecutor on the District Attorney’s Insurance Fraud unit. Although Defendant was caught on tape making incriminating statements regarding insurance fraud, Fred Thiagarajah worked closely with the judge and DA to avoid immigration consequences for the Defendant. The final resolution required the Defendant to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge, with no probation, no jail time and no immigration consequences.

People v. R.Y.

Baby Locked in Auto, Mom Arrested

Defendant was charged with felony child endangerment, in violation of Penal Code section 273a(a), for leaving her 4 month old baby in her car for three hours, in her workplace parking lot, while she went to work. The case was specially assigned to a prosecutor on the Felony Child Endangerment Unit of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. The prosecutor initially wanted prison time on this case. After months of negotiations, Fred Thiagarajah convinced the DA and the court to approve of a deal that involved no jail time and only 150 hours of community service. The charge was reduced to a misdemeanor and recently, the entire case was expunged.