Jury acquittals. Charges dismissed before trial. Evidence thrown out for unlawful searches.
Case Results
JURY TRIAL VERDICTS
Some of these clients walked out with nothing on their record. Some were convicted of something — but not of what the District Attorney charged them with, and less than what the District Attorney was offering. That difference is the entire job.
Any lawyer who tries cases and tells you he has never lost one is lying to you. What matters is what happens when a case is triable. Prosecutors know exactly which defense attorneys will take it to a jury and which ones will not. The offer on your case reflects that knowledge, every single time.
These are selected results and are not a complete list of matters handled. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case. See disclaimer below
Premeditated Attempted Murder · Aggravated Mayhem
Not guilty — premeditated attempted murder.
Not guilty — aggravated mayhem.
The jury rejected the prosecution's two top charges outright, returning verdicts of not guilty on both premeditated attempted murder and aggravated mayhem.
Client was convicted of lesser offenses
First Degree Burglary · Assault with a Firearm · Criminal Threats
Not guilty — all counts.
Client had a prior strike and was facing 18 years in prison. The jury acquitted on every count.
Straight acquittal. Client walked out.
Domestic Violence — Nine Counts
Not guilty — all nine counts. Not guilty — all seven lesser included offenses.
Client was charged with nine counts of domestic violence, including multiple counts of domestic battery with corporal injury and multiple counts of assault with a deadly weapon. The jury returned not guilty verdicts on every charged count and on every lesser included offense.
Straight acquittal. The jury said "not guilty" sixteen times.
Domestic Battery with Corporal Injury · Child Endangerment (3 Counts) · Resisting Arrest
Not guilty — six counts.
The jury acquitted on two counts of domestic battery with corporal injury, three counts of child endangerment, and resisting arrest. Client was convicted on a smaller subset of the charges.
The prosecution's central theory of the case was rejected by the jury.
Domestic Battery with Corporal Injury · False Imprisonment · Dissuading a Witness
Not guilty — domestic battery with corporal injury. Not guilty — false imprisonment.
Hung jury on dissuading a witness; count dismissed.
Straight acquittal.
First Degree Burglary
Not guilty — first degree burglary.
Client broke into a vacant short term rental and was caught gathering items inside. From the beginning, he was prepared to accept responsibility and plead guilty, but the prosecution wanted too much. They charged residential burglary — a strike offense carrying lifelong sentencing consequences – even though nobody was living in the rental at the time. So we took it to trial, where a jury agreed that the rental was not a residence and found him not guilty of first degree burglary. Client was convicted of second degree burglary, a non strike, and got probation.
Strike avoided.
DUI (Two Counts) · Hit and Run
Not guilty — all counts.
Client's blood alcohol content was measured at .18 — more than twice the legal limit. The jury acquitted on both DUI counts and on the hit and run.
Straight acquittal.
Elder Abuse · Battery
Not guilty — both counts.
Client was charged with elder abuse and battery against her elderly mother. After a successful cross examination of the alleged “victim,” the jury returned a not guilty verdict on both counts.
Straight acquittal.
Hit and Run
Not guilty — hit and run.
Client was charged with hit and run and driving without a license. After client rear ended another vehicle in a fast food drive-thru, he got out and attempted to exchange information. The other driver was aggressive and immediately threatened to call the police. Young, black, and afraid, David’s client ran. During closing argument, David explained that his client did not willfully fail to perform his duty because he made a good faith attempt to exchange information before leaving in fear. The jury agreed and found him not guilty of hit and run. The defense conceded the driving without a license charge.
Acquitted of the charge the prosecution actually wanted.
Domestic Battery with Corporal Injury
Not guilty.
Single-count trial. 30-minute verdict.
Straight acquittal.
DUI — Drugs (cocaine and Xanax)
Not guilty.
Single-count trial.
Straight acquittal.
DUI
Not guilty.
Single-count trial.
Straight acquittal.
Possession of a Controlled Substance on Jail Grounds
Not guilty.
Single-count trial.
Straight acquittal.
Possession of a Controlled Substance on Jail Grounds
Not guilty.
Single-count trial.
Straight acquittal.
Dismissals at Preliminary Hearing
The prosecution's burden at a preliminary hearing is low, and cases are rarely dismissed there. These were.
Attempted Murder · Assault with a Deadly Weapon by a Prisoner
Both charges dismissed at preliminary hearing.
Client was held to answer only on a substantially reduced charge and resolved the case on assault by a prisoner.
Attempted murder charge eliminated before trial.
Aggravated Kidnapping
Dismissed at preliminary hearing.
Aggravated kidnapping carries a potential life sentence. The charge did not survive the preliminary hearing. Client was held to answer on a robbery count only.
Life exposure eliminated.
Attempted Robbery
Dismissed at preliminary hearing.
Client walked into a 7-11 with a mask on and asked the cashier for the money. The cashier refused, called the police, and testified at preliminary hearing that he was never in any fear. Client left, was arrested outside, and ultimately charged with attempted robbery. At preliminary hearing, David successfully argued that his client did not attempt to take any property with force or fear, and a judge dismissed the case.
Entire case dismissed.
Robbery
Dismissed at preliminary hearing.
Client was with an acquaintance who robbed someone. Client was arrived with the acquaintance and left with him, but he didn’t interact with the victim or do anything at all during the robbery. At preliminary hearing, David successfully argued that there was insufficient evidence that his client aided and abetted the robbery, and a judge dismissed the case.
Entire case dismissed.
Possession for Sale — Heroin · Possession for Sale — Fentanyl
Both sales counts dismissed at preliminary hearing.
Client was held to answer on simple possession for personal use.
Both felony sales charges eliminated.
First Degree Burglary
Not guilty — first degree burglary.
Client broke into a vacant short term rental and was caught gathering items inside. From the beginning, he was prepared to accept responsibility and plead guilty, but the prosecution wanted too much. They charged residential burglary — a strike offense carrying lifelong sentencing consequences – even though nobody was living in the rental at the time. So we took it to trial, where a jury agreed that the rental was not a residence and found him not guilty of first degree burglary. Client was convicted of second degree burglary, a non strike, and got probation.
Strike avoided.
Possession for Sale — Methamphetamine
Sales count dismissed following preliminary hearing.
Say something here
Case resolved as simple possession for personal use.
First Degree Burglary
Dismissed at preliminary hearing.
Residential burglary is a strike offense.
Strike eliminated. Case resolved for a misdemeanor
Evidence Suppressed — Case Dismissed
A search that violates the Fourth Amendment does not weaken the government's case. It ends it.
Possession of Methamphetamine
Motion to suppress granted. Case dismissed.
Client was a passenger in a vehicle stopped and searched based on the driver's Fourth Amendment waiver. Officers searched her purse. The court found the search of the client's purse unlawful and suppressed the evidence.
Entire case dismissed.
Possession of Methamphetamine
Motion to suppress granted. Case dismissed.
Client was arrested on an outstanding warrant approximately ten feet from his lawfully parked car. Officers searched the vehicle "incident to arrest" without any reason to believe it contained evidence of the offense of arrest. The court suppressed the evidence.
Entire case dismissed.
Dismissed the Day of Trial
The prosecution had every opportunity to try these cases. When the jury was called, they didn't.
First Degree Burglary
Dismissed the day of trial.
Residential burglary is a strike offense. Case resolved as simple trespass.
Strike eliminated, client released from custody immediately with no probation.
DUI (Two Counts)
Client was very drunk and her friend was her designated driver. After he got into a single-car accident on a freeway offramp, the car broke down in the middle of the street. Client was trying to get the car started to move it off the street when the police arrived and she was charged with DUI. As trial approached, the DA’s offer got better and better, but David held strong, knowing that the DA could not prove that his client ever drove that vehicle under the influence. On the day of trial David answered “ready” and the DA dismissed the case.
Say something here
Entire case dismissed.
Hit and Run
Dismissed the day of trial.
Client’s friend borrowed her truck, hit a parked car, and drove back to her apartment without saying anything. The police showed up and David’s client was charged with DUI. Preparing for trial, David reviewed hours of body worn camera footage and discovered something that all the police reports and investigatory reports lost in translation. When the police were speaking to a witness of the accident, another witness is speaking Spanish in the background referring to the hit and run driver as “el,” not “ella.” David timestamped the video, sent it to the DA, and the case was dismissed on the day of trial.
Entire case dismissed.
Domestic Assault with force likely to produce GBI
Dismissed the day of trial.
Police responded to a loud argument between David’s client and his girlfriend in a hotel room. When the police arrived, David’s client was asleep and his girlfriend told the police in a statement that was recorded on body worn camera that he tried to strangle her. There were no marks around her neck, no independent evidence of violence, and she eventually recanted her statement and refused to testify. The DA pressed anyway, but David was confident that the recorded statement would be inadmissible hearsay without the girlfriend present to testify. He was right: after he answered “ready” on the day of trial, the DA dismissed the case.
Entire case dismissed.
DISCLAIMER
The results described on this page are selected examples of matters handled by David Alvarez Nguyen. They are not a complete list of all cases handled and are not representative of the outcome of every case. Not every case results in an acquittal or a dismissal. Client names, case numbers, and identifying details have been omitted or altered to protect client confidentiality. Where a client was acquitted of some charges and convicted of others, that fact is stated. Every criminal case is different and is decided on its own unique facts and its own law. These results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict the outcome of any future matter, and no representation is made that similar results can be obtained in any other case.