Why Am I a Criminal Defense Lawyer?

No Matter How Much I Love What I Do, People Hate It

The general public, everyday folks, the man on the street, moms and dads across the nation, and grandparents everywhere, all tend to be very judgmental about people accused of crimes. As we watch a never ending sea of breaking news updates and car chases we all tell ourselves that the suspect is guilty and he should therefore hang, fry, be locked away forever, or in the alternative...rot in hell.

This is what makes the job of being a criminal defense attorney so challenging (it's actually rougher here in Orange County). People want to see my customers suffer. Can you imagine any other legitimate industry where the public hates your customers? No one hates car buyers, and no one wants to see them all crash and burn. No one hates toothpaste users. You ever see someone buying toothpaste and yell "I hope your teeth fall out. You deserve it!"? But ask Americans about people who buy criminal defense services and the hate flows hotter and thicker than the chocolate fountain at a fat woman's wedding.

People want to hear about a public trial that starts swiftly and ends successfully in a very harsh sentence (and that's just the shoplifting cases. Don't even mention drug sales, drug manufacturing, burglary, embezzlement, insurance fraud, arson, vandalism or...indecent exposure).

My Sense of Justice and Fairness Will Not Allow Me to Stand By and Watch Human Beings Be Warehoused

Even though the vast majority of cases end in plea bargain and dismissal, all criminal cases that are filed by the district attorney (or any prosecutor for that matter), are initially on their way to trial. The United States Constitution only actually gives you a right to a trial, not a plea bargain. I am a nationally recognized trial attorney. But don't worry, I know how to get cases reduced and dismissed before trial. So I'll get you out of trouble.

To me, nothing is more sacred than the rights of a criminal defendant. Do you know why that is? Well...it's kind of long but I'll tell you:

Every human life starts out the same: a beautiful little baby given life by his (or her) mother. And in that we are all equal. And society loves each and every one of its newborn babies. Then as life progresses, circumstances and choices take over, some of us take jobs and live the best life we can. Some of us die, and some wind up in the legal system.

Compared to Criminal Defendants, The Ones Who Die Are Lucky

Dead people are lucky because, at the time they leave us, friends rush forward to comfort their surviving family, food and sympathy flows in and lovely speeches are given. After the dearly departed is laid to rest his picture goes on a wall and in the eyes of everyone who knew him, he will always be the same great guy...only dead.

But if a young man, or a husband with children, is arrested and accused of a crime, the whole scene changes. His supporters are few, sympathy is replaced by irony and his family is left alone to be all that he has to hope for and depend on.

Then the really weird part comes. We take these men who are vital and smart and strong and we throw them into jails and prisons. They are stripped of their dignity and human rights, they live their days trying to gain freedom and in most cases they don't succeed.

Being convicted is worse than being dead. No one remembers you fondly; no one pays respect to your family. You are forgotten and the more time passes the more people are happy that you are gone.

The Children of All Mothers Deserve Dignity

If there is one characteristic that defines me, it is my belief in human dignity, my belief that my client's life is just as import now as it was on the day he was born.

I will not allow my clients to be eaten by the system and a society that can't practice what it preaches.

If the prosecution thinks they are taking my client out of society, they will have to get by me first. I will make sure that my client is afforded the benefit of a hard fought trial and every procedure, every motion, every appeal and any and all other rituals afforded to a man fighting the legal system. I will not give up.

At the end of the day, you're not just a client. You're your Mama's little baby and I promised her that I would take care of you. I don't care what you've done, you're still mine.

- Orange County Criminal Attorney Michael L. Guisti