Named Valley's Trusted Advisor

JUSTIN E. STERLING, MANAGING ATTORNEY/FOUNDER

LAW OFFICES OF JUSTIN E. STERLING

WRITTEN BY LAURA WATTS PHOTOGRAPHED BY REMY HAYNES AND CATHRYN FARNSWORTH

16501 Ventura Blvd., Suite 400 in Encino
sterlingdefense.com
Justin@sterlingdefense.com

The Law Offices of Justin E. Sterling is a top-rated law firm committed to the exclusive practice of criminal law. After years of trial work in the public sector, Justin founded his own law firm in 2011. He brings high-end, aggressive criminal representation to those facing prosecution by state and federal authorities. Justin is an accomplished criminal trial lawyer who represents individuals and businesses facing the full range of felony and misdemeanor charges. Known for offering his clients exclusive white glove treatment while navigating them through the legal process, Justin’s expertise is highlighted by his more than 60 jury trials conducted in courts throughout California.

What’s most rewarding about your work?

“Criminal defense attorneys are in a unique position to change lives through the practice of law. Whether it’s advocating for rehabilitation and treatment for a drug addicted or mentally ill client or simply being a positive force for somebody who has never faced the criminal justice system … at the end of the day, we are in a helping profession—and there is a great deal of satisfaction in that.”

"IT DOESN’T FEEL LIKE WORK TO ME, BECAUSE I AM DOING WHAT
I LOVE TO DO.”

What is your area of specialty?

“I only practice criminal defense. Under the umbrella of that specialization, I represent people who have been accused of every conceivable crime, whether it’s DUI, domestic violence, drug offenses, business-related white-collar crime, or even murder.”

Who is your typical client?

“My clients really come from all walks of life—a college student who has been arrested for a first-time DUI; an individual who has been in and out of the system and is facing life in prison; working professionals who find themselves in unfortunate circumstances; high-profile clients from the entertainment and sports industry or business world. The only thing that is typical is that, at their core, most of my clients are good people who have made a mistake.”

What is the biggest benefit that your clients gain from working with you?

“My experience and local knowledge. The fact that I am in court every day and have tried more cases than most lawyers twice my age, I think, is pretty uncommon. But it’s a quality that undeniably gives my clients an advantage. I am proud to be a native Angeleno, and my clients benefit from that fact due to the relationships that I have formed in and out of the courtroom. When you combine these relationships with hard work and the skill-set necessary to be an effective and aggressive trial lawyer, my clients have the advantage over someone who is virtually unknown and lacks any real depth of criminal trial experience.”

What skills are most necessary to be successful in your field?

“Compassion. To remain a powerful advocate in court, you must have compassion and empathy for your client, understanding what has brought them to this point. Aside from that, a genuine love for what you do. This type of work often requires taking on the unpopular client or an unpopular case—perhaps a client who has been accused of an atrocious crime. At the end of the day, defense work is not for everyone, and to be effective at what you do at the highest level really requires you to have a passion for it. It doesn’t feel like work to me because I am doing what I love to do.”

Tell us about your new location.

“When I launched my practice in 2011, I opened my office in Century City. However I always envisioned being in the Valley—I am from here and live in Studio City. I’m raising my family just minutes from where I grew up, and my parents live down the road. For me, it’s full circle. While my cases still take me all over Los Angeles and the surrounding counties—and to even other parts of the state—we’re thrilled about our new office location in the heart of Encino’s business center on Ventura Boulevard. I still maintain a presence ‘over the hill’ with a smaller office in Beverly Hills; however, Encino is our new permanent home. I am hopeful it will be the nucleus of our law firm for a long time to come.”

Sheriff’s Deputies Charged with Assault

The Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office has filed felony charges against two Sheriff's custody deputies for unnecessary use of force. According to the legal filing, the formal charge is “assault by public officers.” It stems from a June 17 incident in which the deputies, Robert Kirsch and Christopher Johnson, allegedly “assaulted and beat” an inmate named Charles Alonzo Owens at the Santa Barbara County Jail.

According to a press release issued by the Sheriff’s Office, the incident was brought to light by the Public Defender in a June 18 complaint. At that point, the Sheriff’s Office investigated and passed on its findings to the DA. Sheriff Bill Brown said in a statement, “The behavior alleged in the criminal complaint is contrary to the high standards of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. I am saddened by these allegations that do not reflect the conduct and actions of the vast majority of the hundreds of men and women of the Sheriff’s Office, who dedicate their lives to protecting and serving others.”

The deputies have been placed on administrative leave. Arraignment is scheduled for August 30 and will be prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Anthony Davis.

The Law Offices of Justin E. Sterling currently represents 4 separate plaintiffs in state and federal court for claims of excessive force and police brutality. These claims stem from criminal allegations where our office represented the plaintiffs in criminal court. All cases resulted in the dismissal of the criminal allegations. If you or a loved one have been the target of misconduct by the police, contact our office today - CLICK HERE.

U.S. Reviewing 27 Death Penalty Convictions For FBI Forensic Testimony Errors

An unprecedented federal review of old criminal cases has uncovered as many as 27 death penalty convictions in which FBI forensic experts may have mistakenly linked defendants to crimes with exaggerated scientific testimony, U.S. officials said.

FBI officials discussed the review’s scope as they prepare to disclose its first results later this summer. The death row cases are among the first 120 convictions identified as potentially problematic among more than 21,700 FBI Laboratory files being examined. The review was announced last July by the FBI and the Justice Department, in consultation with the Innocence Project and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL).

The unusual collaboration came after The Washington Post reported last year that authorities had known for years that flawed forensic work by FBI hair examiners may have led to convictions of potentially innocent people, but officials had not aggressively investigated problems or notified defendants.

At issue is a once-widespread practice by which some FBI experts exaggerated the significance of “matches” drawn from microscopic analysis of hair found at crime scenes.

Since at least the 1970s, written FBI Laboratory reports typically stated that a hair association could not be used as positive identification. However, on the witness stand, several agents for years went beyond the science and testified that their hair analysis was a near-certain match. The new review listed examples of scientifically invalid testimony, including claiming to associate a hair with a single person “to the exclusion of all others,” or to state or suggest a probability for such a match from past casework. Whatever the findings of the review, the initiative is pushing state and local labs to take similar measures.

Separately, FBI officials said their intention is to review and disclose problems in capital cases even after a defendant has been executed.

Fruitvale Station

Winner of both the Grand Jury Prize for dramatic feature and the Audience Award for U.S. dramatic film at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, director Ryan Coogler's FRUITVALE STATION follows the true story of Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan), a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who wakes up on the morning of December 31, 2008 and feels something in the air. Not sure what it is, he takes it as a sign to get a head start on his resolutions: being better son to his mother (Octavia Spencer), whose birthday falls on New Year's Eve, being a better partner to his girlfriend Sophina (Melonie Diaz), who he hasn't been completely honest with as of late, and being a better father to Tatiana (Ariana Neal), their beautiful four year-old daughter. 

Crossing paths with friends, family and strangers, Oscar starts out well, as the day goes on, he realizes that changes are not going to come easily. His resolve takes a tragic turn, however, when BART officers shoot him in cold blood at the Fruitvale subway stop on New Year's Day. Oscar's life and tragic death would shake the Bay Area - and the entire nation - to its very core.

Fruitvale Station is set to open in NEW cities across the country this week including Houston, Atlanta, and Chicago! Fruitvale Station opened in select theaters in NYC, LA, and Bay Area this past week. In theaters NATIONWIDE July 26.

Reclusive Death Penalty Lawyer Opens Up About Her Work

Judy Clarke is in the business of cheating death, but she rarely talks about it. Clarke, one of the nation's top lawyers and defender of the despised, broke her silence this Friday in a speech at a legal conference, where she spoke about her work saving notorious criminal defendants from execution.

The names of her past clients - Susan Smith, Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski and most recently, Tucson shooter Jared Loughner - run like a list of the most reviled in American criminal history. But she did not say whether she would add to that list the latest name in the news: The suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing.

Clarke was reticent throughout her keynote speech and declined to take questions from the audience. Instead, she talked about how she had been "sucked into the black hole, the vortex" of death penalty cases 18 years ago when she represented Smith, who drowned her two children.

"I got a dose of understanding human behavior and I learned what the death penalty does to us," she said. "I don't think it's a secret that I oppose the death penalty. "

She saved Smith's life and later would do the same for Kaczynski, Loughner and the Atlanta Olympics bomber Eric Rudolph. All received life sentences instead of death. Before an audience of lawyers, judges and law students at Loyola Law School's annual Fidler Institute, Clarke shared her approach in handling death penalty cases.

"The first clear way death cases are different is the clients," said Clarke, now a visiting professor at Washington and Lee University School of Law in Virginia. "Most have suffered from serious severe trauma, unbelievable trauma. We know that from brain research. Many suffer from severe cognitive development issues that affect the core of their being."

Connecting with the client by finding out "what brought them to this day that will define the rest of their lives" is the first step, she said. In most cases, she said she finds underlying mental illness. Kaczynski was ultimately diagnosed as schizophrenic and, on the eve of seating a jury, he agreed to plead guilty.

Clarke said a veteran lawyer once told her: "The first step to losing a capital case is picking a jury. "Our clients are different," she said. "We should enjoy the opportunity to step into their lives. It can be chaotic. But it's a privilege to be there as a lawyer."           

Copyright 2013 The_Associated_Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2013/04/26/2744203/reclusive-death-penalty-lawyer.html#storylink=cpy

San Diego City Council Debates New Medical Marijuana Ordinance

The San Diego medical marijuana community is holding its collective breath as the city considers legal changes that would pave the way for dispensaries and lead to a revival of the local MMJ industry, which has been decimated in the past two years.

On Monday, the San Diego City Council will hear an ordinance put forth by Mayor Bob Filner that would allow dispensaries to operate in specific commercial and industrial areas. If the measure passes, dozens of dispensaries would likely open this year, and the city could eventually have 100 or more MMJ centers according to some estimates. That would create additional business opportunities for support companies and professionals, including lawyers, consultants, landlords, electricians and cultivation equipment suppliers.

Annual marijuana sales could hit $50 million once all dispensaries are up and running, according to MMJ Business Daily’s estimates, adding roughly $1 million to the city’s coffers. But the measure faces some opposition, and whether it will pass is anyone’s guess at this point.

Here are the key business-related highlights of the ordinance:

- Medical marijuana centers would have to meet a host of requirements tied to everything from security to signage.

-Dispensaries would have to fork over $5,000 each year in permit fees and pay a 2% annual excise tax on medical marijuana transactions.

-Centers would need to operate as nonprofits, meaning they could only accept “donations” from medical marijuana patients who have valid state-issued MMJ identification cards and also have submitted their doctor recommendations for cannabis to the California Department of Public Health’s central registry.

-Dispensaries would have to set up shop at least 600 feet away from schools, parks and childcare facilities and 1,000 feet from another MMJ center.

The move to change San Diego’s medical marijuana laws comes after a turbulent period that saw hundreds of dispensaries open rapidly several years ago and then close just as quickly after the city began a crackdown in 2011.

The Law Offices of Justin E. Sterling provides representation and advice to those seeking the protection of the Compassionate Use Act under the provisions of California's Proposition 215. We are educated on the many scientifically proven medicinal benefits of marijuana. Unfortunately, possession, sale, distribution, and transportation of marijuana remain illegal under federal law. In addition, judicial interpretations of state law continue to establish challenging obstacles for those desiring to operate legally.

We here, at the Law Offices of Justin E. Sterling, recognize that service providers operating under laws that decriminalize the use of marijuana require help getting through the maze of compliance issues. As such, we provide reliable compliance advice and assist our clients in navigating this constantly evolving area of the law. Our clients include medical marijuana collectives, dispensaries, and primary caregivers.

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