Criminal Defense Overview
Since its founding in 2007, The Chastaine Law Office has offered outstanding legal advice to clients charged with criminal misconduct in Northern California, from Woodland to Placerville and communities in all of the counties surrounding Sacramento. Our mission is to provide every client with the best possible representation with fairness and integrity, while taking on law enforcement and the machinery of government without reservation.
Successful criminal defense requires strong and aggressive legal advocacy. Our attorneys have had numerous successes in jury trials and negotiations dealing with Megan's Law, Jessica's Law, Section 290 Sex Offender Registration issues, and many other criminal matters.
Reported Cases
Reported cases are judicial opinions certified for publication or ordered to be published by the court. These cases establish precedents in the judicial system and may be cited or relied on by courts and parties in future cases. Reported cases that Michael Chastaine has been involved in include People v. Jenkins, which was instrumental in resolving questions surrounding the application of the state's habitual offender sentencing and three-strikes laws to people convicted or murder of violent felonies. Michael represented the defendant in that case in his capacity as a Deputy Public Defender. Also, while of counsel to the Sacramento law firm of Rothschild, Wishek, & Sands, Michael represented the petitioner in Moore V. Superior Court, where the Third District Court of Appeals fixed the five-year "washout period" in Proposition 36 as dating from the time of commission of the previous felony as opposed to the time of conviction, thereby increasing the chances for a person to qualify for drug treatment and probation instead of incarceration under Prop 36.
Jury Trials
Michael Chastaine recently won five jury trials in a row, an exceptional record which is highly unusual in the field of criminal defense. Some of the recent successes of The Chastaine Law Office include findings of "not guilty on all counts" of a Placer County massage therapist charged with multiple counts of sexual battery, and a taxi driver charged with rape of an intoxicated person. Mr. Chastaine also had juries return not guilty verdicts in two separate San Joaquin County cases involving charges and accusations of child molestation, and in a Sacramento County case of a businessman charged with battery. Also, in Solano County, Mr. Chastaine defended a school teacher charged with multiple counts of child molestation in a case which resulted in a mistrial/hung jury followed by a favorable settlement.
Other Favorable Dispositions
The Chastaine Law Office has obtained several Certificates of Rehabilitation in various counties for persons with prior sex offenses, thereby eliminating their requirement to register as a sex offender. The firm also recently persuaded the district attorney to dismiss a failure-to-register-as-a-sex-offender case due to a mistake of fact. In other areas, the firm has:
- Secured a certificate of factual innocence regarding a client identified as a person who threw a beer bottle at a woman
- Obtained a very favorable federal sentence for a client who possessed weapons after suffering drug sales convictions
- Obtained a full dismissal on a very complex elder abuse fraud case based upon establishing that the complaining witness was lying
- Proved in a federal marijuana-growing case that included an officer-involved shooting that the police officer was shot with friendly fire, saving the client 5 years in prison
With 35 years of collective experience in criminal defense in the Sacramento area, the attorneys at The Chastaine Law Office are the people to call if you have been arrested or charged with criminal misconduct. Visit our Folsom office or contact us today to inquire about our free initial consultations.
