Orange County Criminal Defense
Costa Mesa Criminal Defense Lawyer
Free phone consultations 24/7/365. Payment plans available.
Between the Triangle's nightlife, South Coast Plaza's loss prevention teams, and the 55 and 405 interchanges, Costa Mesa produces a steady mix of DUI, theft, and drug cases, most of them involving otherwise ordinary people having the worst week of their year.
Farris Law Firm defends Costa Mesa cases at Harbor Justice Center from our Aliso Viejo office just down the 73. Free phone consultations 24/7/365 and payment plans available.
Shoplifting Cases at South Coast Plaza Deserve a Real Defense
A large share of our Costa Mesa files begin at South Coast Plaza: a detention by loss prevention, a citation or arrest by Costa Mesa PD, and a court date that feels wildly out of proportion to what happened. California law gives first-time theft defendants strong options, including civil compromise, judicial diversion, and reductions that keep a conviction off your record. Retail theft cases also come with extensive video and witness records that frequently do not say what the police report says.
We defend the full range of Costa Mesa charges beyond theft: DUI out of the Triangle and 19th Street corridors, drug possession, domestic violence, and felonies. Early, prepared defense is what turns these cases into footnotes instead of records.
Costa Mesa Criminal Defense FAQs
Store security detained me at South Coast Plaza. Was that even legal?
Merchants have a limited privilege to detain suspected shoplifters, but it has boundaries, and loss prevention teams overstep them regularly. How the detention and search happened can shape suppression arguments and negotiation leverage. Tell us exactly what happened in a free call.
The store says I owe them money on top of the criminal case. What is that?
That is a civil demand letter, separate from the criminal case. Do not pay it or respond before talking to a lawyer: payment does not resolve the criminal charge, and the two need to be handled in the right order and sometimes leveraged together through civil compromise.
Can a first-time shoplifting charge really be dismissed?
Very often, yes. Between judicial diversion under PC 1001.95, informal resolutions, and negotiated reductions, most first-time Costa Mesa theft defendants we represent end the case without a theft conviction. See our recent victories and our theft crimes page for how.
Which court will my Costa Mesa DUI go to?
Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach, in almost all cases. Remember the separate 10 day DMV deadline to protect your license; we handle both tracks.
Facing charges in Costa Mesa? Talk to a defense attorney tonight.
Free, confidential phone consultation any hour, any day. Payment plans available.