Orange County Criminal Defense
Irvine Criminal Defense Lawyer
Free phone consultations 24/7/365. Payment plans available.
Irvine may be one of America's safest cities, but its police department is famously proactive, and ordinary people get arrested here every day: a UCI student after a party, a commuter stopped on the 405, a spouse after a heated argument a neighbor overheard.
Farris Law Firm defends Irvine cases from our Aliso Viejo office a few miles south. We bring the same preparation to a first-offense misdemeanor that most firms save for felony trials, because for our clients, any conviction is a life problem.
Defending Students, Professionals, and Families in Irvine
A large share of our Irvine clients are students and young professionals facing their first ever police contact: DUI, drug possession, petty theft, or fake ID cases. California offers powerful tools for exactly these situations, including judicial diversion under Penal Code 1001.95, deferred entry of judgment for drug charges, and military diversion for service members. Used correctly, these programs can end a case with no conviction at all.
For UCI and Irvine Valley College students, we also manage the school side: student conduct proceedings have separate deadlines and lower standards of proof than criminal court, and an unmanaged school case can do as much damage as the charge itself.
Irvine Criminal Defense FAQs
I am a UCI student. Will my arrest affect my enrollment or visa?
It can. Universities run their own conduct processes, and for international students some outcomes carry immigration consequences. We defend the criminal case with your enrollment and immigration status in mind, and we push for resolutions such as diversion or dismissal that keep your record clean for both the school and USCIS.
What is judicial diversion and do I qualify?
Penal Code 1001.95 lets a judge pause most misdemeanor cases while you complete conditions like classes or community service. Finish, and the case is dismissed and the arrest is deemed to have never occurred for most purposes. Eligibility depends on the charge and your history; DUI is excluded, but many common Irvine charges qualify. We will assess you honestly in a free call.
The police want to talk to me about an investigation. Should I go in?
Not without a lawyer. Pre-filing investigations are where cases are won quietly. We contact the detective on your behalf, protect you from making statements that fill gaps in their case, and often present evidence that stops charges from being filed at all.
How fast can you start on my case?
Immediately. Phone consultations are free and available 24/7/365, and we can typically begin work the same day you retain us, including appearing at an arraignment on short notice.
Facing charges in Irvine? Talk to a defense attorney tonight.
Free, confidential phone consultation any hour, any day. Payment plans available.