Criminal Defense

Accused of a Crime in Pittsburgh? You Need a Tenacious Criminal Defense Attorney to Protect Your Rights

Twenty-four years ago a young man came to my office seeking legal representation. He had been arrested on several charges of intent to deliver and possession of drugs. During this time he had been in school on a government grant, but this all came to an end because of the pending charges. Previously, he had been convicted of the exact set of charges. He clearly admitted that he did, in fact, do it before. This time he simply had not done it. However, once you commit certain types of crimes you develop a certain image, so the police keep a close watch on you. I could not have met anyone more sincere about their innocence, so we prepared for trial. After a 1 1/2 day trial before a jury, the jury came back with its verdict of not guilty on all counts. The young man was now able to go back to school and today owns his own business. When faced with an arrest on various types of charges, it is often times only necessary that the situation is a temporary bump in the road.

Attorney Rodney Shepherd is licensed in courts throughout Pennsylvania. He has been a trusted source of legal advice for many clients. He has practiced in all areas of this type of law and will not steer you wrong. A free, personalized assessment of your case will be provided so that you will know your rights and how best to proceed. Call today for a free consultation.

TYPES OF CASES CRIMINAL DEFENSE CASES WE HANDLE FROM OUR PITTSBURGH LAW OFFICE

- Preliminary Hearings. This is the first step in the criminal process. Once charged, you first go before the magistrate. At that level your case is normally worked out, whereby you are able to get some of your charges withdrawn or reduced to lesser charges or the case is simply sent downtown to the higher court.
- Felony and Misdemeanors. These are the types of charges that often times are sent downtown unless you are able to get them disposed of at the magistrate. If your case is sent downtown to the higher court, then Attorney Shepherd will fight for you by negotiating an acceptable plea agreement or proceeding to trial.
- Bond Reductions. Sometimes your bond may be set at such a high level that you are unable to get out of jail pending the outcome of the charges. In an instance like this, it may be necessary to obtain a reduction in your bond.
Expungements. This allows your record to be cleared if you were found not guilty or your charges were reduced to a lesser charge or were withdrawn or dismissed. There are a few other types of situations whereby you can have your record cleared if you have only been convicted of a summary offense within a certain time period or you are 70 years of age or older and have had no prior convictions for a certain period of time. If you find yourself in these types of circumstances, then you should not delay in having your record cleared. You just never know what you might encounter down the road, such as an attempt to get a new job, etc.

CUSTODY

This is probably one of the most emotional areas among all areas in family law. There are basically two types of custody actions:

Physical custody. This often times can easily be settled if the kids have been in one particular setting for a period of time. If not, you may want to file a custody complaint to have the kids live with you on a regular basis.
Partial custody/visitation. If the kids do not live with you, but you would like to see them according to a routine schedule, then this is the option for you.

GRANDPARENTS RIGHT

Many times grandparents are put in a position where they cannot see their grandchildren, but they very much would like to. Grandparents do have a favored status in the law over other third parties seeking custody and often times can establish a regular visitation schedule with those grandchildren. However, there are certain requirements that have to be met in order to be considered to have the standing to bring such an action.

SUPPORT/ALIMONY PENDENTE LITE (APL)

There are basically two types of support:

Child support. The person that has physical custody of the children is the parent that generally brings the support action. The amount is determined by the net income of both parties. Once those figures have been determined, then there is an established amount for the number of children.
Spousal support. Once parties have separated, then one person may want to file for spousal support. It should be pointed out that you can still live in the same household and possibly receive spousal support. This is a monthly amount and will continue until a divorce action has been filed and the division of marital property is complete.

PROTECTION FROM ABUSE

This is an action that is available in a domestic dispute situation. An individual files a restraining order against you to have no further contact with them. The person bringing the action is represented by a set of attorneys on staff, however, the other person needs an attorney to represent them at the scheduled hearing. The goal is to reach some type of resolution of the matter without going to a hearing. There are times when the allegations against you are so bogus that a hearing may be the only possible option.

ADOPTION

This is probably one of the best areas to practice in. Upon the conclusion of the process, a new member is added to the household, so it is most likely a high point in everyone’s life.

PRACTICE AREAS

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