Have You or A Loved One Been Arrested For A California Lewd Conduct Offense?

Our Experienced Criminal Lawyers Defend CA Lewd Conduct Charges

Anyone can be charged with a lewd conduct offense, and the fact that law enforcement organizes undercover sting operations in nearly every Northern California City makes it even more probable that innocent people can be entrapped into a lewd conduct charge.

At Tully & Weiss we understand this charge will be embarrassing and frustrating. Not only are you concerned for your future and permanent record, but the fear of family, friends, neighbors, and employers learning about a charge with such social stigma can be equally daunting.

We Will Protect Your Rights and Work to Have the Charges Dismissed

Don't panic – now is the time to defend your rights and the Tully & Weiss criminal defense team is here to help. Our California lewd conduct defense lawyers are dedicated to protecting your privacy and your future.

We will prepare an aggressive and strategic defense protocol designed around the details of your specific case and will work to have your charges reduced or dismissed altogether. Based in Contra Costa County, California, Tully & Weiss lewd conduct defense attorneys provide counsel in Alameda County, Santa Clara County, and throughout the State.

How Does California Law Define Engaging in or Soliciting Lewd Conduct?

According to California Penal Code 647a, engaging in or soliciting anyone to engage in lewd conduct in a place exposed to public view is illegal. “Lewd” conduct under the statute refers to the touching of the genitals, buttocks or female breast for the purpose of sexual arousal, gratification, annoyance or offense, when the person committing the lewd conduct knows or should know people are present that may be offended by the act.

What Are The Penalties For A Charge Of Lewd Conduct?

Engaging or soliciting lewd conduct is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in County jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000. Misdemeanor probation with little to no jail time is often granted and the court may require counseling. A lewd conduct conviction does not require registration as a sex offender.

The primary goal of our California lewd conduct defense lawyers at Tully & Weiss is to protect your record from a destructive lewd conduct conviction. Our defense team will devise a powerful defense identifying falsehoods or mispresented facts in the prosecutor's evidence, police reports, the location of the incident, and any other relevant information we gather during our investigation.

If you or a family member has been charged with lewd conduct, Tully & Weiss criminal lawyers are here to help.

What Defense Strategies Can I Use To Fight A Lewd Conduct Charge?

As with most sex crimes in the State of California, many innocent people are wrongly accused of lewd conduct. However, there is always a defense and we have developed an arsenal of powerful defenses our skilled California lewd conduct defense attorneys will use to succeed in defending your case.

Some of the legal defenses commonly applied to defend against a lewd conduct charge include:

Disproving the charge: In criminal law, the state is required to prove each element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt (meaning more than 50:50). Your defense attorney will work to show that one of the required elements for a conviction is not present in your case.

For a prosecutor to prove engaging in or soliciting lewd conduct occurred, he must be able to prove all of the following:

• You willfully engaged in or solicited another person to engage in touching your or another person's genitals, buttocks, or female breast,
• You had the intent to sexually arouse or gratify yourself or someone else, or to annoy or offend another person,
• You were in a public place or place open to public view,
• Another person who may have been offended was present, and
• You knew or should have known that another person who might have been offended was present.

If the prosecution can't prove all of these elements, you are not guilty of lewd conduct and the charges will be dismissed.

Entrapment: Arrests for lewd conduct often result from an undercover operation where an officer poses as a civilian seeking to pick up people for sexual activity. Entrapment may be a valid defense and charges may be dismissed if the officer coerced you into lewd conduct that otherwise would not have happened using any sort of pressure, fraud, harassment, threats or flattery.

False accusation: As with other sex related crimes, an angry, jealous, or vengeful individual has an easy time trying to harm someone with an allegation of lewd conduct. False accusation could be an applicable defense if you feel that someone (a coworker, neighbor, ex-partner) wanted to cause you harm by accusing you of lewd conduct and reporting false facts to law enforcement.

In undercover sting operations, an officer may also embellish or lie and report acts that did not actually occur. We work hard to uncover any possibility of false accusation.

Can a Lewd Conduct Charge be Reduced or Dismissed Altogether?

Depending on the circumstances of the case, the prosecution is often willing to reduce a charge of lewd conduct to a lesser offense in exchange for a plea bargain for trespassing (602 PC) or disturbing the peace (415 PC).

The most important step you can take right now to protect your rights and future is to start building a defense strategy as soon as possible. Prosecution begins building their case against you the second an arrest is made. To gain the upper hand, we need to get moving right away.

An arrest is NOT a conviction and we work diligently to keep your record clean.

Tully & Weiss, Attorneys at Law serves clients throughout the Bay Area and California.