Los Angeles Gang Crimes and Gang Enhancement Defense Attorney
Drug Trafficking Lawyer - Juvenile Felony Charges

Seymour Amster is a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney with broad experience representing individuals accused of being a member of a Los Angeles street gang and facing serious felony charges such as:

Murder / Drug Charges / Gun Charges / Money Laundering / Racketeering / Smuggling / Intimidation / Robbery / Prostitution

If you have been accused of gang crimes and need a strong defense, contact Seymour I. Amster, attorney at law, in Los Angeles, California for a free initial consultation. As an aggressive and well-respected criminal defense lawyer, Mr. Amster is dedicated to giving his clients the strongest possible defense.

Seymour Amster has successfully represented dozens of individuals and gangs with membership or allegiances to:

Crips / Bloods / Asian Gangs / Latino Gangs

and other organizations representing the African-American, Asian, Hispanic and Eastern Europeans communities now established in Los Angeles County, Orange County and throughout California.

While it is important to always be respectful to the law enforcement, they do NOT have your best, legal interests in mind and may attempt to intimidate or coerce you into making statements that prejudice your case. Seymour Amster has over 20 years experience representing Los Angeles gang members on a variety of charges and is well known and respected by his legal peers and adversaries for his application of a comprehensive knowledge of California and Federal laws in order to secure the best possible verdict for his clients.

"Gang Related" Crimes

It is important to remember that most times a criminal charge becomes far more serious when made against an alleged gang member - meaning penalties and jail time are greater simply because the crime is considered "gang-related".

Prosecutors and police officers charge far too many individuals as gang members who are not. Once a person admits to being a gang member, because his attorney is not very good or he just wants to be done with the case, that tag will stay with him forever. Thus in the future, whenever that individual has contact with the police he will be labeled as a gang member, singling him out for harsher treatment. This will also happen if someone is friendly with a gang member, even though he himself is not a gang member. Often times friendships are established when we are young, such as in kindergarten or junior high. Sometimes our school friends decide to take a different road than the one we choose, and we still remain friendly with them. Often this does not have any consequences.

But if you are friendly and refuse to severe all ties to an individual you met in grammar school who is now a gang member, you risk being labeled a gang member yourself. For if you are even seen talking to a gang member, the police will label you as a gang member and put that in their computer. From now on, you will be treated as a gang member resulting in harsher treatment from the police and harsher penalties from the courts.

Seymour I. Amster Will Fight the "Gang Member" Label

This is why it is extremely important to have an attorney as experienced as Seymour I. Amster at your side when law enforcement is trying to label you a gang member. Only when you have an attorney as experienced as Seymour I. Amster, who has the knowledge and the background and the willingness to fight gang allegations, do you have a chance of preventing an improper tag being placed on you.

For individuals who are actual gang members, the dynamics that cause them to enter the gang lifestyle are variable and complex. But one thing is certain - everyone deserves a good defense.

Defending Gang Member's Constitutional Rights

The various reasons and pressures that cause people to become gang members are not addressed in a legal system that is anxious to stamp out and roll the wheels of their justice over things it does not understand. Presenting gang members to the court in a favorable light and saying good things about the individual in his or her capacity as a family member, worker, or member of the larger community is very important and makes a difference. It certainly won't be done by the public defender, who doesn't have the time, or the willingness to fight, or even by less-experienced or less caring private criminal defense attorneys. Many of these private attorneys can actually even feel scared, just like the public defender, when they have gang members as clients. They do not provide an effective and spirited fight on behalf of their clients.

It is important to have an attorney who is comfortable defending gang members and understands the societal pressures and needs that cause a person to become a gang member. There are many reasons that people become gang members. Most of these reasons have to do with cultural background, protection, and survival. A person charged with being a gang member needs an attorney who understands these dynamics.

Gang Enhancement

In criminal law, the term "enhancement" means that there is a condition or circumstance that is more egregious, or serious, than it otherwise might be. A gang enhancement means that a crime was committed for the benefit of a gang. Therefore, if this presumption is allowed to go unchallenged and found to be true by the court, the defendant will receive a much harsher punishment than if the same crime had been committed by a non-gang member.

The unfortunate reality on today's society is that money plays a key part in the decision making by the prosecution. Government agencies receive federal funds to prosecute gang cases. Prosecutors are anxious to add the gang label and gang enhancement to cases to get these funds. They are not scrupulous or even fair about labeling people as a gang member, nor do they take the time to find out the real facts of a matter in crimes involving anyone who has ever been labeled as a gang member.

What is a Gang Injunction?

A "gang injunction" is a civil lawsuit brought against a street gang and its members based on the notion that the activities of a street gang within a specific area constitute a "public nuisance" and thus interferes with the living standards of the community.

Many civil rights organizations feel very strongly that, while it may be the law, it is also a discriminatory and unconstitutional infringement on your rights. Through the illegal actions of a few, the majority of Los Angeles gang communities have been broadly painted by police and city governments as organized criminal organizations marked for continuous harassment through creative abuses of constitutional powers.

Seymour I. Amster can explain the ramifications of a gang injunction and defend you against its discriminatory impact.

Los Angeles, California Gang Crimes, Gun Charges, Drugs Attorney

Criminal defense attorney Seymour I. Amster has a long history of successful results for his clients and is dedicated to obtaining the best results for ALL his clients, regardless of whether they are members of a gang or not.

Contact California defense lawyer Seymour I. Amster today for a FREE consultation at any of his Southern California offices:

Van Nuys / West Covina / Central Los Angeles / Inland Empire / Antelope Valley
24 Hours - TOLL FREE 800-972-1740
Telephones are answered 24 hours a day. Free consultation at one of our offices, or in your home or place of business.
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