Law Office of Steven C. Honse

They call these insects Murder Hornets. If they hire me, I can get them down to Manslaughter Bees.

The best prosecutor that I ever faced was Jeff Brooker. He was refined and polite, tall and handsome, and juries loved him. He routinely beat my ass like a drum. We were engaged in a four-month long first degree murder trial and he never missed a day, even when he had had chemotherapy the night before. Me, I had a serious case of bronchitis and had to delay the trial for a week. When I came back, I told Brooker that I was going to tell the jury that I came back, ignoring a se...rious medical condition, so that I could see that an innocent man was not convicted. He looked at me and, with a voice as calm as can be, he cut me down like a big oak tree when he said: "I am going to tell them that I had chemotherapy last night and, although it may kill me, I came back to make sure that a murderer did not go free." You see why he was the best prosecutor I ever faced?

She’s trying to deny guilt, but what she’s really doing is confessing. VC 23152 is driving, while impaired. It doesn’t matter if you are impaired from cough syrup or antidepressants or alcohol or heroin. It doesn’t matter if you did it on purpose or if it was an accident. All that is required is that you are driving and you are impaired. Please, if you are facing criminal charges or the police are investigating you, don’t make any statements, especially in public.

The moral of the hose: 15 years ago, I planted a garden next to my building, in downtown El Centro. Everyone thought it was impossible because the homeless would walk through it and take anything of value. It didn’t turn out that way. They were always respectful and never damaged anything or took anything, until today. My hose was missing. I immediately cursed my naiveté. My plan was stupid from the beginning because homeless people steal and vandalize. We all know that and... I know it for sure now. Later that day, I found that someone had removed my hose and put it away. My faith in God was restored, but my faith in myself has suffered some serious damage. I have been blessed with assorted homeless friends and they have never hurt me, not one bit. I was wrong to jump to a conclusion about a group of people. This is what prejudice looks like and I have more than a little. I apologize to all of you for my small minded thinking and unfair assumptions. A $10 hose taught me more about my deficiencies than the most masterful text ever could. See more

-The is an entire branch of law called Dependency where the court removes endangered children from the parents. The goal is always to reunite families. It usually works, but not always. -The most disgusting thing I see is parents that abandon removed children. They just have new kids and try again. That is so much easier than doing what CPS requires. It is crushing to talk to an abandoned child who has no idea why mom and dad have started a new family, without them. -There is no fix. Anything you do to fix one thing makes something else worse. All we can do is understand the dynamic and recognize the searing pain a child feels from abandonment.

I am delighted to award a victory key to Sheila Marquez, my dear friend for 43 years. No matter how good our legal system is, there will always be times when a completely innocent person is treated unfairly. I feel a special joy when I am able to set things straight. Many people think, incorrectly, that the best attorney is one that fights for you. Sometimes that’s true, but not as often as you might think. The best type of attorney has the respect and trust of the opposition and is able to achieve justice with the minimum amount of pain and expense. Sometimes you have to fight, but the efficiency of that tactic is a distant second to reasonable people, negotiating in good faith, to achieve justice.

I just completed a DUI jury trial where the jury hung 7 guilty-5 not guilty. The court then dismissed the case on the DA’s motion. The case was especially important because my client had completed her bachelors degree in criminal justice administration. Had she been convicted, she would have become unemployable in law enforcement. As it is my practice, I awarded her a jail key because she survived a successful jury trial, but she doesn’t want me to post her picture. Based o...n my experience, the best police force in the United States, perhaps in the world, is the California Highway Patrol. In this case, in order to win, all the officer needed to say was I remember that the surface was solid where I gave the field sobriety tests (standing on one leg, walk and turn, etc.). When this officer was faced with the choice of embellishing a little bit and winning, or telling the truth and losing, he chose to tell the truth. During my closing argument, I had to criticize this officer. Usually it’s very easy because most of the time the officer wants to win as bad as I do. I felt petty as I made criticisms about his performance. My criticism was only possible due to the officer’s extraordinary honestly. Still, there was doubt and it was my job to shine a light on it, and I did. Our legal system works. I have found that people that complain about unfair results usually find themselves in that situation because they didn’t have the fortitude to fight it out to the end. I have never once seen an innocent person convicted by a jury.

This is my client Victor Hernandez and his dad. Victor was charged with attempted murder. I proved that he was not involved and the court dismissed the case. I give credit to my investigator Joe Alcazar and the District Attorney. In Imperial County, when a good investigator turns up evidence, that points to innocence, the DA wants to see it.

On July 24, 2018 it was 119F and it rained in Imperial, California. The toughest people in the world live in Imperial County. If you have a legal issue, like a DUI, you should hire an attorney from the county where it happened, not where you live. I never understand why someone pays a lawyer from San Diego to drive two hours to the Imperial County inferno, only to arrive in a court where they don’t know anyone. You’ll get a better result if you hire an attorney that knows the prosecutor, knows the officer, is close to the evidence, and doesn’t get heatstroke.

My first job as a lawyer was as a Deputy District Attorney in Lake County. We lived in Lakeport, a resort town with a distinct Norman Rockwell charm. Now, Lakeport and Upper Lake have been evacuated and both are surrounded by fire. God, I know you don’t hear from me much, but if I have a miracle coming from you, please send it to Lakeport.

When I bought my building, in downtown El Centro, this was a lifeless strip of ground covered with asphalt. I chiseled out the asphalt and dug out 3 feet of hard clay soil. I backfilled with topsoil and installed a permanent irrigation system. I planted slow growing boxwood because it’s beautiful, but I really had my doubts whether it could survive in such a harsh environment. You can see, it did.

In Imperial County, our legal system works. My client, Sammy Gudino, received an utterly unfair jury trial and then he received the most unfair sentence that I had ever seen, 27 years. The appellate court reversed the verdict. Sammy was released and has become a truly inspiring man. I am delighted that he is my friend.

Following a deadlocked jury verdict, the Court dismissed all charges against Jose Tanori. From the very beginning, he told me that he was innocent. My experience is that when a person is innocent, and is willing to face a jury, he will seldom, if ever, be convicted. Our system works.