Barry Zimmerman

My client was facing more than 10 years in prison on domestic violence charges. By working the case up for trial, I was able to convince the DA to dismiss all charges right before trial began.

My client's felony child molest charges would have resulted in lifetime sex offender registration if found true. I was able to hang the jury, avoiding conviction at trial. The case resolved for a misdemeanor with no custody time and no registration.

My client was charged with felony animal cruelty. I got the charges reduced to misdemeanors before trial and then won a not guilty verdict from the jury. My client was acquitted and the dogs ordered returned to the family at no cost.

My client faced multiple felony counts of criminal threats. I tried the case and hung the jury. I then worked out a misdemeanor resolution that allowed my client to participate in Veteran's Court. My client successfully completed Veteran's Court and all of his charges were expunged.

After a preliminary hearing on felony financial elder abuse charges, the judge granted my motion to dismiss all charges.

Our client, an elderly man, was concerned that his twelve-year-old neighbor might be gay. He saw the boy as being like his own grandson. He touched him inappropriately, a minute-long clothed embrace from behind, but the intent was to “scare him straight.” This would normally be a misdemeanor offense, but in this case, the District Attorney would not accept a plea bargain to classify it as a misdemeanor, nor would they permit the jury to consider a misdemeanor charge. We fought the case at trial and the result was a hung jury (the jury could not agree that our client was guilty) - no conviction. At that point, the District Attorney offered a misdemeanor and no jail time to avoid a second trial.

Our client is the mother of a minor female child. Her boyfriend was molesting her daughter. She was charged with aiding and abetting the abuse, but actually she herself was the victim of a great deal of domestic violence. We were able to mount a defense: she wasn’t enabling the situation. She just couldn’t stop it because she was afraid for her own life. We helped her plea the case down to child endangerment. Meanwhile, the boyfriend was convicted for sex crimes against the child.

My client was charged with killing his brother with a crossbow. I won a verdict of Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity by proving that my client was suffering a paranoid psychotic break from reality at the time of the shooting.

My elderly client was charged with murder. He was found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity. The judge had to decide whether to commit my client to the state hospital or allow him to continue to participate in residential treatment at a memory care facility. I filed a brief presenting the court with my client's exemplary track record of medication compliance, outpatient treatment compliance, and compliance with pretrial supervision terms during the nineteen years that had passed since the murder occurred. After a hearing, the judge sentenced my client to outpatient treatment, allowing him to continue to reside at his memory care facility and continue to receive treatment through the VA.

My client was charged with criminal threats and had prior strike offenses on his record. While the threat he was charged with was not gravely serious, he was facing a possible life sentence because of his prior record. I presented the court with a psychological evaluation and a detailed brief demonstrating that my client met the criteria for mental health diversion. The judge granted mental health diversion, allowing my client to earn a dismissal of the charge if he complies with treatment.