The Challenge
A client was recently arrested for a 1995 rape and kidnapping after a DNA match linked him to the scene. The California DOJ’s Bureau of Forensic Services calculated the DNA profile match at 1 in 54 quadrillion. Facing a sentence of 50 years to life, the client was confronted with decades-old allegations and forensic evidence that appeared insurmountable.
Our Strategy
Our defense focused on the significant delay in prosecution and the loss of due process. We demonstrated that law enforcement allowed the investigation to go dormant for 14 years, during which time the police department destroyed critical evidence that could have been used to exonerate our client. By highlighting this failure to preserve evidence, we successfully negotiated a resolution that reduced the client’s exposure from a life sentence to just eight years.
The Result
50-TO-LIFE EXPOSURE REDUCED TO 8 YEARS
Your Case Belongs at the Southwest Justice Center.
Your Defense Belongs Here.
If you were arrested in Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, Wildomar, Lake Elsinore, Winchester, or French Valley, your future will likely be decided at the Southwest Justice Center (SWJC) on Auld Road. In these courtrooms, local knowledge is the ultimate advantage. Since 1999, Nic Cocis has been a weekly fixture in the SWJC, appearing before the same judges and negotiating with the same Riverside County prosecutors for over 25 years. We don’t just know the law — we know the specific nuances, procedural quirks, and judicial tendencies of the Southwest District. Whether you are facing a felony or a misdemeanor, you need a firm that treats the Southwest Justice Center as its home turf.
