The Challenge
A church Pastor and two other individuals were arrested for alleged trespassing at a DMV office. The arrests occurred while one individual was reading a Bible aloud near a line of people waiting for the office to open. Despite the DMV being closed at the time, the Pastor was prosecuted in criminal court. The stakes involved not only the client’s criminal record but the fundamental protection of civil liberties and the right to be free from unlawful government interference.
Our Strategy
We took the case to trial rather than negotiate a charge that should never have been filed. The prosecution had to prove our client was trespassing, but the DMV office was closed at the time, the area where the Bible was being read was open to the public, and no lawful order to leave had been given before the arrest. When the prosecution rested its case, we moved for a judgment of acquittal under Penal Code § 1118.1, arguing that the evidence could not support a conviction as a matter of law. The court agreed and entered a directed verdict of not guilty, ending the prosecution without our client ever having to put on a defense.
The Result
NOT GUILTY – DISMISSED
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.
