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San Diego Murder Defense

San Diego Murder charges?
Click to Contact a San Diego Criminal Defense Lawyer!

Few crimes are a serious as a murder charge.  The law defines murder as “the intentional killing of a person with ‘malice aforethought’ or premeditated thought and the intent of killing someone.”  Murder is also separated by the severity or the degree of the charge:

First degree murder: According to California Penal Code “All murder which is perpetrated by means of a destructive device or explosive, a weapon of mass destruction, knowing use of ammunition designed primarily to penetrate metal or armor, poison, lying in wait, torture, or by any other kind of willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing, or which is committed in the perpetration of, or attempt to perpetrate, arson, rape, carjacking, robbery, burglary, mayhem, kidnapping, train wrecking, or any act punishable under Section 206, 286, 288, 288a, or 289, or any murder which is perpetrated by means of discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle, intentionally at another person outside of the vehicle with the intent to inflict death, is murder of the first degree.”  First degree murder is punishable by the death penalty.

Second degree murder:  Murder in the second degree is any murder not covered by any of the above categories or that does not involve special circumstances. Skilled lawyers can use many different means to seek a second degree murder charge, or have the charged changed entirely.

Murder is such a serious crime that those who are aware of the crime but do nothing to prevent it or report it can be charged as accessories, coconspirators, or even with the murder itself.  Few lawyers are able to take the mantle of responsibility of defending a person charged with murder, but you can feel confident the murder defense attorneys at Steigerwalt & Associates are ready and willing to help protect your freedom and your life.

Every person charged with murder deserves dedicated and experienced representation and a fair trial in an honest courtroom.  Your rights are guarunteed by the constitutions of the United States as well as the State of California, and we will settle for nothing less than justice for you. If you have been charged with murder, contact the San Diego Criminal Defense Law Firm of Steigerwalt & Associates today to review your case.