Crime Victim Representation

The Prosecutor Is Not Your Attorney

This surprises most people, and it’s the most important thing to understand about your position in a criminal case.

The District Attorney prosecutes crimes on behalf of the State of California. Not on your behalf. Prosecutors are often genuinely dedicated to victims, and many work hard to keep them informed — but their client is the state, their caseloads are heavy, and their obligations run to the public interest rather than to you personally.

That means decisions can be made in your case without your input. Plea agreements get negotiated. Restitution gets overlooked or under-calculated. Hearing dates change without notice. Not out of indifference, but because the system isn’t built to represent you.

A private attorney’s only obligation is to you.

Your Rights Under Marsy’s Law

California voters enacted Marsy’s Law in 2008, adding enforceable victim rights to the state constitution at Article I, § 28. Those rights include:

• To be treated with fairness, respect, and dignity throughout the process
• To be reasonably protected from the defendant
• To be notified of court proceedings, hearings, and the defendant’s release or escape
• To be present at public proceedings in the case
• To be heard at plea, sentencing, and parole hearings
• To restitution from the defendant for your losses
• To confer with the prosecuting agency about the case
• To refuse an interview or deposition request from the defense
• To reasonable protection of your privacy, including your contact information
• To a speedy trial and prompt conclusion of the case

These are rights, not courtesies. But they are not self-executing — someone has to assert them, and in practice that rarely happens unless you have counsel.

How We Help

Asserting Your Rights in Court

We appear at hearings, ensure notification requirements are met, and object when your rights under Marsy’s Law are overlooked. Having counsel physically present changes how a case treats you.

Restitution

Under California law, you are entitled to restitution from the defendant for losses caused by the crime, which may include:

• Medical and dental expenses
• Mental health treatment and counseling
• Lost wages and lost earning capacity
• Property damage, loss, or theft
• Relocation and security costs
• Funeral and burial expenses

Restitution is frequently under-claimed because nobody documented the full extent of the loss. We prepare and present the claim properly, appear at restitution hearings, and pursue the full amount you’re owed.

Protective Orders

Where your safety is a concern, we seek protective orders and work to ensure conditions of release actually restrict contact. If an order is violated, we act on it.

→ Restraining Orders

Victim Impact Statements

You have the right to be heard at sentencing and at parole hearings. A victim impact statement is your opportunity to describe, in your own words, what the crime cost you.

We help prepare that statement — what to include, what carries weight with a court, and what may be excluded. For some people, this is the most important part of the entire case.

CalVCB Claims

The California Victim Compensation Board is a state program that may reimburse crime-related expenses independent of anything the defendant pays, including medical treatment, mental health counseling, relocation, income loss, and funeral costs.

CalVCB has filing deadlines, and claims are routinely denied for procedural reasons. We handle the application and, where necessary, the appeal.

Coordinating With the Prosecution

We communicate directly with the District Attorney’s Office so your concerns are on the record — before a plea is negotiated rather than after.

What to Expect in the Process

Understanding the sequence makes it less overwhelming.

Investigation. Law enforcement builds the case. Your statement, any evidence you have, and medical documentation matter here.

Charging decision. The District Attorney decides whether to file and what to file. You have a right to confer with them about it.

Arraignment. The defendant appears and enters a plea. Protective orders are often issued at this stage.

Pre-trial proceedings. Hearings, motions, and negotiation. Most cases resolve here — which is exactly why your input needs to be on the record early, not at sentencing when the outcome is already agreed.

Trial. If the case is tried, you may testify. You have rights regarding your privacy and your treatment as a witness.

Sentencing. You have the right to be heard. Restitution is ordered here.

After sentencing. Restitution collection, parole hearings, and notification of the defendant’s release status all continue for years in some cases.

You May Also Have Other Options

Being straightforward about this matters more than capturing every call.

Victim advocates are available free of charge through the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and through nonprofit organizations. They provide support, accompaniment, and help navigating the process. For many people, an advocate is genuinely enough.

CalVCB claims can be filed without an attorney, and the board’s staff can assist.

A civil lawsuit is separate from the criminal case and may be available where the harm caused significant financial loss. That’s typically handled by a civil litigator rather than by a criminal attorney.

Where private counsel makes the most difference is in cases with substantial restitution at stake, ongoing safety concerns, complex or contested proceedings, a prosecution moving toward a resolution you object to, or a CalVCB claim that’s been denied.

If a free advocate will serve you as well, we’ll tell you that.

Why Work With a Former Prosecutor

Polina Logrue spent her career at the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, where she served as the assigned prosecutor for the Misdemeanor Human Exploitation and Trafficking Unit — handling human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation cases, coordinating with law enforcement, and navigating victim-centered prosecutions.

That background matters here in a specific way. She knows how a District Attorney’s office actually operates: what happens to a case internally, when plea decisions get made and by whom, how restitution figures are calculated, and where victims tend to fall out of the process without anyone intending it.

She also knows what it takes to get a prosecutor’s attention on something — and she knows it from having been the one receiving those calls.

Meet Polina →

If a Crime Has Been Committed Against You

1. Report it if you’re able. Many rights and most compensation programs attach to a reported crime.
2. Keep every document. Medical records, repair estimates, receipts, pay records showing missed work, and correspondence from anyone about the case.
3. Write down what you remember while it’s clear, and keep it somewhere safe.
4. Ask to be notified of proceedings — and know that you can ask the prosecutor’s office to confer with you.
5. Note the deadlines. CalVCB claims and some other remedies are time-limited.
6. Know you can decline a defense interview. Under Marsy’s Law, you are not required to speak with the defendant’s attorney or investigator.

Call (949) 758-4469 · Free Consultation