Criminal Defense

A criminal charge threatens far more than a fine or a jail sentence — it puts your freedom, your reputation, your career, your immigration status, and your family at risk. Boyadzhyan Legal Shield defends individuals throughout Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley who are facing that pressure, bringing courtroom experience from both sides of a criminal case to every matter we take on.

Founding attorney Knarik Boyadzhyan began her career as a paralegal in the United States Department of Justice's Violent and Organized Crime Section, then served as a Deputy Public Defender handling misdemeanor and felony cases at every stage — arraignment, motions, negotiation, and trial. That background means we understand how the prosecution builds a case, what the state must prove, and where these cases tend to break down.

This is the firm's top-level criminal-defense page. Below, you will find the specific areas we handle — DUI, domestic violence, violent crimes, drug offenses, sex crimes, white-collar and fraud matters, and restraining orders — along with what to expect after an arrest, how California classifies charges, and the local courts where Valley cases are actually decided. Each linked page goes deeper on its subject; this one is the map.

From the first phone call, our focus is protecting your rights: scrutinizing the stop, the search, and the evidence; challenging the state's proof; intervening before charges are ever filed where that is still possible; and pursuing the best available outcome, whether that is a dismissal, a reduction, a diversion program, a favorable plea, or an acquittal at trial. We offer a free, confidential consultation, and we never promise a result — but we do promise a defense built on the specific facts of your case.

Being arrested is disorienting, and most people have no idea what comes next. In broad strokes, a California criminal case moves through a predictable sequence — and understanding it helps you make better decisions at each stage. None of what follows is legal advice about your specific case; it is a general map of the process.

It usually begins with the arrest and booking, where you are processed and held. From there you may be released on your own recognizance, released after posting bail, or held in custody until you see a judge. In Los Angeles County, whether and how much bail is set can depend on the alleged offense and your history, and a lawyer can advocate for release or a reduction at this early point.

The first court date is the arraignment, where the charges are formally read, you enter a plea (typically not guilty at this stage), and the court addresses bail and any protective orders. After arraignment the case enters the pretrial phase — the longest part for most cases — where evidence is exchanged, defense motions are filed and argued (including motions to suppress evidence), and negotiations toward a dismissal or reduction take place.

If the case is not resolved during pretrial, it proceeds to trial, where the prosecution must prove each element of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt. Many cases never reach that point — they resolve through dismissal, diversion, or a negotiated plea — but preparing as though every case will be tried is what creates the leverage to reach a good outcome short of trial. The earlier a defense attorney is involved, the more of these stages can be shaped in your favor.

How a case is charged often matters as much as the underlying facts, so it helps to understand California's three basic categories. Under Penal Code § 19, a misdemeanor is by default punishable by up to six months in county jail (though many specific misdemeanors carry up to 364 days) and a fine, while a felony carries the possibility of a longer term, sometimes in state prison, along with more serious long-term consequences.

Between the two sits a large group of California offenses known as 'wobblers' — crimes that the prosecution has discretion to charge as either a misdemeanor or a felony, and that a court can sometimes reduce from a felony to a misdemeanor under Penal Code § 17. Many of the charges this firm handles, including certain assault, domestic violence, and drug offenses, can be wobblers. Whether a wobbler is treated as a misdemeanor or a felony can turn on the facts, your record, and effective advocacy — which is one of the clearest reasons early defense matters.

The classification drives almost everything downstream: the maximum exposure you face, whether an offense counts as a 'strike,' the immigration and professional-licensing consequences, and whether you may later be eligible to clean up your record. Getting a charge reduced or reclassified early can change the entire trajectory of a case, and it is one of the core goals we work toward.

Boyadzhyan Legal Shield is based in Encino on Ventura Boulevard and defends criminal cases throughout the San Fernando Valley and greater Los Angeles — Encino, Sherman Oaks, Tarzana, Van Nuys, Woodland Hills, Studio City, Northridge, and the surrounding communities.

If you were arrested in the Valley, your case is very likely to be prosecuted at the Van Nuys Courthouse, which handles criminal matters for much of the San Fernando Valley. Familiarity with the local court — its prosecutors, its calendar, and how cases in this area are actually resolved — is an advantage that a downtown-only or out-of-area firm cannot offer. We appear in Van Nuys and the surrounding Los Angeles County courts regularly.

Working from a single Encino office keeps the firm close to the courts, the clients, and the communities it serves. Whether your case sits in the Valley or elsewhere in Los Angeles County, you work directly with the attorney handling it — not a rotating cast — and you get counsel who knows the terrain your case will travel.

The single most important thing to know about this firm is its founding attorney's background. Knarik Boyadzhyan is a former Deputy Public Defender who began her legal career as a paralegal in the United States Department of Justice's Violent and Organized Crime Section. That is an unusual vantage point — she has worked near how serious cases are built and has spent years defending people against the full weight of the state.

That experience shapes how we approach every case: we start from what the prosecution must prove and where that proof is vulnerable, rather than reacting to the charge in front of us. We keep the defense practical and honest — we will tell you what we see, explain your realistic options, and never sell you an outcome we cannot promise.

We also keep it personal. This is a focused Encino practice, not a high-volume mill, so the attorney you speak with is the attorney handling your case. Consultations are free and confidential, and the goal from the first conversation is simple: protect your rights and pursue the best result the facts will allow.