Avalon Criminal Defense Attorney

Avalon Criminal Defense Attorney

You got arrested on Catalina Island. Maybe it was public intoxication on a weekend getaway, maybe DUI, maybe possession. Now you’re sitting in Avalon Station Jail or you’ve been released with a court date – and nothing about this process works like you think it does. The courthouse operates every other Friday. You have hours, not days, to post bail before they ship you to the mainland. Your attorney can appear without you for misdemeanors, which changes everything about whether you need to return to this island.

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek with over 40 years of combined experience. We’ve defended clients in your exact situation. This article explains what actually happens in your situation, what choices you have right now, and what outcomes you can realistically expect when facing criminal charges on Catalina Island.

Your next steps matter. The prosecution doesn’t wait to build their case against you. How your case gets filed and what charges get leveled happen within a short window after arrest – which means early intervention can reduce or dismiss charges before your first court date.

You’re in Custody – You Have Hours, Not Days

When deputies arrest you on Catalina Island, they take you to Avalon Station Jail for booking. You think you have days to figure out bail arrangements. You don’t. According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Avalon Station, there are only 11 deputies, 3 sergeants, and 2 watch commanders assigned to the station full-time. It’s a short-term holding facility, not a place designed for extended custody. The booking process includes fingerprinting, photographs, background checks. You get two free phone calls. Then comes the critical decision: released without bail, held until court date, or bail posted through a bondsman. Most people miss this – you have only a few hours to post bail on Catalina before mandatory transfer to the mainland. If you don’t secure bail within that window, deputies transport you to a larger Los Angeles County jail on the mainland. That transfer triggers an additional 12 to 24 hours of processing time. You spend an extra day in custody unnecessarily. When you make those two free phone calls from Avalon Station, you need bail bondsman contact information ready.

The Court Operates Every Other Friday

You’ve been released with a court date at Catalina Courthouse. The Catalina Courthouse operates every other Friday only – a Superior Court Judge travels over from Long Beach to preside over cases.

But what prosecutors don’t advertise changes everything: under California Penal Code Section 977(a), your attorney can appear on your behalf for any misdemeanor charge. You don’t have to come back to the island. The vast majority of Catalina arrests – public intoxication, DUI, possession of controlled substances – are misdemeanors. Which means in most cases involving island arrests, you can have full legal representation without the burden of returning for court dates.

Most defendants don’t know this option exists. They plead guilty at first appearance to avoid returning to the island. That’s exactly what prosecutors count on.

Hire an Attorney Now or Wait

The prosecution doesn’t pause their work while you deliberate. They start building their case against you from the moment of arrest. According to Los Angeles Superior Court procedures, critical decisions about how your case gets filed and what charges get formally leveled happen within a short time after arrest. Early attorney intervention creates opportunities to reduce or dismiss charges before your first court date. A defense lawyer can contact the prosecutor’s office during the pre-filing stage, present mitigating circumstances, negotiate for lesser charges or outright dismissal. Take a public intoxication arrest. Without attorney intervention, you show up to court, prosecutor proceeds with Penal Code Section 647(f) charges, you either plead guilty to avoid returning to the island or you fight it yourself without understanding local court dynamics. With early attorney involvement, your lawyer contacts the prosecutor before formal filing, explains this was a one-time incident during vacation, you have no criminal history, you’ve already left the island and pose no ongoing public safety concern. Prosecutor agrees to dismiss in exchange for completion of an alcohol awareness course. Case resolved before you ever set foot in that every-other-Friday courthouse. You need an attorney who understands how Catalina practice works – the limited court schedule, the prosecutors who handle island cases, the practical realities of defending tourists who won’t return for trial. We’ve handled cases through Catalina Courthouse. We know that prosecutors factor travel burden into their calculations. We know which judges rotate through from Long Beach. We know how to position cases for favorable outcomes when defendants are off-island and won’t be coming back repeatedly.

What Actually Happens

Catalina Island sees patterns in arrests – public intoxication, DUI, possession of controlled substances. You want to know what realistically happens with your specific charge.

Public intoxication under Penal Code Section 647(f) represents the most common Catalina arrest. Without attorney intervention, you’re looking at a misdemeanor conviction, potential fine, maybe informal probation. With attorney intervention, you’re often looking at dismissal in exchange for completion of a brief alcohol awareness program – or outright dismissal if this is your first offense.

DUI arrests on the island carry higher stakes because they involve operation of a vehicle, typically a golf cart since regular vehicles are restricted in Avalon. The process mirrors mainland DUI prosecutions – blood alcohol testing, formal charges, license suspension implications through the DMV. What differs: your negotiating power increases when prosecutors know you’re a tourist who won’t risk trial that requires multiple returns to an island courthouse operating every other Friday. Defense attorneys use that advantage to negotiate favorable plea agreements – reduced charges, minimal jail time, online DUI programs that don’t require physical presence in California.

Possession charges depend heavily on quantities and substances involved. Small amounts for personal use create different prosecutorial responses than larger quantities suggesting distribution intent.

The every-other-Friday court schedule creates pressure to waive rights or plead guilty quickly just to avoid multiple trips back to Catalina. That pressure becomes a constitutional problem – your right to counsel, your right to challenge evidence, your right to trial by jury don’t disappear because the courthouse operates on an abbreviated schedule. The unusual scheduling creates a two-tiered system where tourists face incentives to resolve cases immediately, often pleading guilty to charges that could be fought successfully, simply because they don’t want the burden of island travel. You got arrested on a weekend trip to Catalina. Court date falls on a Friday two weeks out. You can travel back to the island, take the day off work, pay for transportation and overnight stay – or plead guilty by mail and be done with it. The system structurally encourages the guilty plea even when you have viable defenses. When your attorney appears on your behalf under Penal Code Section 977(a), you get full representation without the burden of travel. You can fight charges, challenge evidence, negotiate for dismissals – all while staying home.

At Spodek Law Group – we’re available 24/7 at 212-300-5196 because we know criminal charges don’t happen on convenient schedules. We’ve defended clients facing charges in unusual jurisdictions. You need someone who’s handled your exact situation – island arrests, every-other-Friday court schedules, prosecutors who expect tourists to plead guilty quickly. The prosecution is already building their case. Early intervention creates opportunities that disappear if you wait. Make the call.