California Criminal Guide exists for one reason: when you are facing the legal system, information should not be a luxury.
Who writes this
Jacob H. Katz, a licensed California attorney. I trained at some of the top institutions in California and I have tried multiple criminal cases. I write and review every guide on this site myself, nothing is published here that I have not personally reviewed, and guides are updated as the law changes.
My name is here because a reader asking who stands behind an answer deserves one. It is not the reason to trust any of it. Every article cites the actual statutes, explains how courtrooms really operate, and tells you honestly when you can handle something yourself and when you need a lawyer. Check the citation rather than the byline.
I also built FederalCourtDeadlines.com, a free calculator for federal civil deadlines that quotes the rule behind every date.
There is a name and no firm
My name is on this site. My firm is not, and will not be.
I am not selling anything. This site takes no clients, runs no ads for my own practice, and has no “hire me” button. Nothing here routes you toward paying me or anyone else. That is the constraint that lets a name sit on these pages without turning them into marketing, and it is the one worth watching. If this site ever grows a contact form, stop trusting this paragraph.
The focus stays on the information. Most named-attorney websites are marketing: the headshot, the credentials, the case results all exist to make you call. I wanted the opposite. You cannot hire me here, so the only thing left to judge is whether the guide is accurate and genuinely useful.
Why this site is free
Because there is nothing else like it. Legal information online is mostly confusing, outdated, or written to scare you into a phone call. This site was built so that anyone can learn about the law in a safe, easy-to-understand environment, for free, with no sales pitch waiting at the bottom of the page.
“I have seen and experienced firsthand what it is like to suffer in the legal system without any information. No one should go through that. I want everyone to have a baseline knowledge of the law, so that whatever happens next, it happens to someone who understands what is going on.”
What you can expect from every guide
- Plain English. Written so anyone can read it, with the deeper legal detail tucked into expandable sections for those who want it.
- The actual law. Real statute citations, not vague summaries.
- The real-world version. What judges, prosecutors, and court clerks actually do, not just what the code says, drawn from real courtroom experience.
- Honesty about lawyers. Clear guidance on when you can do it yourself and when hiring counsel is genuinely worth it.
What this site is not
This site is not a law firm and it is not legal advice. I do not accept clients through this site, and nothing here creates an attorney-client relationship. Laws change, every county’s courts run differently, and small facts change outcomes. Use these guides to understand your situation and walk into any courtroom or consultation informed, then talk to a California attorney about your specific facts.