Recent Victories

CHALLENGING THE “SCIENCE” OF FINGERPRINTS

The client was charged with first degree murder. The evidence against him included what was said to be the client’s bloody fingerprints on the murder weapon. Despite three prosecution witnesses testifying that the fingerprints definitely matched the defendant, Elena won an acquittal in a jury trial. She argued that the science of fingerprints was not as reliable as experts claimed and cast doubt on the “match” testified to by the jurors.

LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED

The client was charged with special circumstance murder originally facing the death penalty, Elena conducted a thorough investigation in the 20 year old cold case. With the help of her investigator, after traveling to 4 states and 6 prisons and interviewing all of the original witnesses to the crime, she was able to show that in fact another man was guilty of the crime. The District Attorney reviewed her motion to dismiss and agreed to drop all of the charges against the defendant.

A bar fight at local bar showing a soccer game left one patron dead and another wrongfully accused of murder. At the end of the match, chaos erupted and a fan of the winning team was shot and killed.  Elena sought the help of the Mexican Consulate to track down a witness who had fled back Mexico after the incident. He led her to a woman who was at the bar on the night of the crime. The woman was afraid to come forward initially because of her legal status. Elena tracked her down and convinced her to testify on her client’s behalf. She testified that the client had in fact been the man who laid down over her as the gunshots rang out that night in the bar. The defendant was shown to be the hero, not the perpetrator and he was acquitted of the crime.