Mental Health Law

Jonathan is  one of few attorneys with expertise in both mental health and criminal law trials having successfully tried Sexually Violent Predator, Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity Restoration of  Sanity and MDO cases.  In fact,  he has won all six Restoration of Sanity cases he’s tried. He had recent success in getting Fresno Conrep to accept a client who a few years ago was found NGI in a notorious case. In light of this experience in the mental health field, over the last twenty years, Jonathan has been appointed by the mental health court to handle SVP, NGI, 2970, 6600, 6500, MDSO and MDO cases. He has appeared in criminal cases involving mental illness defenses in San Fernando, Pasadena, Van Nuys, Alhambra, CJC, Airport, Santa Clarita and Whittier.  Recently, Judge O’Connell appointed him in the San Fernando court to assist the court as an expert in evaluating a defendant’s mental competence.  He has also lectured on mental illness and criminal law   to: hundreds of lawyers at the Los Angeles County Bar and Public Counsel; NAMI conferences on three occasions as well as students in Forensic Psychology at Pepperdine, Claremont McKenna College and USC fellows of Law & Psychiatry