Los Angeles Alternative Sentencing Attorney

Mr. Sterling has long been an advocate of rehabilitation over incarceration. It’s been what has driven him as a criminal defense attorney. Notions of fairness and the idea that the punishment should fit the crime have shaped the type of lawyer Mr. Sterling has become.

Punishment and rehabilitation are two of the four acknowledged objectives of the criminal justice system, with deterrence and incapacitation being the others. However, punishment has always been the preference when dealing with individuals who commit acts of crime.

Since the beginning of his legal career, Mr. Sterling has set out to change this trend. Rehabilitation is a more permanent fix in deterring crime….period. Rehabilitation through community supervision can have a more lasting effect on individuals and deter them from committing future crimes if they learn how to adapt in society by gaining academic or trade skills. Program placement can help offenders find employment and secure an important role in the community and give them a sense of being.

Mr. Sterling has tirelessly argued this position to courts and prosecutors and has in fact been extremely successful in obtaining alternative sentencing for many of his clients.

Mr. Sterling has also secured therapy for his clients, including drug therapy for those offenders addicted to drugs and psychological counseling to those offenders who grew up in an abusive household or suffer from mental illness. When an individual is given the opportunity to rehabilitate themselves, it gives them the opportunity to remain self-supporting within the community.

The Law Offices of Justin E. Sterling fights for the following favorable, least punitive, and often most beneficial forms of sentencing:

• Live-in drug rehabilitation and treatment to address underlying drug and alcohol problems that may have triggered poor judgment or criminal behavior;
• House-arrest;
• Partial house arrest with electronic monitoring;
• Work release and work furlough programs, allowing a person on house arrest or in jail to leave each day long enough to keep his or her job;
• Community labor and community service;
• Volunteer work;
• Monetary penalties to be paid to battered women’s shelters or other designated worthwhile causes.

Our aggressive yet creative advocacy has helped countless clients avoid jail in both misdemeanor and felony cases. Mr. Sterling has formed many relationships, throughout California, with program directors, addiction specialists, and doctors. Below are just some of the facilities he has worked with in order to secure treatment for his clients.