Humanity Must Always
Come First in Law”
Talking with Attorney Charles Pereyra-Suarez is like being transported back to the late sixties and meeting young, idealistic college activists full of passion about equality for the underprivileged, and determined to save the world from corruption and tyranny. To put it another way, he’s the real deal – a lawyer who has spent his life “pursuing truth, justice and the…” Well, he’s not Superman, but he’s definitely been fighting the ‘good fight’ for a long time, and continues to use his intrinsic sense of humanity to guide his hand in law. Attorney Pereyra-Suarez tells me in one of the many rooms of his downtown office suite, “Criminal law is more civilized than fighting over money, because you’re dealing with a person’s life or death; everyone’s aware that the stakes are much higher, so we cut out the hysterics and really get down to the truth that matters.” One clear advantage Att. Pereyra-Suarez has as a Criminal Defense Attorney is that he’s a former Federal Prosecutor; he’s even supervised FBI Investigations. With this kind of well-rounded mastery of both sides of the law, he’s able to converse with Prosecutors on behalf of his clients in a way some other Criminal Defense Attorneys can not…
HW: “Were you tough as a Prosecutor?”
ATTORNEY CHARLES PEREYRA-SUAREZ: “I think most people would say I was a fair Prosecutor, but I was tough when I had to be. Sending someone to jail – taking away their freedom – is not something one should do arbitrarily, but above all my duty was to protect the citizens of Los Angeles, and that’s what I did.”
HW: “So, now, as a Criminal Defense Attorney, what do you do if you know your client is guilty?”
ATT. PEREYRA-SUAREZ: “I would make sure that their punishment fits their crime. I’ll never go to trial if I know my client is truly guilty, I’ll get the best deal for them relative to their actions – but if I know my client is completely innocent, there’s no way I’m letting them go to jail without a fight.”
HW: “Now, you’ve done a lot of work getting fair conditions for inmates around the country in various jails, why was that important to you?”
ATT. PEREYRA-SUAREZ: “Well, once again, the punishment has to fit the crime. If you’re convicted of a crime and serving time in jail, you still have rights that need to be protected – being in jail doesn’t give anyone a right to abuse your human rights. That’s something I’ve always been concerned about.”
HW: “Human right violations.”
ATT. PEREYRA-SUAREZ: “Yes. I’ve received letters from family members on numerous cases thanking me for protecting the rights of their loved ones, and it’s something I’m very much committed to – even when I was a Federal Prosecutor. Truth is truth, no matter what side you’re on. I work very hard with opposing counsel to find out what’s in the best interest of all parties involved.”
HW: “I guess that attitude is also what makes you such a successful mediator; but you’re also an Arbitrator occasionally – so, how do you like being in the Judge’s seat and ruling on cases as opposed to fighting for your clients in front of a Jury?”
ATT. PERERYRA-SUAREZ: “You know, I have a lot of respect for the court system, in every capacity of it, but I really enjoy presenting the facts of my case in front of a jury and letting this group of citizens decide what they think is fair – being one man determining the fate of another human being is an immense responsibility, but I try to handle being an Arbitrator with the same level of integrity that I’ve had in my thirty-plus years as an Attorney: it’s always about achieving what you know in your heart is the right result…”
Attorney Pereyra-Suarez can sometimes be heard on Univision’s radio station KTNQ 1020AM, on Sundays, answering legal questions for the spanish-speaking community.
(213) 623 2534 CRIMINAL CHARLES PEREYRA-SUAREZ