Marin County Criminal Defense Attorney

James Owens, Former Deputy District Attorney

If you or someone in your family has been arrested or charged with a crime in Marin County, the way the case is handled in the first days will shape everything that follows — and in a county this size, it will shape something else too, which is how the local system comes to see you.

James Owens is a former Deputy District Attorney who prosecuted cases in Bay Area courtrooms, and he now defends people accused of crimes in Marin County. He knows how prosecutors evaluate files, what makes an office hold a case or resolve it, and how the equities that never make it into a police report can still change an outcome.

Your choice of attorney is one of the first and most consequential decisions in your case. Call (415) 824-4000, email consult@owensdefense.com, or request a confidential consultation.

What Makes Marin County Different

Marin runs its criminal system through a single, centralized courthouse, and that changes the texture of practice here. The same judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys encounter one another constantly, reputations form quickly and persist, and credibility is a currency that compounds from one appearance to the next. For a defendant, that cuts both ways. A case handled carelessly follows you through every later hearing, while a case presented with preparation and candor builds standing that pays off at each stage.

The county's posture rewards that preparation. Marin takes its cases seriously—no one should assume a smaller or wealthier county means a softer one—but its system is also genuinely open to rehabilitation-oriented and case-specific resolutions where the presentation supports them. The defense that succeeds here is usually the one that treats the prosecution's concerns seriously, answers them with evidence and structure, and gives the system a principled reason to reach the right result.

There is one more Marin-specific reality worth naming. This is a county of professionals, business owners, and families with deep community ties, and for many clients the public nature of a criminal proceeding is as frightening as the charge itself. Court calendars are public, communities are small, and word travels. James builds these defenses with discretion as a working principle, from how filings are drafted to how appearances are handled. For clients whose larger worry is exposure, the firm's approach to sensitive matters goes further, and it is described on its own page.

Where Criminal Cases Are Heard in Marin County

Nearly all Marin County criminal matters are handled at one location, the Marin County Superior Court at the Civic Center, Hall of Justice, 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, CA 94903. The county jail is adjacent to the Civic Center complex, which means custody, arraignment, and the early life of a case all run through the same small footprint in San Rafael. James represents clients there at every stage, from arraignment through pretrial motions, negotiations, and trial.

Arrested in Marin County? Here Is What Happens Next.

Marin arrests come from local police departments, the Sheriff's Office, CHP on the 101 corridor and the county's winding roads, and park and open-space enforcement, and people who are not cited and released are booked at the county jail in San Rafael. From there the sequence is compact because the system is compact. The District Attorney's Office reviews the case and decides what to file, arraignment follows quickly at the Civic Center if charges are filed, and the court addresses custody, release conditions, protective orders, and the forward schedule at that first appearance.

In a centralized county, the first presentation of the client matters more than most people expect, because the prosecutor and judge who see the case at arraignment are likely to see it at every later stage. Early counsel means that first presentation is a prepared one, that any pre-filing outreach to the charging deputy happens while the decision is open, and that the evidence favoring the defense gets preserved before it fades.

Criminal Charges James Defends in Marin County

James represents clients facing state misdemeanor and felony charges in Marin County, including:

• DUI
• Domestic violence
• Drug crimes
• Gun possession and weapons charges
• Theft crimes
• Assault and battery
• Sex crimes
• White collar crime

Each of those pages explains how James defends that category of case, and DUI deserves a special mention here, because the 101 corridor, the county's roads, and its nightlife and tourism produce a steady stream of DUI cases against people with careers and licenses on the line.

Cities and Areas Served

Owens Defense represents clients arrested or charged throughout Marin County, including in San Rafael, Novato, Mill Valley, Sausalito, Larkspur, Corte Madera, Tiburon, Fairfax, San Anselmo, Ross, and Belvedere. The firm also serves visitors and non-residents charged in Marin, including people cited on parkland or arrested while passing through on the 101.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where will my Marin County case be heard?

Almost certainly at the Civic Center in San Rafael, which handles nearly all of the county's criminal matters. Your paperwork will confirm the department and date, and James will verify both at the first consultation.

Everyone seems to know everyone in Marin. Does that hurt me?

It can help you, if it is used well. A small system means credibility carries, and a defense presented with preparation and candor builds standing that benefits the client at every later stage. It also means discretion matters, and James handles Marin cases with the assumption that the client's community reputation is part of what is being defended.

Is Marin easier on defendants than other counties?

No, and planning around that assumption is a mistake. Serious allegations are prosecuted seriously here. What Marin does offer is genuine openness to rehabilitation-oriented and case-specific outcomes when the defense earns them with evidence, structure, and credible presentation, which is exactly the kind of preparation James builds.

I was arrested on parkland or while visiting. Do I need a Marin lawyer?

You need a lawyer who knows this court, and if the arrest happened on federal parkland, you may actually be facing a federal matter rather than a state one, which changes the court, the rules, and the strategy. Bring your citation to the first conversation and James will confirm which system you are in and what comes next.