Juan P. Bernal, LLC Abogado Latino - Bilingual Attorney.

07/28/2023

A new client review fills me with gratitude.

Receiving the appreciation of my clients is a deeply meaningful psychic reward, it bestows meaning and purpose on my work. To represent my clients is a privilege and an honor. To fight the establishment is a vocation and standing up for the little guy is my calling. It is my way to safeguard our constitutional protections.

Call me for your criminal defense and personal injury needs.

01/03/2023

The pitfalls of technology. Beware of facial recognition!

Talk to a lawyer if you find yourself in the snares of this dubious practice.

Technology has given police vast reach to compare the faces of criminal suspects against a trove of mug shots, driver’s licenses, and even selfies plucked from social media.

12/10/2022

Last night I received a 10:1 Blackstone Award from the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (LACDL) at the 2022 Tate Banquet. It is nice to be back as a second-time winner, four years and one pandemic later.

I received this honor, named for Blackstone’s maxim of “better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer,” for multiple wins this year. 3 acquittals and 4 other wins (split or responsive verdicts) plus multiple dismissals of felonies and misdemeanors alike. Having heard the words “not guilty” three times this year alone was an immense morale booster after the pandemic’s long and hard road. Yet that road pales in comparison to some of my clients’ stories…

It is an honor to defend the Constitution and its guaranteed protections for the people of a democracy in a republic. I am proud to fight the good fight and leave it all on the field, or rather the courtroom. My work speaks for itself and I am happy to use my talent and experience in the service of my fellow brothers and sisters.

What an immense privilege to make a change in people’s lives. The law is one of the so called “learned professions,” but you must care deeply about what you do in order to put all of your self into the work. Love for your work is not something that is learned. It comes from within, like a spring from the earth. I love what I do and do what I love, as my fellow defender Letita Parker-Davis says. My purpose is leave the world a better place. My goal is to raise others up and fight for justice with the knowledge I am in it to give it my all, regardless of the outcome. Having a fire in my belly and a smile on my face, it can be David vs. Goliath at times, yet I shall do it with gusto—because if it was easy, everyone would do it.

10/07/2022

Baby steps. Full legalization is the only path to sanity, with the windfall tax revenue for the states willing to do the right thing, on top of eliminating the black market and its violent characters. The Drug War failed and ruins lives, let us evolve into a different paradigm.

President urged governors to follow suit, saying such criminal records have ‘imposed needless barriers’ on people of color

05/31/2022

The first court appearance I ever made was in law school as a student attorney with Tulane’s Criminal Litigation Clinic. Now I try multiple cases per year. A look back at the past decade and highlights of my practice. One must appreciate the victories.

I have had over twelve judge and jury trials in my years as a litigator, with the most recent three out of four resulting in acquittals. Ten years ago, my work began in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court with Tulane’s Criminal Litigation Clinic. Upon getting sworn in, my first court appearance...

02/25/2022

As trials pick back up, my chops are put to the test and I still got ‘em. Late last year, I was in the trenches in State v. Robert Whitley. A Jefferson Parish jury found him Not Guilty of felon in possession of a firearm (LA R.S. 14:95.1). I picked a jury and tried that by myself—no second chair/paralegal/assistant/volunteer.

As we start 2022, this week I had another trial, accusing my client of burglary (LA R.S. 14:62) and one count of attempted burglary in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. The verdict? Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity. He will be spared from prison and instead will be receiving medical care. A good day indeed, hence the ear to ear smile!

Savoring this moment as long as I can.

02/25/2022

Newsflash. “Today’s guilty verdicts should serve as the guiding example of why police departments across America should expand and prioritize instruction on an officer’s duty to intervene and recognize when a fellow officer is using excessive force.” Also, “This is a reminder that all sworn law enforcement officers, regardless of rank or seniority, individually and independently, have a duty to intervene and provide medical aid to those in their custody.”

The former officers, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao, were charged with depriving Floyd of his civil rights while acting under government authority.

07/17/2021

Though few Americans realize it, police regularly deceive suspects during questioning to try to secure confessions, from saying DNA placed them at the scene of a crime to claiming eyewitnesses identified them as being the perpetrator. Detectives also can lie about the consequences of confessing, saying, for instance, that admitting responsibility is a quick ticket home.

Illinois on Thursday became the first state in the U.S. to ban police from lying or using deceptive tactics while interrogating minors.

06/23/2021

Police must obtain a warrant to enter homes for minor offenses (misdemeanors).

The court has long held that police may do this when pursuing a fleeing felon. The question in this case was whether they can do the same thing when pursuing someone suspected of a minor offense.

06/22/2021

News for medical cannabis users: flower is allowed starting next year.

The measure allows patients to purchase up to two and a half ounces of medical cannabis flower per 14 day period.

06/15/2021

This was a no brainer in the pursuit of justice. Full legalization and automatic expungements should be the next targets as we undo the private prison-complex and the War on Drugs.

The new law applies to anyone caught with less than 14 grams of pot