Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. We give all financial options to our clients so that they can pay in installments if they require this. For us, the most important thing is defending anyone who finds themselves in a criminal proceeding as soon as possible, regardless of their financial situation.

Because we have dedicated ourselves tocriminal law exclusively for the last 40 years, having the maximum specialization and experience, and because we guarantee a multitude of professional achievements, fruit of our qualification vocation and personalized dedication to achieve the best result of each of our cases.

If you have been the victim of a crime and wish to start a criminal proceeding so that the case is investigated and the guilty person is convicted, you may present a crime report yourself in your own name in front of the police, the public prosecutor’s office or the police court , or a private criminal prosecution in front of the competent court which will be signed by a lawyer. In an crime report, unlike a private criminal prosecution, the person making the complaint does not personally intervene as the accusing party in the performance of the criminal process. Therefore, if what you wish is to be a private or popular prosecutor, you will have to, in any case, appear in the proceeding with a lawyer, , whilst it is recommended that the lawyer that drafts the private criminal prosecution is a criminal lawyer, and request from the beginning the necessary measure of enquiry and/or precautionary measures that have been agreed on.

It is not necessary but it is recommended. Those previously referred to as offences were decriminalised and and no longer exist in the Penal Code. Now, the named minor crimes are stated for determined behaviours of lesser criminal relevance, whose proceedings are processed and prosecuted by examining courts, and for which the attendance of the lawyer is not compulsory, in the same way as what previously occurred with that previously known as offences. But in the majority of these cases it is recommended to appoint a criminal lawyer to not be uninformed and alone on the day of the trial, without the possibility of intervening in the trials to take place. The criminal lawyer will have all of the information and will be able to carry out the necessary steps in front of the court, advising and helping the client on the day of the oral trial, where they will be able to request the relevant evidence and interrogate the parties and witnesses, as well as make allegations in defense of their client, whether the accused or the claimant. Keep in mind that in these proceedings, significant compensation or fines and accessory penalties such as restraining orders or other prohibitions may be at stake.

Through Ministry of Justice the website by (mjusticia.gob.es), by completing the request that features the cancellation of criminal records. All of the parties condemned by final judgement that have extinguished their criminal responsibility have the right to obtain the cancellation of their criminal record from the Ministry of Justice in the terms that the law highlights.
The necessary requisites for cancellation that the Law requires are:

• Not committing any more crimes over the following time periods:
• Six months for minor sentences.
• Two years for sentences that do not exceed twelve months and that were imposed for reckless crimes.
• Three years for remaining less serious sentences of less than three years.
• Five years for remaining less serious sentences that are equal to or more than three years..
• Ten years for severe sentences.

The calculation of these periods will be interrupted by the perpetration of new crimes during their course..

Yes, when a final acquittal sentence or a removal from the firm register has been reverted. At the same time, the cancellation will be decreed when, even if the judicial sentence is condemning, 5 years have passed starting from the date of final remittance of the imposed sentence, without any new unfavourable information being added to the personal file of the applicant.
Cancellation can also be requested in cases when the Judicial Authority dictates a condemnatory sentence against the applicant, and they have obtained the prior cancellation of the criminal record of said sentence.

Yes. At Joan Castelló Abogados Penalistas, in cases of traffic accidents with the result of injuries caused because of recklessness, we claim and negotiate extra-judicially with the opposing insurance company for the maximum compensation possible for the injured person,, at a much higher amount than what is normally offered by companies. Previously, these cases were processed as lack of judgements, but now this is a decriminalised behaviour, governed by Law 35/2015, of 22nd September, of reform of the valuation system of harm caused to people in traffic accidents. . By virtue of the new regulation, these compensations have to be managed extra-judicially and, if an agreement is not reached, through civil proceedings.

If you have received a summoning to go to declare as a person under investigation in front of the police, the public prosecutor’s office or an examining court, the essential thing is to get in touch with a criminal lawyer that can help you and establish the best defence strategy from the first moment and to guide the proceeding from the outset to obtain a successful result.