EDUCATION 

B.A., English, University of California, Berkeley 

M.A., English, San Francisco State University 

Standard Secondary Teaching Credential, St. Mary’s College (Moraga, CA) 

Juris Doctorate, University of San Fernando Valley College of Law

 LAW PRACTICE 

Since 1979, Mr. Ritkes’ law practice has emphasized the following areas:

Civil litigation in areas of Contract and Real Estate law, Personal Injury,  Civil and Criminal appeals, arbitrations, Criminal law, and Family law.   Other areas of practice are California State Bar Defense, Disciplinary Defense and License Issues for Physicians, Attorneys and Real Estate Professionals, Restraining Orders,  Legal Malpractice,  Probate Litigation  and  Clergy Abuse.

Mr. Ritkes has served as an Arbitrator for the Los Angeles County Superior Court and the Santa Monica Bar Association.

 

PUBLISHED CRIMINAL APPEALS IN MURDER CASES

The following appeals handled by Mr. Ritkes, representing clients who were convicted of murder, resulted in rulings that were certified for publication, contributing to the body of case law in California that can be cited as authority:

 People v. Leigh (1985) 168 Cal.App. 3d 217

People v. Stewart (1985) 165 Cal.App.3d 1050

People v. Jacobs & Owens (1986) 195 Cal.App.3d 1636

PUBLISHED CIVIL APPEALS

The following appeal was handled by Mr. Ritkes.  It concerned a civil restraining order that was certified for publication and created new law in California, resulting in major changes in the way restraining orders are handled by courts, and in changes in the court forms used for obtaining restraining orders:

               Ritchie v. Konrad (2004) 115 Cal.App.4th 1275

APPELLATE HIGHLIGHTS

In People v. Leigh (1985) 168 Cal.App.3d 217, Mr. Ritkes obtained a  reversal of a first-degree murder conviction on the grounds of disproportionate sentences between participants in the crime.

Handling both the trial and the civil appeal of Ritchie v. Konrad (2004) 115 Cal.App.4th 1275, Mr. Ritkes raised an issue of first impression, in which he argued that the restraining order statute, which provides for renewal of restraining orders for the life of the restrained party without a showing of “further abuse” was too vague.   The appellate court adopted a new standard for renewing restraining orders, the one which was proposed by Mr.Ritkes and which is now the law in California.  In addition, the appellate court reversed the trial court and Mr.Ritkes got the lifetime restraining order against his client dissolved.

CRIMINAL TRIALS

Mr. Ritkes has obtained numerous acquittals in felony criminal trials, that include:

* November, 2021, Inglewood Courthouse, acquittal in charge of arson

* February, 2022, Airport Courthouse, acquittal on two counts of making criminal threats (the charges were both "strikes" under California's Three Strikes Law and the client had a prior strike, potentially making him eligible for punishment as a third strker).

* December, 2016, downtown L.A. Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, acquittal in charge of assault with intent to create great bodily harm in which the entire incident was on video showing Mr. Ritkes' client participating in a severe beating at Men's Central Jail. A successful defense of coercion was presented.

* November, 2011, downtown L.A. Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, acquittal on a gang enhancement, which could have added years to Mr. Ritkes's clients sentence.

* February, 2018, Torrance Courthouse, Mr. Ritkes's client had two prior strikes and rejected a plea bargain, going to trial on a felony gun possession in which much of the alleged crime was captured on video and the allegation was made that Mr. Ritkes' client was in a gang. Mr. Ritkes obtained an acquittal on a defense of "transitory possession."

* Mr. Ritkes has obtained numerous acquittals in driving under the influence cases, using defenses of rising alcohol level, challenging the validity of the alcohol testing devices, procedures and record-keeping at the L.A. County Crime Lab, prosecution DUI experts, the scientific basis of alleged blood alcohol tests, the validity of field sobriety tests, etc.

* February, 1999, Airport Courthouse Mr. Ritkes's client obtained an acquittal in a case in which his client allegedly made criminal threats in a message that was recorded on a voice mail.

MURDER RE-SENTENCING - PENAL CODE § 1172.6 - SB 1437

On January 1, 2019, a law known as Senate Bill 1437 became effective. The bill was enacted in response to countless murder convictions based on vicarious liability in which the non-killer defendant purportedly assisted the killer, frequently on the basis of having a passive role or one in which the co-defendant was unaware of the killer's intent..

*On January 3, 2019, Mr. Ritkes filed the first of several petitions on behalf of clients who felt they were eligible for such relief. Many judges have been unfavorable and even hostile to such petitions.

* On January 11, 2023, at the downtown L.A. Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center Mr. Ritkes represented a client who had been sentenced to Life Without the Possibility of Parole. The prosecution's theory was that Mr. Ritkes' client aided and abetted a robbery-murder. His client was 20 years into his life sentence. Mr. Ritkes conducted the two-day hearing and got the court to release his client from prison and from the life without the possibility of parole sentence. His client came home within a few days of the hearing and has been employed and is contributing to society.

* On October 26, 2022, at the Compton Courthouse, Mr. Ritkes got a murder conviction dismissed based on his SB1437 petition in a case in which Mr. Ritkes had previously obtained his client's release from prison on a life sentence on different grounds. The client is now pursuing a professional license, which would have been extremely difficult with a murder conviction.

* On August 6, 2024, in the Los Angeles Superior Court, Torrance, a hearing was held in which Mr. Ritkes represented a client who was convicted of murder in 2009 and was serving a sentence of Life Without the Possibility of Parole. Mr. Ritkes got the murder charge dismissed and his client was re-sentenced to time served and ordered released from prison custody and was home within a few days.

GRAND JURY CASES

In 2016 at the downtown L.A. Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, Mr. Ritkes's client was indicted by a Grand Jury in a 477-count indictment, in which his client was charged with 22 counts of conspiracy and grand theft, with a gang enhancement. Shortly before trial Mr. Ritkes got all of the charges dismissed (partly as a result of his motion to dismiss) in exchange for a misdemeanor charge, for which there was no custody imposed. The misdemeanor was then expunged.

In 2013 at the downtown L.A. Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, Mr. Ritkes's client was charged in a 277-count indictment with 32 counts of perjury, grand theft, filing false deeds, etc. As a result of Mr. Ritkes' motion to dismiss, he got all of the charges dismissed prior to trial.

PRELIMINARY HEARING HIGHLIGHTS

Mr. Ritkes has had gang enhancements (charges alleging that a crime was done for the benefit and in furtherance of a street gang) dismissed in numerous preliminary hearings, aggressively challenging the prosecution's "gang experts" as well as the legal and factual basis for the charges at preliminary hearings and at trial

In Case No. LA 032579 (1999), Mr. Ritkes’ client, a labor union official, was charged with embezzlement of union funds.  In a five-day preliminary hearing in which Mr. Ritkes presented affirmative defenses, he subpoenaed the president, vice-president, treasurer, accountant and business agent of the union to testify, all of whom were extremely hostile to his client.  The outcome of the preliminary hearing was that some of the charges were dismissed, and the remainder of the case was dismissed on a subsequent motion.  

Soon after the criminal case was dismissed, Mr. Ritkes drafted a civil suit against the union for malicious prosecution, and after a one-day mediation, obtained a large, confidential civil settlement for his client as the result of the bringing of criminal charges.

In Case No. BA 095127 (1994), Mr. Ritkes’ client was charged with mayhem, and assault with a deadly weapon with great bodily injury, exposing his client to a life sentence.   Mr. Ritkes got the mayhem charge dismissed at the preliminary hearing, and then combined other pending cases into a resolution that involved a plea to assault, with a one-year sentence.  

REAL ESTATE TRIAL HIGHLIGHTS