Don P. Chairez

Don P. Chairez

  • Immigration Law, Criminal Law
  • California, Nevada
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Claimed Lawyer Profile
Biography

I have practiced law for 30 years, and since many of my clients were Spanish speaking immigrants, in order to serve them, I handled matters in many different areas of the law. I have handled contract disputes, child custody and divorce actions, challenges to state agencies, personal injury matters, immigration cases, appeals to the US Court of Appeals and numerous criminal cases. Today, I practice mostly in the Federal Courts doing Immigration Law, with an emphasis on aliens of extraordinary ability, business investors, and refugees seeking political asylum. I also do First Amendment law with an emphasis on Election Law. Lastly, I will do criminal cases, because of my years of experience as a prosecutor and as a District Court Judge. Reason for leaving: I am still in private practice. As a District Court Judge, I was humbled by the privilege to be entrusted with the power to make decisions about people’s lives. Like all of the District Court Judges, I presided over criminal and civil law & motion calendars. I heard both jury trials and non-jury trials. In 1995, 1996, 1997 I handled over 20 jury trials each year. As a District Court Judge, I have presided over 65 jury trials, which included death penalty cases, over 20 murder cases, and two civil cases that resulted in multi-million dollar verdicts for the plaintiffs. In July 1994 and within three months of taking of?ce, Harrah’s Casino requested that an injunction be issued against “smut peddlers” that were creating a nuisance at a bottleneck on the sidewalk in front of their casino. In balancing the Free Speech interests versus the private property interests of the casino, I ruled in favor of Harrah’s and granted the injunction in an attempt to eliminate the nuisance. I noted that there was a distinction between the “political speech” protections for union protestors or J ehovah’s Witnesses passing out religious literature to tourists, and the “commercial speech” protections that the sm

Practice Areas
Immigration Law
Asylum, Citizenship, Deportation Defense, Family Visas, Green Cards, Immigration Appeals, Investment Visas, Marriage & Fiancé(e) Visas, Student Visas, Visitor Visas, Work Visas
Criminal Law
Criminal Appeals, Drug Crimes, Expungement, Fraud, Gun Crimes, Internet Crimes, Sex Crimes, Theft, Violent Crimes
Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice
California
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Nevada
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Languages
  • English: Spoken, Written
  • Spanish: Spoken, Written
Professional Experience
District Court Judge
Clark County, Nevada District Court
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As a District Court Judge, I was humbled by the privilege to be entrusted with the power to make decisions about people’s lives. Like all of the District Court Judges, I presided over criminal and civil law & motion calendars. I heard both jury trials and non-jury trials. In 1995, 1996, 1997 I handled over 20 jury trials each year. As a District Court Judge, I have presided over 65 jury trials, which included death penalty cases, over 20 murder cases, and two civil cases that resulted in multi-million dollar verdicts for the plaintiffs.
Education
University of Southern California Gould School of Law
J.D. (1980) | Law
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University of Southern California Gould School of Law Logo
Loma Linda University
B.A. (1977) | History
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Honors: Graduated Magna Cum Laude
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Websites & Blogs
Website
Don Chairez Anaheim & Santa Ana Immigration Lawyer
Contact & Map
600 Santa Ana Blvd.
Suite 214 C
Santa Ana, CA 92701
Telephone: (888) 627-9996