Orange County Criminal Attorney Blog

A woman accused of drugging and mutilating her husband was indicted on Thursday, January 5 for felony counts of aggravated assault and mayhem. The case has captured considerable media attention for its gruesome and prurient allegations. She was scheduled for arraignment in Santa Ana on January 9, but the court continued the matter until February 2. She is still in custody on $1 million bail.

Catherine Kieu is accused of drugging or poisoning her husband in July 2011. While he was unconscious, she then allegedly tied him to the bed, cut off his penis with a 10-inch kitchen knife, and threw it in the garbage disposal. She turned on the disposal, effectively destroying the organ. Kieu called 911 herself and was there when emergency responders arrived. They found the husband still unconscious, still tied to the bed, and "bleeding profusely." According to authorities, Kieu confessed and told them that her husband "deserved it."

The husband, whose identity remains anonymous, was taken to the University of California at Irvine Medical Center. Police had reportedly recovered parts of his penis from the garbage disposal. The primary concern once the man reached the hospital, however, was to stop the bleeding. Doctors were not able to reattach his penis, but the man survived.

The couple had gotten married in December 2009. The husband filed for divorce in May 2011, about six weeks before the alleged attack. The two had continued to live together in a condo in Garden Grove.

The case inspired a great deal of media attention. Kieu's claim that her husband "deserved it" led to much speculation as to her motive for the alleged crime, but she has never spoken out again in public on the matter. Since the husband remains anonymous, his side of the story is still unknown. This did not stop people from developing scenarios, some suggesting that he was somehow abusive, and others assuming that she was crazy and violent. In reality, very few facts are known about the incident, and Kieu has pleaded not guilty. The famous nature of the case may make her defense difficult, as much of the country heard about her last summer.

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On Sunday, all of television was abuzz with the news Osama Bin Laden had been "put down" in Pakistan. His crimes against America and the World were beyond description.

It is important for us to get a good look at what pure evil really is. We live in the greatest country on Earth, where the rule of law prevails. This country is the envy of the world. We in America do not have to face, on a daily basis, the type of instability and terror that is the lot of many third world nations.

Because we are shielded from lunatics like Bin Laden, I think we sometimes lose our perspective. As a criminal defense attorney in Orange County, California, I represent people on everything from DUI to domestic violence. When I read the paper or speak to regular citizens, I am surprised by the venom directed against the criminal defendant. It is important to understand the vast majority of people caught up in the criminal justice system, I would say 95%, are average Americans like you and me who have made mistakes. These are not evil people out to destroy our way of life. They are our fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters and friends.

We should show those citizens caught up in the criminal justice system forgiveness and understanding. It is easy to point fingers at the monsters that make the headlines everyday and say we are engaged in a war on crime. However, it is important to remember the vast majority of our fellow citizens are deserving of our Christian charity. Who among us could not say: There but for the grace of God go I?

In a motion to set aside a grand jury indictment against Andrew Gallo, counsel for the defendant argued the defendant did not plan to drive, but rather, had a designated driver. Andrew Gallo has been charged with driving under the influence and killing Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two other individuals.

To avoid being arrested for driving under the influence, people often rely on the designated driver. There is really no other area of law, be it domestic violence, theft, drug crimes or what have you, in which people put their own freedom in the hands of an independent 3rd party. Unfortunately, the designated driver is under the same pressure to join the party as everyone else. A person must possess near superhuman powers of self-control in order to be on "guard duty" for a group of drinkers.

As stated in Mr. Gallo's paperwork, the designated driver got drunk, thus, Mr. Gallo drove. It might be better to call a ride than to depend on the services of a designated driver.

To anyone who has traveled in Southern California, traffic jams are a part of everyday life. The traffic jam Northern China is now experiencing, however, dwarfs anything Southern California has ever seen. The traffic jam, nearly 60 miles long and expected to last almost 3 weeks, has had some motorists stuck in their cars for 5 days. The truly amazing thing about this mammoth gridlock is the lack of violent road rage. No assaults, batteries, domestic violence or even theft incidences have been reported. I shudder to think what would have happened had this occurred in L.A.