There are attorneys and then there are litigators. Criminal defense attorney Shaun Khojayan falls into the latter category as someone who is not afraid to go to trial and keep federal prosecutors on their toes.
Running a small practice of two attorneys, a paralegal and a receptionist, Khojayan, 35, specializes in federal cases. He shuttles between offices in San Diego and Beverly Hills, defending clients accused of federal crimes that range from white collar fraud cases to drug charges.
Since graduating with honors in 1998 from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, Khojayan has learned a few tricks in his courtroom training and developed a tool for other lawyers in an often overlooked aspect of trial work: jury selection.
Khojayan, who cut his teeth representing indigent men and women with the Federal Defenders of San Diego Inc. and started his own firm in 2004, has trademarked a system that acts as a sort of crib note for lawyers in the jury selection phase of a trial. He plans to release it next month and charge $150 per packet.
He hopes to lecture to other law firms to explain the methodology and perhaps work on consultation. He also hopes it will bring some national exposure to his practice.
"These juries today, regardless of jurisdiction, carry with them a lot of predisposed opinions about criminal defendants, insurance companies, big corporations--about everybody," he said recently from his office above Spreckels Theatre on Broadway downtown.
The product, called Jury Selection Pro, consists of preprinted cards with questions and potential responses; grids to help organize notes; references to relevant case law that can be cited as a basis for challenges; and specific legal language that can be useful in an appeal.
Most jury selection products on the market are treatises on jury psychology, which offer little use for the trial practitioner, he said.
"After discussions with other lawyers and my own experience, I came to realize what questions got to the heart of the matter and what answers are easier to challenge," he said. "This is a practical use and methodology tool."
Legal Aid
Khojayan described how his system can be applied to a challenge for cause, which is a request to dismiss a prospective juror on reasonable grounds.
"Normally what lawyers do is they don't think of the process beforehand. They go into jury selection and do the best they can," he said. "They think they're being effective, but they're not ready when the judge makes a particular ruling on a cause challenge. They're not ready with the citation and special words to get cause granted and preserve them for necessary appeal.
"After lawyers ask their questions, then the judge will ask what each lawyer's cause challenges are," he said. "What happens is the lawyers panic, they can't read their own handwriting and it's too much information to sift through."
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With proper focus and organization, Khojayan said a lawyer can challenge many jurors without using his six to 10 peremptory challenges, which don't require a reasonable cause to challenge.
"You're left with arguably a fair jury--a jury fair to both sides, but hopefully leaning towards your position," he said.
Khojayan expanded his practice last year to Beverly Hills. He found himself commuting to Los Angeles for cases that were more complex than those in San Diego. Investigators tended to gather more evidence, take more time to bring charges and push for longer sentences.
The move also allowed him to serve the Armenian community in Glendale where he grew up.
With about 400,000 Armenians, Los Angeles is the largest U.S. diaspora of refugees that fled Turkish oppression during World War I, he said.
"You go to a church and it's one big family," he said. "There's always that feeling.
"That's why I have a practice in L.A., to show that I'm a competent Armenian practitioner in federal court," he said. "This is a big service to the community.
"They know they can trust me. I treat all clients equally, but they would know that I care for them on that level as well."
Compact in stature, with short black hair and green eyes, Khojayan shares a large room with Mexico native Adriana Cordoba, whom he hired two years ago just after she graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law.
While studying immigration and family law, which deals with custody issues, Cordoba advocated for indigent clients as a volunteer for Legal Aid Society of San Diego Inc., specializing in property and landlord-tenant issues.
"Immigration is a tough area," said Cordoba. "And family law is messy. No one wins at family law."
Two of A Kind
Boxes of case material stack the wall in the shared office. Both lawyers travel regularly to Los Angeles as well as around the state and as far as New York.
Cordoba says she's getting trial experience that would take years at larger firms.
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