Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner is a highly experienced California criminal defense and DUI attorney with over 24 years of professional legal experience and a distinguished background as a former prosecutor. He provides strategic, results-driven representation in DUI and criminal cases, bringing a unique and insightful command of the California Penal Code, California Vehicle Code, and related criminal laws. Known for being exceptionally prepared and tireless in his advocacy, Mr. Wagner earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his Juris Doctor from Chapman University School of Law in Orange, California, where he served on the Law Review and received both the Dean’s Merit Scholarship and the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence. During law school, he gained valuable experience as a law clerk with the Orange County Alternate Public Defender’s Office and as a judicial extern to the Honorable Justice Edward Wallin (Ret.) of the California Court of Appeal. After graduating, Mr. Wagner served as a Deputy City Attorney for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, one of the largest municipal prosecutor’s offices in the nation, where he prosecuted thousands of criminal cases, including DUI matters, and lectured for the Los Angeles Police Department’s Impaired Driver Apprehension Program (IDAP) and the Los Angeles County Bar Association Trial Advocacy Project. Since entering private practice in 2002, Mr. Wagner has focused on defending clients in criminal courts and DMV administrative hearings, with a strong emphasis on DUI defense. He is among the select DUI attorneys to have completed the NHTSA and IACP DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing Course, and previously managed the Orange County office for Top Gun DUI Defense Attorney® Myles L. Berman, further sharpening his trial and defense strategies. Mr. Wagner has handled thousands of criminal defense cases throughout Southern California, achieving dismissals, acquittals, not-guilty verdicts, and significant charge reductions, including successful jury trial victories in complex DUI cases and the dismissal of serious felony allegations carrying substantial prison exposure. He is authorized to accept both privately retained and court-appointed cases through the Los Angeles Superior Court Indigent Criminal Defense Appointments Program (ICDA) and is admitted to practice in all California state courts, the U.S. District Courts for the Central and Southern Districts of California, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal. Mr. Wagner has represented clients across California and in select out-of-state matters, and remains an active member of the State Bar of California, American Bar Association, and California Public Defender’s Association.