24-hour criminal defenceEnglish-speaking criminal lawyer in Orihuela Costa

Criminal defence in Orihuela Costa, in English

Orihuela Costa is largely residential and seasonal, which shapes the caseload: burglaries and squatters in homes that are empty for much of the year, driving offences on the coastal roads, and fraud directed at foreign owners.

Cases arising in Orihuela Costa are dealt with by the courts of the Alicante judicial district, where we are based. That proximity matters: it means being at the police station or before the judge the same day, reading the file in time, and setting the strategy before the investigation hardens in a direction that is difficult to reverse.

What we are usually called about

• Drink driving and refusing the breath test, the single most common charge among foreign residents and visitors. See drink driving.
• Assault after a night out, which escalates faster than people expect. See assault.
• Theft and burglary, both defending and acting for owners of holiday homes.
• Squatters in properties left empty out of season. See squatters.
• Online and bank fraud targeting residents. See cybercrime.
• Drug offences. See drug offences.

If you have been arrested

You have the right to remain silent, to an interpreter, and to choose your own lawyer instead of the duty solicitor. Exercise that last right: the duty lawyer meets your file minutes before your interview.

24-hour emergencies. Call before you make any statement. See also our English-speaking criminal defence hub and our fees.

Second homes, long absences, and the problems they attract

Orihuela Costa is largely residential and seasonal: thousands of properties stand empty for months at a time. That single fact shapes almost everything that brings people here to a criminal lawyer.

Squatters are the recurring nightmare, and the response depends on a legal distinction most owners have never heard of: whether your property counts as a dwelling in use or as an empty property. It decides whether you recover it in weeks or in many months. Burglary is the other constant, often discovered weeks after it happened. And driving offences on the coastal roads round out the list.

If your property is occupied, do not act alone

Do not cut off the water or electricity, do not change the locks, and do not pay them to leave. Each of those can turn you, the owner, into the defendant, and it happens more often than anyone expects. See squatters and illegal occupation.

We handle these matters remotely. You do not need to fly over: we gather the evidence of use, file the complaint with an application for interim eviction, and report to you in English at every stage.

If you have been arrested

Up to 72 hours in custody, the right to silence, a free interpreter, and the right to choose your own lawyer rather than take the duty solicitor. Call before you give any statement. 24-hour emergencies.