Criminal Defence Lawyer · Alicante · 24h Assistance
We do not merely argue cases here: we control consequences.
Full criminal defence before the Alicante courts and the Provincial Court: 24-hour assistance to detainees, fast-track trials, economic and technology-related offences. A criminal defence boutique with offices at Playa de San Juan (Alicante) and El Campello, acting throughout Spain.
In brief. SCJE is a criminal defence firm with English-speaking lawyers and three offices: Alicante (Playa de San Juan), El Campello (Economic Crime and Cybercrime Department) and Madrid. We attend detainees 24 hours a day at any police station on the Costa Blanca, defend residents and visitors before the courts of the province of Alicante and act throughout Spain. Emergency line: 669 30 21 13.
Last updated:
Why it is different
Our practice in Alicante combines two advantages: operational proximity and boutique specialisation. Alicante is home to the city’s investigating and criminal courts, the Provincial Court and an economic, port and tourism sector that generates proceedings of every kind. We appear before all of them using the same method with which we litigate major cases before the Audiencia Nacional: analysis of the case file, our own expert evidence and a strategy defined from the first statement. Every matter, from a fast-track trial to a complex economic case, receives specialist conduct of the defence. We handle emergencies around the clock: arrests, searches and imminent summonses in Alicante and throughout the province.
What we defend
Full coverage of criminal law before the Alicante courts and the Provincial Court.
Immediate attendance at the police station and the Alicante duty court: private consultation and statement strategy.
In-person and online fraud, investment scams and misappropriation: defence and recovery of the money.
Misappropriation of company assets, corporate and tax offences and money laundering: defence of business owners and executives.
Online fraud, unlawful access, disclosure of secrets: with our own forensic laboratory.
Fast-track trials, protection orders and breaches before the specialised courts of Alicante.
Drink-driving, refusal to provide a breath sample and driving without points: defence at fast-track trials.
Defence and prosecution with the utmost evidential rigour and absolute confidentiality.
Property offences: challenging identifications and securing the correct classification.
From street dealing to organised crime: scrutiny of wiretaps, searches and the chain of custody.
Sentencing framework
Our method from the first call to trial. Each stage involves technical decisions, not routine ones.
| Stage | Where | What we do | What we avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| EmergencyArrest · search | Police station | Attendance and private consultation | Rushed statements |
| Duty court | Alicante court | Measures and strategy | Guilty pleas without analysis |
| Investigation | Alicante courts | Evidence and our own expert reports | Unsupervised investigations |
| Intermediate | Defence pleadings | Technical classification | Inflated charges |
| Trial | Criminal court · Provincial Court | Defence at trial | Trials without preparation |
| Appeals | Provincial Court · Supreme Court | Appeal and cassation | Missed deadlines |
| Enforcement | Prison law | Suspensions and prison grades | Avoidable committals |
| Legal persons | 31 bis | Fine · suspension · dissolution | Absence of a compliance programme |
We appear before every court in the Alicante judicial district, the Provincial Court and, where applicable, the Audiencia Nacional and the Supreme Court.
What sets us apart
What makes the difference in Alicante is our method: our own legal intelligence and forensic analysis: computer forensic experts, financial analysis and litigation strategy built into every local defence. We apply LIWARD —Legal Intelligence Warfare for Defense—, our own methodology, which brings legal intelligence, case-law analytics, financial and accounting analysis and e-forensics together into a single litigation strategy. It is what sets us apart from conventional criminal defence.
Mapping of the proceedings, case-law analysis and early detection of evidential weaknesses.
Reconstruction of financial flows and expert examination of the documentation that sustains —or dismantles— the prosecution case.
Chain of custody, admissibility of electronic evidence and traceability of crypto-assets with forensic rigour.
Precise decisions at every stage, from the first police interview to the appeal to the Supreme Court, grounded in risk analysis.
How we work
Immediate 24/7 assistance, preparation of the statement and control of precautionary measures from the very first step.
Examination of the case file, financial and digital expert analysis, and identification of the theory of the case.
Design of the defence or prosecution case, submission of evidence and marshalling of expert evidence.
Defence at trial and, where appropriate, appeals to the Provincial Court, the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court.
Who we represent
Companies in Alicante and the province: corporate criminal risk, compliance and defence of the entity and its executives.
Local business owners and professionals: specialist defence with absolute discretion.
Those arrested or under investigation in Alicante: 24h assistance and technical defence at every stage.
Victims: private prosecution so that the proceedings genuinely make good the harm suffered.
The Spanish criminal process is organised into an investigation phase led by an investigating judge, an intermediate phase in which the opening of the trial is decided, and the trial before the court of judgment. Depending on the seriousness of the offence, jurisdiction lies with the Juzgado de lo Penal or the Audiencia Provincial, with the possibility of appeal and, in the cases provided for, cassation.
Understanding where a case sits in that sequence is the first step in advising realistically on what can be done and by when.
We assist English-speaking clients throughout Spain, with a particular presence in the province of Alicante and along the Costa Blanca. We understand the difficulty of facing proceedings in a foreign legal system and guarantee clear communication in the client’s own language.
Where it helps, we coordinate with lawyers in the client’s home country, so that the defence in Spain fits with any parallel concern abroad.
Criminal matters in the area are handled by the courts of the relevant partido judicial and, for more serious offences and appeals, by the Audiencia Provincial of Alicante. Knowing the local courts and their practice is a practical advantage in the day-to-day conduct of a case.
We appear regularly before these courts and manage attendance efficiently for clients who do not live nearby or who visit only seasonally.
It is advisable to instruct a lawyer from the first contact with the police or the courts, and before making any statement. Timely intervention protects the person’s rights, allows the defence strategy to be set correctly and avoids mistakes that can compromise the outcome.
Whether the matter is an arrest, an investigation or a summons, the earlier we see the file, the more that can be done with it.
Further reading
English-speaking residents
A large share of the criminal matters we handle in Alicante involve British, Irish, Dutch and Scandinavian residents, together with owners of second homes along the Costa Blanca. The situations repeat themselves and, in almost all of them, the outcome depends on what was done or left undone in the first few hours, often before the person has understood what they are accused of.
Police detention. In Spain, detention by the police may not exceed the time strictly necessary for the initial enquiries and, in any event, seventy-two hours, after which the person must be released or brought before the judge (article 520.1 of the Criminal Procedure Act, LECrim). The detainee chooses their lawyer freely, and no officer may recommend one (article 520.5). The lawyer appointed must attend within a maximum of three hours from the moment the Bar transmits the instruction. Until the lawyer is present and has read the police report, nothing should be said.
Drink-driving. Driving with more than 0.60 milligrams of alcohol per litre of exhaled air, or 1.2 grams per litre of blood, is a criminal offence rather than an administrative one (article 379.2 of the Criminal Code), and refusing the breath test is itself an offence punishable with six months to one year of imprisonment (article 383). These cases are usually dealt with under the fast-track procedure, sometimes within days, which leaves very little time to prepare a defence or to negotiate a plea that is actually worth accepting.
Neighbour disputes and cross-complaints. Threats, coercion, assault: what begins as a dispute over a boundary wall or a community of owners frequently ends in a complaint, followed by a counter-complaint. The legal classification turns on details that foreign residents tend to underestimate: an injury that requires medical treatment beyond first aid falls under article 147.1 of the Criminal Code, not under a minor offence.
Squatters in a second home. Occupying without authorisation a property that is not the owner’s dwelling is punishable with a fine (article 245.2 of the Criminal Code); with violence or intimidation, with one to two years of imprisonment (article 245.1). For the non-resident owner the difficulty is not the classification but the evidence and the speed of the response: we act remotely from the first report.
Property purchase and investment fraud. Deposits paid for a property that does not exist or does not belong to the seller, fictitious investment platforms, bank identity theft. The criminal complaint and the application to freeze funds must be filed without delay, in Spain, before the court of the place where the facts occurred.
What the law guarantees you
The Spanish system guarantees every detainee the assistance of a lawyer. If the person does not appoint one, the Bar assigns a lawyer from the duty rota, the turno de oficio. That lawyer is a fully qualified member of the Bar like any other; the difference lies in how they are appointed and in continuity. The duty lawyer acts for the step they were called to; a lawyer of your choice is selected by you and runs the case from the police station to the verdict under a single strategy. The duty lawyer is not automatically free of charge: that depends on being granted legal aid, failing which fees are payable.
You may replace the duty lawyer with a lawyer of your choice at any time, including after police detention and before appearing in front of the judge. What matters is that the appointment is communicated before the hearing, not after it.
As a foreign national you are also entitled to the free assistance of an interpreter if you do not understand Spanish, to have your detention and place of custody notified to your country’s consulate, and to be visited by your consular authorities (article 520.2, letters e, g and h of the LECrim). The notice of rights must be handed to you in writing, in a language you understand. The interpreter translates; the interpreter does not advise. Only your lawyer can tell you whether to answer questions or remain silent.
We conduct the defence in English, directly and without intermediaries, from our Alicante office and across the thirteen judicial districts of the province.
Police detention
Most of the criminal matters we handle begin with a call from a National Police station, a Guardia Civil barracks or a local police station somewhere in the province. What happens over the following hours is regulated in detail by article 520 of the Spanish Criminal Procedure Act (LECrim), and knowing it before it happens is the best defence available.
The notice of rights. Every detainee must be informed in writing, in simple language and in a language they understand, of the facts attributed to them, the reasons for the detention and their rights: to remain silent or to give a statement only before the judge; not to incriminate themselves; to appoint a lawyer and be assisted by them without undue delay; to access the elements of the file essential to challenge the detention; to have a relative informed of the detention and the place of custody; to make a telephone call to a third party; to be assisted free of charge by an interpreter; and to be examined by the forensic doctor. A foreign national is additionally entitled to have their consulate notified and to receive a consular visit.
What the lawyer does at the police station. Article 520.6 defines the assistance: requesting that the detainee be informed of their rights and, where appropriate, medically examined; intervening in the statement, identification parades and reconstructions; having any incident recorded in the minutes; informing the detainee of the consequences of consenting or refusing the procedures proposed; and meeting the detainee in private. In practice the most important decision taken at the police station is whether to give a statement or reserve it for the judge, and that decision depends on what the lawyer has been able to learn from the police report.
The time limit. Detention may not exceed the time strictly necessary for the enquiries and, in any event, seventy-two hours, after which the detainee must be released or brought before the judge. If that limit is exceeded, or the detention was carried out without the legal grounds or without respecting the detainee’s rights, the habeas corpus procedure of Organic Law 6/1984 obtains the immediate production before a judge of any person unlawfully detained.
The hearing before the duty judge. Once the detainee is brought before the investigating section of the Court of First Instance on duty, the judge, unless ordering release without bail, convenes as soon as possible and within seventy-two hours the hearing under article 505, at which the prosecutor or the accusing parties may request pre-trial detention or release on bail. The suspect appears assisted by their lawyer and may argue and propose evidence. It is the most decisive hearing of the whole initial phase, because it determines whether the suspect awaits trial at liberty or in prison.
When pre-trial detention may be ordered. Article 503 requires three cumulative conditions: that the offence carries a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment or more, or less where there are unexpunged convictions for an intentional offence; that there are sufficient grounds to believe the suspect responsible; and that detention serves a legitimate purpose, such as preventing a risk of flight, assessed on the nature of the facts, the severity of the penalty and the family, employment and financial situation of the suspect. Article 502.2 adds that it is only ordered when objectively necessary and no less onerous measure achieves the same ends. For a foreign resident, a stable home in the province, documented employment or business activity and family ties are, in practice, the arguments that weigh most at that hearing; they should be gathered before it takes place.
Fast-track procedure
A very substantial share of criminal cases in the province are not dealt with under the ordinary abbreviated procedure but under the fast-track procedure for certain offences, the juicio rápido. Article 795 of the LECrim reserves it for offences punishable with up to five years’ imprisonment, where proceedings are opened on a police report, the person has been arrested and brought before the duty court or summoned before it as a suspect, and one of the listed circumstances applies, starting with flagrante delicto.
The practical consequence is that the investigation, the charging decision and, frequently, the judgment are concentrated in the duty court itself, within hours. Drink-driving, assaults arising from fights, thefts, threats and breaches of restraining orders routinely follow this route before the courts of Alicante, Elche, Benidorm, Torrevieja, Orihuela and the remaining districts. There is no time to prepare anything afterwards.
The rewarded plea. Article 801 allows the accused to plead guilty before the duty judge where no private prosecutor has joined the case, the prosecutor has filed the indictment on the spot, the facts are classified as an offence carrying up to three years’ imprisonment, and the sentence sought, reduced by one third, does not exceed two years. The judge then hands down a judgment on the plea imposing the sentence sought reduced by one third, even below the statutory minimum, and rules immediately on suspension. An undertaking to pay the civil liability within the period set by the court is sufficient for suspension to be granted.
The one-third reduction is real and is often the best outcome. But a plea creates a criminal record, with the consequences explained below, which matter particularly for a foreign resident, and the reduced sentence does not always justify abandoning a defence that had prospects. That assessment requires reading the police report calmly and knowing the practice of each court; it is precisely what a lawyer of your choice brings to the duty court.
Victims
Many of those who consult us are not suspects but victims: of a fraud, an assault, a squatting, an accident with injuries. In Spanish criminal procedure the victim may simply report the offence and leave the prosecution to the public prosecutor, or join the case as acusación particular with their own lawyer. The difference is substantial.
Article 109 of the LECrim requires the injured party, when examined by the judge, to be informed of their right to become a party to the proceedings and to waive or not the restitution, reparation and compensation. Article 110 allows the injured party to join before the charging stage, bringing the civil claims that apply, without the proceedings being set back; those who join after that point may still pursue the criminal action until the trial opens, by adhering to the prosecutor’s indictment. Not joining does not mean waiving compensation, which is only lost by a clear and express waiver.
Joining the case allows you to propose investigative steps, appeal against a dismissal, classify the facts on your own analysis, request precautionary measures over assets to secure compensation and, in offences prosecutable only on the victim’s complaint, obtain an order for costs. In fraud cases, where recovering the money depends on someone asking in time for accounts to be frozen and assets seized, joining early is frequently the difference between being paid and not. For non-resident owners we run the whole procedure remotely.
Appeals
The judgment is not necessarily the end. Judgments of the criminal section may be appealed to the Provincial Court of Alicante within ten days of notification, under article 790 of the LECrim; within three days of notification a copy of the recording of the trial may be requested, which suspends the time limit. Judgments delivered at first instance by the Provincial Court may in turn be appealed to the Civil and Criminal Chamber of the High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community under article 846 ter. Against the second-instance judgment, an appeal in cassation to the Supreme Court lies in the cases set out in article 847.
The time limits are short and cannot be extended, and the appeal has a defined content: breach of procedural rules and guarantees, error in the assessment of the evidence and infringement of the law. A well-built appeal starts at the trial, with the objections and requests recorded in the minutes that later allow a breach of defence rights to be argued.
Legal aid
The right to free legal assistance belongs, under article 3 of Act 1/1996, to individuals who, lacking sufficient assets, have gross annual household income not exceeding twice the public income indicator (IPREM) for a single person, two and a half times for a household of fewer than four members, and three times for a household of four or more. Recognition is processed by the Legal Aid Commission through the Alicante Bar. It is open to foreign nationals, resident or not, under the same means conditions.
Two common misunderstandings deserve clearing up. First: the duty lawyer who attends at the police station is not free merely because they are court-appointed; if legal aid is not subsequently granted, their fees are payable. Second: someone who does not qualify for legal aid is not obliged to keep the duty lawyer, and someone who does qualify may waive the benefit and appoint a lawyer of their choice at any time. In both cases what is being decided is who conducts the defence, and that decision should be taken before the first statement, not after it.
After conviction
Substitution of the sentence by expulsion. Article 89 of the Criminal Code provides that prison sentences of more than one year imposed on a foreign national are replaced by expulsion from Spanish territory. The court may exceptionally order part of the sentence to be served, up to two thirds, and replace the remainder by expulsion. Two limits protect the established resident: substitution does not apply where, in view of the circumstances of the offence and of the person, in particular their roots in Spain, expulsion would be disproportionate; and the expulsion of a European Union citizen is only possible where they represent a serious threat to public order or public security, with stricter conditions for those who have resided in Spain for ten years. Since the United Kingdom left the Union, British residents no longer benefit from the EU citizen rule, and the disproportion argument based on roots in Spain becomes decisive; it has to be argued from the first hearing, because the court rules on substitution in the judgment itself.
The criminal record. Every conviction, including one obtained on a plea, is entered in the Central Register of Convicted Persons. Article 136 of the Criminal Code sets the periods for expungement, counted from the day after the sentence is served and provided no further offence is committed: six months for minor penalties; two years for penalties not exceeding twelve months and those imposed for negligent offences; three years for other intermediate penalties below three years; five years for intermediate penalties of three years or more; ten years for serious penalties. Until expunged, the record weighs in residence and nationality applications and prevents suspension of a later sentence.
Limitation. Article 131 sets the limitation periods for offences: twenty years for those punishable with fifteen years’ imprisonment or more; fifteen where the maximum exceeds ten years and is below fifteen; ten where the maximum exceeds five years and does not exceed ten; five for the rest; one year for minor offences and for slander and libel. Checking whether the facts are time-barred is the first thing we do when a client receives a summons for old facts.
Costa Blanca
Each page explains which court hears cases arising in that town, how far it is from our offices and the situations we most often see there among British, Irish and other English-speaking residents and visitors.
Frequently asked questions
The time strictly necessary for the initial enquiries and, in any event, no more than seventy-two hours, after which the person is released or brought before the judge (article 520.1 of the LECrim). The appearance takes place before the investigating section of the Court of First Instance on duty in the district where the arrest was made.
Yes. The law guarantees a foreign national who does not understand Spanish the free assistance of an interpreter, notification of the detention and place of custody to their consulate, and a visit from their consular authorities (article 520.2 of the LECrim). We conduct the defence directly in English.
Yes, at any time. The detainee or suspect appoints their lawyer freely (article 520.5 of the LECrim). If a duty lawyer attended at the police station, you may appoint a lawyer of your choice for everything that follows, including the appearance before the judge, provided the appointment is communicated before the hearing.
Within a maximum of three hours from the moment the Bar transmits the instruction (article 520.5 of the LECrim). We attend twenty-four hours a day across the thirteen judicial districts of the province of Alicante.
The investigation is conducted by the Court of First Instance of the district where the facts occurred. Minor offences and those carrying up to five years of imprisonment are tried by the criminal section of that district; more serious offences by the Provincial Court of Alicante, which has criminal sections sitting in Alicante and in Elche.
For a foreign national, prison sentences of more than one year are in principle replaced by expulsion (article 89 of the Criminal Code). Substitution is excluded where it would be disproportionate given the person’s roots in Spain, and expulsion of an EU citizen is only possible in case of a serious threat to public order or security. British residents no longer benefit from the EU rule, so the roots argument must be made from the outset, because the court decides this in the judgment.
Yes, under the same means test as Spanish nationals: gross annual household income not exceeding twice the IPREM for a single person, two and a half times for a household of fewer than four and three times beyond that (article 3 of Act 1/1996). The duty lawyer is only free if that right is granted.
From six months for a minor penalty to ten years for a serious one, under article 136 of the Criminal Code, counted from the end of the sentence and provided there is no reoffending. While it remains, it weighs in residence and nationality procedures.
It is an admission of the facts in exchange for a sentence reduced by one third, available before the duty judge where the sentence sought does not exceed three years and, once reduced, two years (article 801 of the LECrim). It creates a criminal record. It should only be accepted after a lawyer has read the police report and assessed the prospects of a defence.
Société de Conseil Juridique et Expert
An early conversation can change the course of the whole case. Let us talk before the proceedings decide for you.
Alicante is home to the Ciudad de la Justicia courts complex, in the Benalúa district, and to the seat of the Provincial Court of Alicante. Our firm has an office at Playa de San Juan (Av. Ansaldo 31, unit 16), a few minutes from the main judicial bodies, which allows us to attend quickly for any urgent step.
Following the reform introduced by Organic Law 1/2025, the city’s former investigating and criminal courts have been merged into the Court of First Instance of the Alicante judicial district, organised into divisions. The investigation is conducted by the Investigation Division, less serious offences are tried by the Criminal Division and the most serious ones before the Provincial Court of Alicante. Appeals are decided by the Provincial Court itself and, where applicable, before the Civil and Criminal Chamber of the High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community, with cassation appeals before the Supreme Court.
We handle every matter using the LIWARD methodology and with the support of the group’s forensic laboratory, including in cases of particular complexity.
More information: 24-hour assistance to detainees, drink-driving offences in Alicante, theft and burglary in Alicante, our LIWARD methodology, criminal defence lawyer in San Vicente del Raspeig and criminal defence lawyer in Elche.
It is located in the Benalúa district. It houses the investigation and criminal divisions of the judicial district and the Provincial Court. Our Playa de San Juan office is just a few minutes away.
Yes. You may appoint a lawyer of your choosing at any stage of the proceedings. We take care of obtaining the formal handover from the previous lawyer and of collecting the case file without your missing any deadline.
It depends on the court’s workload and the complexity of the case. In fast-track trials it can be a matter of days or weeks; in abbreviated or ordinary proceedings, months. We give you a realistic estimate at the first consultation.
New areas: fast-track trial, minor offences, restraining orders and their breach, juvenile criminal law and misappropriation of company assets.
Also: driving without a licence, careless driving and hate crime, and extradition and the European Arrest Warrant.
A directory of our English-language guides: criminal procedure step by step, specific offences and local defence pages. Every guide is written by our criminal lawyers and reviewed against the Spanish sources.
Each page identifies the competent judicial district, the criminal caseload characteristic of the town and the arrest-attendance procedure during the first seventy-two hours.
Answers to the questions that arise most often in criminal proceedings in Spain, together with the profiles of the lawyers who will handle your case.
Browse every English-language page of the firm: criminal law subject areas, town guides across the province of Alicante and the frequently asked questions section.
Société de Conseil Juridique et Expert is a law firm with offices in Madrid, Alicante, London and Paris, specialising in criminal law, technology law and economic and corporate crime. We provide strategic guidance in complex criminal proceedings, intellectual property and technological resources for legal decision-making with advanced forensic analysis. Our multidisciplinary team combines legal experience, legal intelligence and personal attention to deliver effective solutions adapted to each case. Legal assistance available 24 hours a day and online consultations.
Copyright © 2026 Société de Conseil Juridique et Expert S.L.
