Southern California Defense Blog

DA OFFICE FILES PERJURY CHARGES AGAINST TWO LAPD OFFICERS FOR LYING IN POLICE REPORTS AND SWORN TESTIMONY

It was reported in the Los Angeles Daily Journal that prosecutors have filed felony perjury charges against two LAPD cops for filing a false police report. This criminal case stems from the two officers becoming involved in a DUI “checkpoint.” The two officers allegedly lied in their police report by claiming that a driver did not stop at a traffic stop – which was the reason they gave for pulling the driver over. Then, one of the officers testified under oath at a DMV hearing to similar facts. The DA’s office claims they have evidence to prove that the two officers lied in their report and that one officer lied under oath at the DMV hearing.

So if you wonder if police officers will lie under oath, the answer is yes. Cops are human. Cops get caught up in wanting to “win the case” and want to make sure that the accused person they arrest is convicted. Some officers unfortunately are willing to lie under oath and to lie in their police reports to achieve the goal they want.

This is a sad commentary on our current justice system. However, this highlights the reason why people who are arrested are presumed innocent in every criminal case. It is critical that if you or a loved one are arrested for any crime, you retain a law firm like Wallin and Klarich – who are willing to fight for you and to stand up to police officers so that the truth can come out in court.

Call the Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys of Wallin & Klarich today at 888-280-6839. With over 30 years of experience defending the rights of many individuals facing all types of criminal matters, our firm will provide you with the legal representation you need through your legal issue. We will be there when you call.

Everyone has read about “road rage” incidents where drivers on the roadway become upset with each other and engage in reckless conduct. Of course we all realize that such conduct is extremely dangerous and can result in serious injury or death when the road rage incident escalates. However, people do not realize that it is highly likely that at least one of the participants engaging in “road rage” will be arrested for assault with a deadly weapon in California (Penal Code Section 245).

If the DA files criminal charges and alleges that a person used his vehicle as the “deadly weapon” in trying to injure another person, he will be facing a possible state prison sentence. In fact, if you drive your vehicle in the direction of another person or vehicle occupied by persons you can be found guilty of Penal Code Section 245 whether or not you actually injure anyone.

However, that is not the end of the “punishment” if you are found guilty of this crime, for conviction for a violation of Penal Code section 245, which includes a finding that you used a motor vehicle in the commission of the crime, will result in your driving privilege in California being revoked FOR LIFE. Yes you read that correctly-FOR LIFE. This means that you can never legally drive in California for the rest of your life. How many people in California can survive without the ability to drive a motor vehicle legally?

I would strongly suggest that the next time you feel yourself getting angry at another driver on the road because you believe they “cut you off” or “cut in front of you,” you take a deep breathe and appreciate all the good things in life. The fact that another driver was “rude” and didn’t follow the rules of safely driving should not be cause for you to retaliate. You can always contact 911 if you believe the other driver is a hazard and may injure others.

Wallin and Klarich has been helping people accused of assault with a deadly weapon charges for over 30 years. We have also helped thousands of people in California when the DMV has been trying to take their driving privilege from them. Please call the Orange County criminal defense attorneys at 888-280-6839 for immediate assistance if you are facing criminal charges for assault with a deadly weapon in Southern California.

If you successfully complete probation for a criminal offense, you are eligible in most cases to retain an experienced Southern California criminal defense attorney to make a motion to expunge your criminal record. However, people are often confused as to what the effect is of a person expunging their record.

If the court grants your motion to expunge your record, you can answer NO on any employment application for a “private employment” when asked if you were convicted of a crime. The law says that private employers should not be able to obtain information about your criminal record once it is expunged.

However, the same is not true if you are applying for a state license, to work in law enforcement, or for any form of government employment. In these circumstances you must tell the truth and admit that you were convicted of a crime. However, then you can tell them your record has been expunged.

If you wish to clear your criminal record in Orange County, please contact the criminal defense attorneys of Wallin & Klarich to receive our immediate assistance at 888-280-6839.

A recent report indicated that as many as 25% of registered sex offenders in some states are finding ways to avoid the strict requirements of California Sex Offender Registration Act Penal Code 290 by obtaining false identifications. The techniques they are using are similar to others who illegally obtain false identities.

This is a particularly serious problem. Those that are required to register as sex offenders have been convicted of crimes that require sex registration. A sexual registration in California, per Penal Code Section 290, comes along with many specific requirements and constraints designed to protect society from the person offending in the future. Often, these constraints require the registered sex offenders to live a substantial distance from schools or parks. Some PC 290 registrants cannot live with any minors or be alone with minors at any time unsupervised. Many registrants are required to wear GPS devices, so police agencies can monitor their whereabouts. If sex offenders, who must register per PC 290, are finding ways to avoid all of these consequences by obtaining fake identifications, they are defeating all of the safety protections of the law.

So long as there are criminal elements in our society who are willing to make some fast money by providing sex registrants with fake identifications, our society will continue to have a problem. One possible solution would be to require all sex offenders to have a GPS device attached to them at all times. In this way they would not be able to “alter their identity” to avoid being located due to the GPS. However, some lower level sex offenders will argue that it is unfair for them to carry the burden of having a GPS device affixed to their person at all times.

This is a very difficult issue, and we would appreciate your comments on this.

For over 30 years, Wallin & Klarich has been helping people facing legal issues in Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Ventura Counties for over 30 years. If you are facing any criminal or family related issue, please call us today at 888-280-6839.

The attorneys at Wallin & Klarich find it shocking that people would question the NCAA's ability to sanction Penn State for the coward “look the other way” conduct of many people in their athletic department. The inaction by so many led directly to innocent children being molested. A Lewd and lascivious act on a child is a very serious offense, and in this case, Sandusky's inappropriate behavior with children will leave scars for many of the victims for the rest of their lives.

The NCAA imposes sanctions when members of the athletic program violate "recruiting rules" and purchase sneakers for players. Additionally, when athletic boosters take out possible recruits to dinner, the NCAA imposes sanctions.

Then, how can it be questioned when the NCAA imposes sanctions on Penn State for ignoring years of lewd and lascivious acts with children by a member of their football staff?
What shocks me is that the "win at any cost mentality" is so pervasive in college sports today that has people overlooking what happened here.

Paterno is dead. It seems only one other person is going to be prosecuted for failing to protect these kids. Who else other than the NCAA is in a better position to punish Penn State?
The NCAA had no choice but to act swiftly to send a clear message to everyone that football "wins" are much less important than protecting those that abuse children.

(Watson Murder)

Punishments for those convicted of Driving under the Influence have increased significantly over the past several years and rightfully so. With so many lives lost at the hands of DUI drivers, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office has made it perfectly clear that if you have a prior DUI conviction and kill somebody when you are impaired by alcohol or drugs, they will have no qualms about charging you with second degree murder in Orange County for each life that is lost as a result of your conduct. A conviction of 2nd degree murder requires a mandatory 15-life sentence in California.

In the vast majority of cases, the person who kills someone while they’re DUI does not intend to kill anybody, but they cause an “accident” where another person dies. It is commonly argued that since there was no intent to kill, the person should not be charged with homicide but rather a lesser charge of gross vehicular manslaughter – which caries a significantly lesser sentence than 2nd degree murder. However, the response to that argument is that a person with a prior DUI conviction knew that Driving under the Influence was a dangerous activity and they consciously disregarded that and chose to drive, meaning they intentionally engaged in a dangerous activity and killed someone. Legally, this is acting with a “depraved heart” and satisfies the intent requirement for 2nd degree murder.

When somebody is killed in a DUI accident nobody wins. The victim’s family suffers the loss of a loved one and nothing will bring that person back. The person responsible faces life in prison which could tear them from their families and loved ones for the rest of their lives. Anytime you or a loved one is facing such serious charges in Orange County, it is imperative that you do everything possible to retain a highly qualified Orange County criminal defense firm like Wallin & Klarich to aggressively represent you and protect your rights. Call us at 888-280-6839 to receive our immediate assistance.

Having represented school teachers throughout Southern California for over 30 years, I can tell you that teachers are trained as to their legal obligation to report "suspected child abuse".

Ideally, teachers would always want to do the right thing to make sure that their students are not abused. However, the problem often arises as to what is "reasonable suspicion" of child abuse. A student comes to class with a bruise on his cheek, and the student says that he "hit himself". The teacher may wonder if the student is telling the truth, but is that "reasonable suspicion" to report a parent for possible child abuse?

Teachers realize that when a report is made, CPS is now going to get involved, and parents are going to be contacted. The system often makes mistakes and takes children away from their parents when parents have done nothing wrong.
Teachers are also human beings with feelings and emotions. So long as the law is written in a manner that states you need to report when you have a "reasonable suspicion" of child abuse, there will always be problems because what may be a "reasonable suspicion" to one teacher may not be “reasonable” to another.

The problem teachers face is that if they do not report, and someone "looking back" feels they should have reported, they could face criminal prosecution.

The safest decision, and the one that will always protect children, is to report anything that may be considered by the teacher to be "child abuse" and let the experts take it from there.

If you have any questions regarding child abuse in Southern California, please call Wallin & Klarich today. For over 30 years, our Orange County child abuse defense lawyers have represented many teachers facing charges for child abuse in California, as well as those failing to report child abuse in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura Counties. Call us at 888-280-6839.

A Complete Waste of Taxpayers' Dollars!

The LA Times reported that Fred Willard was recently arrested for lewd conduct in a public place with the alleged illegal act being committed in an adult porn theater. Please visit our website for more information on Lewd Acts in California.

The crime for which Willard would be prosecuted is a violation of Penal Code Section 647(a). However, to be guilty of that crime you have to have committed a lewd act in a public place where persons were present that would be "offended by the conduct.” That will be extremely difficult for the DA to prove.

Who goes to an adult porn theater that would be offended by someone in the theater exposing their genitals? I would assume the reason people go to such movie theaters is for the specific purpose of being sexually aroused.

More importantly, it is ridiculous that the Los Angeles Police Department spends taxpayer dollars to waste their time to visit these establishments for the purpose of arresting those who come to watch such entertainment.

When serious crimes are being committed outside the theaters, do we REALLY have police officers entering the theater with flashlights looking for males with their penises exposed? Are you kidding me?

We have been defending people accused of this crime for over 30 years, and there is no way that the prosecution will be able to obtain a conviction in this case. Get real LAPD.

Please contact our criminal defense law firm in Los Angeles if you have been accused of lewd conduct PC 647(a) in the area. Call us at 888-280-6839 for immediate assistance. We will be there when you call.

If in fact Joe Paterno was advised of sexual activity between Sandusky and minors -- which in California law would fall under PC 288 Lewd and Lascivious Acts with Child -- he had a legal obligation to report them to the police and social workers. IF he failed to do so and he had been in California, he could have been prosecuted for a crime. I have to assume there is a similar law in Pennsylvania. If it turns out to be true that Paterno knew about the allegations and failed to report them, then it could be argued his inaction lead to many boys being molested, which certainly will leave them with long term psychological scars for years to come. If that is the case, it would only seem justified that his statue be removed from the campus.

His success as a football coach should never "overshadow" the fact (if found out be true) that his inaction would have lead to such horrible consequences to so many young boys.
However, the evidence is not all in, and this must be left to the people at Penn State who will have to make the decision after they review all of the facts. All we know is what is written in this news report and of course there is much more evidence we are not aware of yet.

The Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have represented clients facing all types of criminal charges for over 30 years. If you or a loved one has been accused of a lewd or lascivious act with a minor in California (CPC 288), please contact us today at 888-280-6839 to receive our immediate assistance.

It has been reported that Anthony Serrano, 45, who has been in charge of the Santa Ana Boxing Club for the past 10 years was arrested on Sunday after police received a complaint involving a 15-year-old boy, who is in the boxing program accusing Mr. Serrano of Lewd and Lascivious acts with a minor in Orange County.

The victim was described by police as being a promising young boxer. Serrano allegedly kissed the boy in public at tournaments, as well as at the club, and molested him as many as 50 times over the past year.

"There were several incidents of fondling, as well as physical groping and kissing," said Santa Ana Police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.

Serrano is well known locally for trying to keep young people off the streets through boxing. He was a former gang member who turned his own life around.

"He looks for kids that are vulnerable, kids that are looking up to him as a mentor, looking up to him as somebody to teach them a skill, and he's taking advantage of it," Bertagna said.
Joshua Diaz, the suspect's roommate and a former boxer in the club, claims the alleged victim's mother made up the accusations following a personal dispute with Serrano over an unrelated matter.

"It's all false accusations. It's all a lie, it's a big lie," said Joshua Diaz, the suspect's roommate.
When someone is accused of sexual abuse it is common for everyone to rush to judgment and instead of presuming him innocent (as our law requires) they immediately believe he is guilty.

In this case there are allegations at the alleged victims mother had a motive to make up these allegations. We will not know the truth until a jury decides if in fact he is guilty or not guilty. Our system works if the public will allow it to work and reserve judgment.

If the accused is found guilty the court system will punish him severely and he will have to register as a sex offender. If it turns out that he his not guilty, his life will still be severely destroyed due to the adverse publicity associated with a wrongful accusation of sexual abuse.

If you or a loved one has been accused of lewd or lascivious acts with a child younger than 14 or 15 years old, call the Southern California criminal defense attorneys at Wallin & Klarich today at 888-280-6839. For over 30 years, we have defended innocent individuals who were wrongfully accused of child molestation in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties.

Death Penalty is Costing Tens of Millions of Dollars while we are Sinking Further into Debt

There’s one question that our Los Angeles criminal appeals attorneys at Wallin & Klarich keep thinking about in regard to the death penalty: when will the California legislature put an end to the death penalty in California?

This past week the California Supreme Court decided that a man who has been on death row for almost twenty years should receive a new competency hearing and likely a new trial. For almost twenty years the taxpayers of California wasted a tremendous amount of money to keep this man on death row. Now, after almost twenty years, the court is giving this guy a new hearing. Does this sound nuts to anyone else?

How can it take close to 20 years for the highest court in our state to reach this conclusion? If this defendant was in fact denied a fair trial, why wasn’t that decided 18 years ago? The answer is that our criminal justice system is completely broken when it comes to death penalty appeals.

It often takes years for the court to find a lawyer willing to take on a death penalty appeal. The appeals take literally hundreds of hours to prepare by any competent appellate lawyer. Additionally, the Attorney General must reply and that takes a tremendous amount of time. Then, the defendant’s appellate lawyer can file a reply brief.

This year alone four different death penalty verdicts have been overturned. In each of those cases, the decisions have come years after the original conviction. It was reported two weeks ago that Scott Peterson’s appellate lawyer finally filed their opening brief eight years after Mr. Peterson was sentenced to die.

This is not justice. Justice should be fair, but it also should be swift so both the accused and the victims can have a resolution of the legal matter. The current death penalty law in California must be tossed out.

In November of this year California voters will have a voice. They can either continue to allow this craziness to go on, or they can do the right thing for everyone and say we no longer can “afford” the luxury of “attempting to execute” people for crimes they commit in California. This is both a moral and economic issue. The United States is one of the few civilized nations that permit the death penalty. California is billions of dollars in debt, and we are spending millions on keeping death penalty inmates segregated while in custody. We are paying millions of dollars to lawyers (when we can even find them) who spend years acting as appellate lawyers for death penalty inmates. What makes it even worse is in the last eight months four death penalty convictions were reversed. This means the District Attorneys in these cases may try them all over again, which will cost even more money the state doesn’t have.

We sure would like to know your feelings on this important topic.

The California criminal defense attorneys at Wallin & Klarich count with over 30 years of experience defending clients facing all types of criminal charges. If you or a loved one has been accused of a crime in California, please call Wallin & Klarich today at 888-280-6839 to receive our immediate assistance. We’ll be there when you call.

The Orange County resisting arrest lawyers at Wallin & Klarich want to share with you another interesting new ruling. The Court of Appeals has recently held that any student that “resists” a school security officer can be punished as if he/she is resisting arrest from a police officer. The juvenile can be found guilty of the misdemeanor crime of Penal Code Section 148 (a)(1).

If the juvenile is found guilty of resisting arrest in Southern California, he can be placed in juvenile hall for up to one year and can be ordered to pay a fine of $1,000.

This is serious stuff!

The Court of Appeals found that in effect the school protection officers are acting in the same capacity as a police officer in trying to keep the peace on school property.

When you are facing criminal charges for resisting arrest you need to be represented by an experienced resisting arrest attorney in Orange County. Call us at 888-280-6839 to receive our immediate assistance.

The California drug possession defense lawyers at Wallin & Klarich have represented many client cases pertinent to juvenile drug crimes. With no doubt, many of these kids just need to be understood, and they need to be instructed upon the consequences of their actions.

I don’t intend to criticize or scold anyone with this video, but I do want to tell you a few facts about the illegal selling and purchasing of the prescription drug Adderall, for the punishment for possession of a controlled substance or prescription drug, such as Adderall, can be just as severe as that of cocaine or methamphetamine.

Although the Adderall pill is prescribed to individuals diagnosed with ADHD or other learning disabilities, young individuals and college students –who don’t necessarily suffer from a learning disability—seek the benefits of the Adderall pill to stay awake for a longer time and to increase their concentration during studying hours. However, some of these youngsters do not pursue honest alternatives nor abide by legal means to obtain the Adderall pill. For example, in order to persuade their doctors into providing them with an Adderall prescription, these kids lie about their learning conditions. In fact, The Huffington Post refers to Adderall as the “Most abused prescription pill in America,” especially among college students and young adults (Ricker & Nicolino, 2012). On the other hand, those that do not lie about their health conditions to obtain the pill choose to purchase the pill from someone who does possess an Adderall prescription.

The big question here is whether these kids know – or even care to know – about the consequences and repercussions that they may bring upon their lives as a result of the purchasing and selling of the Adderall pill. Expulsions, criminal records, and halts in their academic success are just a few of the issues these individuals are facing for engaging in this unlawful act.

If you or a loved one is currently facing drug crime charges for possession of a controlled substance in Southern California, call Wallin & Klarich today at (888) 280-6839. Our experienced Southern California criminal defense attorneys have successfully defended clients facing drug possession charges

In yet another twist and turn, the California drug crimes lawyers at Wallin & Klarich provide you with another example of the ongoing battle over medical marijuana dispensaries in Calfiornia. The Los Angeles Court of Appeals ruled that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors could NOT ban all medical marijuana dispensaries in portions of LA County.

The Court of Appeals made clear that current California law controls over local regulations and that a city cannot pass a law that would in effect void a state law.

The battle now shifts to the California Supreme Court which will have to decide the issue. Courts of Appeals in different parts of California have reached entirely different results. This means that the conflict must be decided by our the highest court in California.

If this is not crazy enough, even if the California Supreme Court rules in favor of the medical marijuana locations, the federal government will continue to arrest people claiming that these establishments are in violation of federal law.

This legal matter is highly likely to end up before the US Supreme Court who will have to make the final call.

Wallin & Klarich's highly experienced team of drug crime lawyers in California have successfully represented thousands of individuals facing drug charges in Southern California. If your loved one is facing drug crime charge, please contact Southern California's criminal defense attorneys of Wallin & Klarich. Call us at 888-280-6839 today.

On October 1, 2011 in response to a federal court order that the State of California reduce its horribly overcrowded prison population, the legislature changed the California felony sentencing law and made many lower level felonies in California punishable by time in county jail and not in state prison. What has been the impact of this important law change?

In an 8 month period, since the changes to California's felony sentencing law, the state prison population has dropped by about 24,000 inmates down to 136,187. This is good news. We now rank 2nd to Texas in total inmates in our state prisons. We should be happy to give up first place because the goal is to save millions of dollars by no longer housing low level offenders in state prison.

However, the very bad news is that county jail inmate populations in the state have swelled by over 12,000 inmates. The problem with this is that the county jails were already overcrowded before this new law was passed. Now the conditions are completely unlivable in most counties. In fact, it is reported that 31 out of our 58 counties are at their “cap” and cannot accept any more inmates. Thus, when a new inmate comes into custody, the county jail must release that inmate from doing his jail sentence, or release another inmate to make room for him. This is not how our criminal justice system was designed to run.

This problem is due to the fact that California is hurting for money. While the state promised to provide local counties with substantial additional dollars to house the increasing number of inmates, the local counties have not received any additional funds.

Where do we go from here? What else can we do to keep the most serious criminals behind bars while at the same time releasing those from custody for minimal, non-violent offenses?

We certainly need immediately help because at this pace we will likely see inmates in local county jails unable to cope with the overcrowding and that can only lead to very bad developments in the future.

We would appreciate your comments?

Wallin & Klarich's team of professional felony defense attorneys in Los Angeles counts with over 30 years of experience providing clients facing felony charges with superb legal representation throughout Southern California. If your loved one is currently facing felony charges in California, Call us today at 888-280-6839 for immediate assistance and answers to your questions. When you call us, we'll be there.

The Orange County Child Molestation Lawyers at Wallin & Klarich have learned that a former Orange County priest has plead guilty to charges of molesting a 7 year-old boy at a Costa Mesa church in 1994.

Denis Lyons, 78, of Seal Beach, admitted to four felony counts of lewd conduct with a child younger than 14 in a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Lyons' alleged victim says he was molested in 1994 and 1995 when he was in third grade at St. John the Baptist Catholic School.

Lyons was removed from the church in 2002 after admitting that he had inappropriate sexual relations with adults in 1993. He was also charged with molesting a boy in 1978, but the case was dropped because of a Supreme Court ruling that stopped the prosecution based upon the statue of limitations.

If you or a loved one is ever accused of a sex crime don’t even consider pleading guilty until you have spoken to the experienced Orange County Child Molestation Lawyers at Wallin & Klarich. You can contact our attorneys at 888-280-6839, or fill out our intake form for immediate assistance. When you call us, we’ll be there.

Something is very wrong with our criminal justice system. A man is found guilty of murder in California (PC 187) and sentenced to death. Our justice system is so backed up with death penalty appeals that it takes EIGHT YEARS for the appellate brief to be filed with the California Supreme Court. Now it will take at least another two years for the Attorney General to respond to the appeal filed by Peterson. Then, Peterson’s defense lawyer will take months to file his reply brief. Then, there will be oral argument. There is a good chance that it will be about 11 years from time of verdict to when the California Supreme Court rules on the appeal…..and if they uphold his conviction then the fun really starts.

Peterson will then appeal to the federal courts. These appeals can easily take another 10 years. The cost to the taxpayers for this process is tens of millions of dollars. If Peterson’s death penalty verdict is upheld, he will never be executed. There are 725 people sitting on death row now. Some have been sitting for over 20 years while appeals go on and on and on. The California Supreme Court has ruled that no death sentences can be carried out until it is determined whether the method being used is a “cruel and unusual punishment.”

The bottom line is we have our kids’ education to worry about. Millions of dollars thrown down the toilet dealing with these death penalty cases could be put to use to improve our deficient educational system. We could use some of this money to help our wounded veterans returning from war. So many people are too poor to seek the medical attention they need. These are all good people. They didn’t kill anybody. Yet the DA’s office insists on seeking the death penalty with full knowledge that nobody will ever be put to death. The DA’s office knows the costs of prosecuting a death penalty case. It seems that the desire of DA’s to get publicity and “get ahead” by winning death penalty cases is more important than the millions of dollars being wasted every year.

Let’s get real and get rid of the death penalty for the good of everyone.

If your loved one is currently facing murder charges in Southern California, please contact the criminal defense attorneys of Wallin & Klarich to receive immediate answers to your questions. Call us today at (888) 280-6839.

This is the type of case that the Riverside Child Molestation Defense Attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have successfully defended for decades.

A former San Diego County firefighter--awaiting trial on charges that he raped and photographed his unconscious fiancée in Murrieta--is now accused of molesting two young children, according to Riverside County Prosecutors.

William Robert Bolduc, a 56-year-old San Diego resident, has pleaded not guilty to rape and other sex charges filed in 2010 in connection with the case involving his fiancée. At a hearing in January at the Southwest Justice Center, Bolduc was arrested on four new felony counts of child molestation alleged to have occurred between 2004 and 2006.

Bolduc, who had been released from jail on his own recognizance after his arrest in March 2010, pleaded not guilty to the new charges, court records show. A judge on Wednesday set his bail at $4 million. He was booked into the Southwest Detention Center, and he’s now awaiting trial on charges that could result in decades of incarceration.

If you find yourself accused of any type of sex crime, including those involving child porn or
molestation, do not speak to authorities without first speaking to the California Child
Molestation Defense lawyers at Wallin & Klarich. You can reach us 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week at 888-749-0034, or fill out our intake form for immediate assistance.

The ongoing battle between California medical marijuana laws and the federal government’s laws which restrict such establishments heated up recently when six defendants, including the owners of medical marijuana dispensaries, were arrested on federal charges. Those accused should retain an experienced California drug crimes lawyer to defend them immediately.

While California state law allows for medical marijuana to be lawfully sold from “authorized” dispensaries, the federal government continues to threaten criminal and civil action against such businesses that do not close down their doors. Now the federal government has followed through with its threats, and six defendants face serious criminal charges including conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, and maintaining a “drug-involved premises.”

Clearly those accused were abiding by the laws of the State of California. What has happened is a direct conflict with what California says is legal and what the federal government continues to argue is not legal under federal law. There is little doubt that this case will end up the appellate courts for years to come if those accused are convicted of any federal crimes.

Wallin &Klarich’s team of criminal defense attorneys in Southern California has been successfully defending those accused of drug crimes for over 30 years. If you or a loved one is currently facing drug charges in Southern California, please contact our team of professional criminal defense attorneys of Wallin & Klarich at 888-280-6839.