Southern California Defense Blog

Connie Keel was charged with first-degree murder for participating as an aider and abettor in the robbery of a liquor store that resulted in the death of the store clerk. Keel was convicted of murder in California at her 1981 trial, even though she was never accused of killing anyone with her own hands. To this day, Keel claims that she had no idea that her husband and cousin intended to rob the liquor store. However, under California’s Felony Murder Rule, prosecutors successfully charged her with first-degree murder. The penalty for first-degree murder is 25 years to life.

The Felony Murder Rule allows prosecutors to charge a defendant with first degree murder, if any homicide is committed during the course of specified felonies—such as robbery, rape, and burglary. An aider and abettor is anyone who helps the principal offender commit the crime. Keel is alleged to have waited in the getaway car while her husband and cousin robbed, and ultimately shot and killed the liquor store clerk.

The Felony Murder Rule is inscribed in California Penal Code Section 189. It states in pertinent part that “all murder… which is committed in the perpetration of, or attempt to perpetrate, arson, rape, carjacking, robbery, burglary, mayhem, kidnapping…, is murder of the first degree.” California also recognizes the offense of second-degree murder, punishable by sentences of 15 years to life, for homicides committed during the course of other felonies not referred to in the statute but deemed “inherently dangerous to human life.”

Continue reading "Under California's Felony Murder Rule, an Unarmed, First-Time Offender Served 29 Years in Prison for Waiting in a Getaway Car During a Robbery" »

The Court Has Authority to Modify Probation at Any Time During the Probationary Term –Success Requires the Knowledge and Skill of an Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney

Penal Code section 1203.3 provides in pertinent part as follows: (a) “The court shall have authority at anytime during the term of probation to revoke, modify, or change its order of suspension of imposition or execution of sentence. The court may at any time when the ends of justice will be served thereby, and when good conduct and reform of the person so held on probation shall warrant it, terminate the period of probation, and discharge the person so held.”

The trial court is therefore authorized, during the time of probation upon proper showing, to modify probation. People v. Marin (1957, 4th Dist.) 147 Cal.App.2d 625, 627. 605 P.2d.659.

If you or a loved one is interested in having probation modified or terminated, contact a skilled California criminal defense lawyer from Wallin & Klarich for a free consultation and case evaluation. Wallin & Klarich has over 30 years helping clients in all aspects of criminal defense including probation modification and termination.

You can speak to one of our attorneys by calling now at 1-888-280-6839, or visit us on the web at www.wklaw.com for more information about setting up an appointment.

Wallin & Klarich has been helping people who have been accused of violating their probation for over 30 years. Whether you were placed on probation for a misdemeanor offense or a felony, you should consult counsel before having to appear before the Court. When placed on probation, the Judge in essence, suspends jail/prison time over your head. If you violate any term or condition of that probation, the Judge can sentence you for up to the amount of jail/prison time you were originally looking at when you plead guilty to that crime. Thus, your exposure to serving jail time is enormous. You can violate probation by not doing what the Court ordered you to do, such as:

-failure to pay a fine
-failure to attend or complete an alcohol or drug program
-for testing dirty to your probation officer if you were on formal/supervised probation
-for failing to report to jail to start a jail sentence
-for failing to complete community service
-for violating a law
-for possessing material that you were previously ordered not to possess (ie. firearm, checks, credit cards, pornography, etc)
-for making contact with a person you were told you could not contact.
-for failure to make restitution to victim.

Whatever the reason is for an alleged violation of probation, jail time or prison time exposure is all the reason you need to hire a competent and experienced California criminal defense attorney at Wallin & Klarich. Call us anytime.

When a defendant pleads guilty to a felony and is not sentenced to prison, he is usually placed on felony formal probation. That means he will have a probation officer and that he must comply with specific terms of probation. If the probation officer believes that he or she has violated the terms of his probation, the probation officer will ask that the felony warrant go out for the defendant’s arrest. In almost every county in California, the defendant is then arrested and held on a NO BAIL HOLD STATUS.

A “NO BAIL HOLD STATUS” means that the defendant will remain in custody for several weeks while the matter is investigated. The defendant will not be permitted to post bail while the probation violation matter is pending. In these cases it is extremely important to retain a skilled criminal defense attorney.

Continue reading "Are you facing a felony probation violation? If so, it is still possible to stay out of prison." »

A parolee that is arrested for a parole violation will have a “parole hold” placed on him or her at the time of arrest. This parole hold makes it so the parolee cannot be bailed out of custody.

If the parolee is arrested for a NEW CRIME, it is best to have the parolee waive his right to a speedy probable cause hearing until the court case is disposed of. The parolee will need to sign a waiver and when the new case is complete, you contact the board of prison terms and speak with the person in charge of setting the hearings and ask to schedule the hearing.

If the criminal case was won or dismissed, this is good evidence; however, the burden of proof for a criminal case is beyond a reasonable doubt. In a parolee hearing it is a preponderance of the evidence (or a tip of the scale). So, just because the criminal case is dismissed or a not guilty verdict is returned, the parolee is still not guaranteed that the parole charges will be dismissed.

If the parolee was convicted of the new case or pled guilty, most any defense attorney will know to make sure to ask that the time is ran concurrent with any parole violation. Then when you call to schedule the probable cause hearing and get a date for that hearing, you will speak with the Commissioner conducting the hearing and let them know what time they received the new crime. With a new conviction, it is almost guaranteed that the parolee will receive a 1 year sentence and it will be run concurrent to the conviction sentence. But if the new crime the parolee pled to was a misdemeanor and he or she received less than 1 year, depending on the circumstances at the probable cause hearing, you may want to set it for a revocation hearing if you are not able to get the Commissioner to give the parolee something less than 1 year. (ie. The same time they received on the misdemeanor charge).

Continue reading "WHAT YOUN NEED TO KNOW IF YOU ARE FACING A PAROLE VIOLATION - YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO HIRE YOUR OWN LAWYER" »

It is important to understand HEARSAY evidence and its relevance at probation and parole violation hearings.

PAROLE revocation and PROBATION revocation after the imposition of a sentence are constitutionally indistinguishable. Parole and probation revocation is NOT part of a criminal prosecution and therefore not all of the rights due a defendant in a criminal procedure apply.

However, due process does require that a defendant at a probation revocation hearing be afforded, at a minimum, certain rights including, the right to confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses.

The well-trained and well-respected attorneys at Wallin & Klarich understand when and how to object to adverse hearsay evidence.