Southern California Defense Blog

In January of 2012 the U.S Supreme court held that the government’s installation of a GPS device on a target’s vehicle, and its use of that device to monitor the vehicle’s movements, constituted a search under the 4th Amendment. This decision meant that law enforcement was required to obtain a search warrant before installing a GPS device on a vehicle.

The California Legislature responded to the Supreme Court’s ruling by passing Assembly Bill 2055 which changed California law to explicitly allow law enforcement to apply to a judge for a search warrant to install a GPS device.

This response by the legislature was intended to conform California law to the Supreme Court’s ruling however the problem is that AB 2055 only “allows” law enforcement to apply for a search warrant but does not “require” them to. So, this new change in California law really has no practical effect. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that law enforcement is required to obtain a search warrant before installing a GPS device on a vehicle and that is the law of the land regardless of California’s response to it.

A criminal charge in California can lead to the loss of your freedom, reputation, and employment. If you or a loved one is accused of a crime contact the California criminal defense attorneys at Wallin and Klarich. Wallin and Klarich has many years of experience successfully defending clients for over 30 years. We will work to aggressively help you and to ensure that your rights are protected. The attorneys at Wallin & Klarich can be reached by phone at 888-230-6839. We have offices in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Ventura and Orange County. We will be there when you call.

A bench warrant is essentially a warrant for your immediate arrest. Any law enforcement officer who discovers this can take you into custody and bring you before the court. A common way in which people with bench warrants are discovered and taken into custody is when they are stopped for traffic violations. The officer will run their driver’s license and see that there is a bench warrant issued against them.

The most common reasons for why people have a bench warrant issued to their arrest are:

• Failure to appear in court for a traffic violation
• Failure to pay court ordered fees
• Failure to obey any court order (e.g., order to attend classes)
• A violation of the terms of your probation

Bench warrants are called as such because they are issued by the judge from the bench. For example, if the judge calls your case in court, but you are not present, the judge will likely issue a bench warrant.

If you believe that you have a bench warrant out for your arrest, you can hire an attorney to help you resolve the matter. For warrants that involve a misdemeanor, you can hire an attorney to appear in court on your behalf without you being present in court. Your attorney will likely be able to have the warrant recalled and allow you to move on with your life.

Our attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have been in practice for over 30 years and can help you recall your bench warrant. Call us today at 888-749-0034 or visit us online at www.wklaw.com. We will be there for you when you call.

Rap mogul Suge Knight built his reputation on being a thug who happened to work in the rap industry. His label, Death Row Records, signed artists like 2Pac and Snoop Doggie Dog. So when news spread that Knight was facing possible jail time, it really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. The fact that he is facing jail time for unpaid traffic tickets is.

Knight’s criminal defense attorney appeared in a Las Vegas court today to push back a traffic hearing to later this month. Knight did not appear. That apparently, was the original problem as well. Knight received a traffic ticket in 2008, failed to appear in court on that matter and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Knight was arrested in Las Vegas last month on that warrant.

As any criminal defense attorney will tell you, in addition to late penalties and fees for unpaid traffic tickets, ignoring them all together will result in a warrant for your arrest. At that point, the costs and consequences far outweigh temporary procrastination.

In general, a traffic attorney can keep you out of jail and work out some sort of payment arrangement that will get a bench warrant recalled. But at that point, you are much further in the hole financially than you would have been if you dealt with your traffic violation to begin with.

When push comes to shove, it is somewhat humorous that a man with the reputation of Suge Knight is in court because of traffic tickets. But it’s not so funny when it’s you or a loved one.

An arrest warrant is usually a printed form filled in by a judge or magistrate directing any peace officer to arrest a particular individual and bring him or her before the judge. Once a person is arrested, he or she must be taken before the judge without unnecessary delay within 48 hours after the arrest. It is important to keep in mind, however, that the time prescribed by the law to bring a person to a court does not include Sundays and holidays. Saturday is a court holiday in California, so it is practically possible for a person who is arrested on Thursday night to be brought to court only on the following Monday afternoon for his or her arraignment.

A bench warrant, on the other hand, is a document issued by a judge directing any peace officer to bring to court a person or a witness who fails to appear when previously instructed to do so by the court. This type of a warrant is sometimes called "body attachment." Bench warrants for nonappearing subpoenaed witnesses may only be issued when the subpoena was personally served on such a witness. The court will not issue a bench warrant for a witness who was only served with a subpoena in mail. At the same time, when an individual, who is charged with a misdemeanor and is represented by counsel, fails to appear in court when directed to do so by the trial judge, his or her attorney may be permitted to schedule a new date for a next court appearance.

If a warrant is issued for your arrest, you will need an experienced criminal defense attorney to vigorously represent you. At Wallin & Klarich, we have helped people accused of failing to appear in court for over 30 years. Call us today at (888) 764-2615 or visit us at our website at www.wklaw.com/areas1-warrants. We will be there when you call.

The Social Security Administration (“SSA”) implemented a policy seeking to prevent people from using government benefits if they are fleeing from arrest. However, rather than trying to seek out individuals who were actually fleeing from prosecution, SSA used a computer matching system that matched names in warrant databases to those at SSA. Unfortunately, many of these suspensions involved false or unproven allegations, minor infractions or long-dormant arrest warrants. Despite the fact that regulations provide for an appeal process, individuals were inaccurately informed that they could not appeal.

Under the new law, the Social Security Administration has stopped suspending or denying benefits due to the mere existence of a warrant. Now, it can suspend or deny benefits based on outstanding felony arrest warrants only for the crimes of (1) flight to avoid prosecution or confinement, (2) escape from custody, or (3) flight-escape.

However, the law does not apply to persons whose benefits were denied or stopped because of an arrest warrant due to a parole or probation violation.

In addition, if your Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or Special Veterans Benefits (SVB) were suspended due to a felony arrest warrant, the new law may offer you financial compensation. The Social Security Administration agreed to repay more than $500 million in benefits that were unlawfully withheld from 80,000 people whose benefits have been suspended or denied since January 1, 2007.
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Continue reading "Denial of Social Security Benefits Due to Arrest Warrant" »

A recent California Court of Appeals decision in People v. Hirata held that a search warrant is invalid after the passing of a substantial period of time. In this case, the period of time was 84 days.

The defendant (Hirata) was charged with possessing drugs and being part of a drug conspiracy ring. Investigators had built substantial evidence against Hirata and a number of other co-conspirators. Armed with this information, the authorities put together an affidavit and were able to secure a search warrant for a number of the residences believed to be a part of the conspiracy. The search warrant was signed and put into effect on June 14; however, it was not executed (when the search actually took place) until September 4.

Continue reading "Good Faith Exception to the Exclusionary Rule Does Not Apply Where the Search Warrant is 84 Days Old - Penal Code Section 1538.5" »

In general, police must have a warrant before entering a residence. Of course, certain exceptions apply to the general rule which requires a warrant before entry. One such exception is known as the, "emergency exception." The emergency exception is often used by police and prosecutors to justify a warrantless entry. Hiring a Riverside criminal defense attorney who can identify all constitutional violations by the police may mean the difference between jail and freedom in your case.

The emergency exception contains three elements, as follows:

1. Police must have reasonable grounds to believe that there is an emergency at hand and an immediate need for their assistance for the protection of life or property


2. The search must not be primarily motivated by intent to arrest and seize evidence


3. There must be some reasonable basis, approximating probable cause, to associate the emergency with the area or place to be searched United States v. Martinez (2005) 406 F.3d 1160.

Continue reading "Police Entry into Residence Without a Warrant - What is the "Emergency Exception" to the Warrant Requirement? (Part 2)" »

Several recent Court rulings have addressed the issue of consent entry into one's residence. The issue of lawful consent becomes more complex when dealing with a residence shared by two occupants. In Georgia v. Randolph (2006) 164 L Ed.2d 208, the court held that if two occupants are at the door and one says officers may enter and the other refuses consent to enter, then officers cannot enter unless there is some other basis for doing so.

Whenever dealing with law enforcement entry into the home, it is necessary to consult an experienced Orange County criminal defense attorney who can advise you of your constitutional rights. Fourth Amendment search and seizure violations are very common and highly relevant to the outcome your case. Identifying any and all constitutional violations may mean the difference between jail and freedom.

Continue reading "You Have Legal Rights When You Share a Residence and Refuse Police Officers Request to Search Your Home or Apartment (Part 1)" »

Two leading domestic violence cases, People v. Frye (1998) 18 Cal.App.4th 894 and People v. Wilkins (1993) 14 Cal.App.4th 761, have held that law enforcement entries into a suspect’s home were lawful as consent entries. The court in People v. Frye stated as follows; it may be inferred from the fact the victim and defendant resided together in the apartment that the victim possessed authority to consent to the officer's entry.

Consent to enter may be express or implied. For example, officers were standing outside the open door asking the victim who had hurt her. The victim motioned to the defendant lying on the couch inside the home. The officers stepped into the apartment to see who the victim was pointing at. Such actions provide sufficient indication of victim's consent to the entry.

Continue reading "Domestic Violence - Officer's Entry Into Suspect's Home Found To Be Lawful Based Upon Express or Implied Consent (Part 3)" »

In the context of an officer's warrantless entry into your residence, the most important issue is objective reasonableness. Whether, under the circumstances of your case, the officer's warrantless entry into your residence was objectively reasonable. If so, the "exigent circumstances" expection to the general warrant requirement may apply to justify the entry.

A common issue in domestic violence cases is whether the officer responding to the scene should have secured a warrant before entering the residence. The police and prosecution will argue that any delay to obtain a warrant would have posed a safety risk to the alleged victim. On the other hand, defense counsel may have facts which go to show that abandoning the scene to obtain a warrant was unlikely to expose the alleged victim to further harm.

Continue reading "Domestic Violence - Exigent Circumstances May Justify An Officer's Warrantless Entry Into Your Residence (Part 2) " »

The US Supreme Court has announced recently that it will hear the case of a man who was arrested in his home by officers who did not have a warrant. In the case, the man, Afton Callahan, of Utah, was being investigated by police for allegedly selling meth-amphetamine out of his home. The police sent an undercover informant into Callahan’s home to purchase illegal drugs. When the informant, who was wearing a wire, purchased the drugs, he signaled police, who, without the benefit of a warrant, entered Callahan’s home and arrested him. Criminal charges were subsequently dropped against Callahan when the criminal court ruled that the conduct by the officers violated Mr. Callahan’s Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.

Mr. Callahan subsequently filed a lawsuit against the police in federal court for violating his constitutional rights. The US District Court dismissed his case, and, on appeal, the US Court of Appeals re-instated the lawsuit and the officers sought review before the US Supreme Court.

Wallin & Klarich gets calls from across the country on arrest warrants. One situation that comes up is Social Security checks a person for warrants. They may find a warrant that is decades old. They will threaten to cut off Social Security because of the warrant. Naturally that’s a high problem if you are outside San Diego. An attorney may be able to get the warrant recalled and the case handled without you ever appearing. Social Security is satisfied if the warrant is recalled. It’s simply cost effective to hire the lawyer and start the ball rolling. That’s one of the things we do, and do right, at Wallin & Klarich.

Call Wallin & Klarich and we can answer any legal questions you may have. You can also check out our website at www.wklaw.com.

Think you have an arrest warrant in San Diego County? It’s easy to find out. You can search by name on the San Diego County Sheriff’s web site. You have a warrant for your arrest? If you do, you need a lawyer. Recently persons with warrants have been arrested and thrown in jail when they came to court on their own. They have gone to the court clerk and asked to see the judge. The clerk sees the warrant and calls the sheriff. You’re arrested at the court!

In San Diego you need a competent lawyer to handle the matter. The lawyer goes to court for you. If the warrant is for a misdemeanor, you may never have to appear! If you have a felony warrant in San Diego County, the lawyer will get the case before a judge. You don’t get arrested at the clerk’s window!

Do you need a warrant recalled? Then you need a competent and aggressive lawyer from Wallin & Klarich. Give us a call at 888.280.6839.