Many Continue To Discover Their Name Has Been Placed On The Child Abuse Central Index, Even When The Claims Turn Out To Be Unsubstantiated.
Many Continue To Discover Their Name Has Been Placed On The Child Abuse Central Index, Even When The Claims Turn Out To Be Unsubstantiated.
The Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) was created by the Legislature in 1965 as a tool for state and local agencies to help protect the health and safety of California's children. Although the idea of protecting California's children by establishing an index of known abusers is theoretically a good idea, the resulting outcome has been that many are listed on the index based on unsubstantiated claims against them. Recent court…
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The Court must be Clear on Restitution Calculations
The California Court of Appeal recently held that a Court abuses its discretion when it fails to make clear the statement of calculation method it used in ordering restitution to the victim of the crime. In People v. Jones, No. C063113, the defendant entered a plea of no contest to driving under the influence and admitted prior DUI convictions. As part of a plea agreement, a charge of hit and…
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Anaheim’s Ordinance on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Nears a Ruling
Medical marijuana users and local governments are paying close attention to the ruling in Qualified Patients Association v. City of Anaheim (G040077). This is a case of first impression that is being heard by the Court of Appeal. The issue is whether local governments can enact regulations entirely prohibiting the operation of medical marijuana dispensaries. California decriminalized medical marijuana in 1996 which is codified in Health & Safety Code Section…
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L.A. Taggers Arrested for Vandalism – California Penal Code Section 594
It was recently reported on LA Times that two men were arrested on suspicion of vandalism. Police officers served search warrants on suspected graffiti vandals and arrested two of the three suspects. The three men are alleged members of a tagging group called PCN, which stands for Painting City Nightly or Painters Causing Nightmares. They are accused of causing $338,000 in damage to freeway bridges and L.A. County properties. Their…
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JUVENILE’S REFUSAL TO CONSENT TO A SEARCH DOES NOT GIVE COPS REASONABLE SUSPICION TO SEARCH
A police officer stopped a juvenile, M, for riding a bicycle without proper lighting. The officer asked M to step away form the bike and take off his backpack. M said he would not consent to a search of the backpack. The officer believe this was a "red flag" and, concerned that M might be armed, he pat-searched M and found a loaded revolver in M's jacket. M challenged the…
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$20 Cell Phone traffic ticket? More like $150
The OC Register reported that, Craig Lowden says he was twirling and driving with his cell phone in his hand last November when he got pulled over in Westminster. "I got a violation for holding the phone in my hand," said Lowden, 37, a Long Beach resident. "I'm going to fight it." On a recent Monday morning, Lowden was one of dozens waiting in line at the traffic counter at…
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California Allows Prior Convictions To Be Used Against A Defendant Even If The Conviction Did Not Occur In California
Evidence of a prior offense is most often used by the prosecution to increase seriousness of the crime or to increase the sentence. For example, a defendant with a prior conviction for driving under the influence, will face much harsher punishments if the prior convictions occurred within 10 years. The California Penal Code allows a foreign conviction to be used as a serious felony prior when the record of conviction…
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A New Law Would Ban Registered Sex Offenders from Facebook and MySpace- How an Experienced Southern California Criminal Defense Attorney Can Help You if You Are a Registered Sex Offender and a Member of One of these Social Networking Sites – California Pe
State law makers and local police are looking to keep convicted sex offenders from online social networks such as MySpace and Facebook, where authorities said sexual predators now roam looking for victims. As minors continue to flock toward social sites such as MySpace and Facebook, so do sexual predators who are looking for victims, officials said. Just as minors are protected from convicted sex offenders in places such as schools…
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Out of State Sex crime Conviction Does Not Mean Automatic Sex Offender Registration in California – California Penal Code Section 290
The California Court of Appeals recently ruled that the defendant in a sex crimes case did not unlawfully fail to register as a sex offender because the least adjudicated elements of her Kentucky offense did not amount to a registrable offense in California. In In re Rodden, 2010 D.A.R. 8428, the Petitioner was charged with failing to register as a sex offender in California. The Petitioner was convicted in Kentucky…
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Driving Under the Influence of Drugs – Expert Testimony along with Defendant’s Actions Sufficient Evidence to Convict – California Vehicle Code Section 23152
The California Court of Appeal recently ruled that evidence supported the conviction of driving under the influence of methamphetamine where the drug was described as one that could impair driving ability and defendant was agitated, paranoid and impaired when stopped. In People v. Benner, 2010 D.A.R. 8942, the defendant was pulled over by police officers for having expired registration tags. The defendant threw a bag out of the window before…
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