NINTH CIRCUIT: APPELLANTS’ DECISION TO REPRESENT THEMSELVES WAS “FOOLISH,” BUT DISTRICT COURT WAS NOT CONSTITUTIONALLY REQUIRED TO APPOINT COUNSEL AGAINST THEIR WISHES
NINTH CIRCUIT: APPELLANTS’ DECISION TO REPRESENT THEMSELVES WAS “FOOLISH,” BUT DISTRICT COURT WAS NOT CONSTITUTIONALLY REQUIRED TO APPOINT COUNSEL AGAINST THEIR WISHES
On July 6, 2010, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal held that the district court did not violate appellants' Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial by failing to appoint counsel in response to the self-represented appellants' unprofessional trial behavior. Prior to trial, the district court gave appellants ample opportunity to have counsel appointed on their behalf but they insisted on representing themselves. In 2004, appellants Kurt F. Johnson and…
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Special Military Court in Orange County, Calfiornia
Tens of thousands of veterans have completed combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and almost inevitably suffer from some level of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Problems and symptoms include: sleeplessness, violent awakenings, flashbacks, nightmares, suicidal ideation, dissociation from events or reality, impotence, and other complications. Unfortunately, those suffering from PTSD often self medicate by abusing alcohol and/or drugs. Military DUI charges, drug charges, domestic violence, and other acts of…
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APPELLATE COURT AFFIRMS MANDATORY SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION FOR INDECENT EXPOSURE, NONMANDATORY REGISTRATION FOR LEWD CONDUCT DOES NOT VIOLATE EQUAL PROTECTION – CALIFORNIA PENAL CODE SECTION 290, PENAL CODE SECTION 314(1), PENAL CODE SECTION 647(A)
On June 29, 2010, the California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, decided People v. Honan, which ruled that mandatory sex offender registration for those convicted of indecent exposure but discretionary registration for those convicted of lewd conduct did not violate equal protection. On February 17, 2008, defendant Donald Honan and Jose Martinez-Gutierrez were at a sauna in a gym. Martinez-Gutierrez testified that while looking at Honan, Honan smiled and stroked…
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VERDICT NEARS FOR WHITE OFFICER ACCUSED OF SHOOTING UNARMED BLACK MAN; OAKLAND PREPARES FOR POSSIBLE RIOTS – CALIFORNIA PENAL CODE SECTION 189, PENAL CODE SECTION 192(A), (B)
On July 2, 2010, the city of Oakland, California, prepares itself for possible rioting as the trial of a white police officer accused of murdering an unarmed black man draws to a close. On January 1, 2009, Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer Johannes Mehserle, 28, shot Oscar Grant after passengers accused Grant and others of fighting on a train. Mehserle claimed that he had meant to subdue Grant with…
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MCDONALD V. CITY OF CHICAGO AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR GUN LAWS – CALIFORNIA PENAL CODE SECTION 12020(A)(1)
On June 28, 2010, the United States Supreme Court decided McDonald v. City of Chicago, a closely watched case that recognized that states cannot infringe a person's right to own a firearm for self-defense in his home. The Court ruled that a law totally banning handgun possession in the city of Chicago was unconstitutional under the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. The Second Amendment states that "[a] well-regulated milita, being necessary…
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New Approach To Eliminating Graffiti: City Attorney Files Civil Injunction Against MTA – California Penal Code Sections 594 & 166
As recently reported in the L.A. Times, the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office is pursuing a new tactic to eliminate tagging and vandalism of public property. The "Metro Transit Assassins" (MTA) are the most notorious tagging crew in L.A. and are responsible for hundreds of acts of vandalism. Last year, seven of their members were charged with a half-mile long "MTA" scrawl on concrete banks of the Los Angeles River.…
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Mexican Governor Candidate Murdered and How a Criminal Defense Attorney Can Help You – California Penal Code section 187 and 189
It was recently reported by the Associated Press that gunmen assassinated the front-running candidate for governor of a Mexican border state. Mexican President, Felipe Calderon, called the murder as a drug cartels seeking to influence local elections. The attackers ambushed governor candidate Rodolfo Torre's car as he headed to the airport in Ciudad Victoria, border state littered with violence as a result of rival turf battles between two drug cartels.…
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MAN WHO PLEAD GUILTY TO SEX CRIME PLACED ON PROBATION – PENAL CODE SECTIONS 459, 460(A), 289(A)(1)
A Chico man who plead guilty to burglary with intent to commit unlawful sexual penetration was placed on probation and his prison sentence was stayed. He faced up to six years in state prison. According to defendant Jeremy Hoptowit, 28, after a night of playing poker with friends, he broke into a house while intoxicated. The victim, a resident of the house, claimed that Hoptowit pushed her onto a bed…
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Police Able To Track Down Burglar After He Left His Birth Certificate At The Crime Scene
Allen Dawes was arrested by law enforcement officers for an alleged burglary of the First St. John's Church in York, Pennsylvania. Police say Dawes broke into the church and stole the collection box, which had been set out for church members to make donations to those less fortunate. Law enforcement was able to track down Dawes as the burglar because Dawes left his birth certificate at the church. Police say…
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Times Square Terrorism Bombing Suspect Pleas Guilty To All Counts
Faisal Shahzad, the suspect in the May 1, 2010 terrorist bombing attempt in New York's Times Square, plead guilty to all 10 counts he was facing. In a case of domestic terrorism, Shahzad attempted to set off a vehicle bomb on a busy Times Square street. The vehicle bomb failed to go off, and Shahzad was arrested 2 days later at New York's JFK International Airport as he attempted to…
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