Could Ryan Lochte Face Criminal Charges for Lying to the Police? (PC 148.5)
Could Ryan Lochte Face Criminal Charges for Lying to the Police? (PC 148.5)
You get into an argument with your roommate, and he decides to move out. After he leaves, you are still angry, so you call the police and make up a story about your roommate stealing your furniture. Can you go to jail for lying to the police? At a bar with your friends, you get into a shouting match, and then one of your friends punches you. The cops are…
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What Conditions Can a Judge Place Upon You if You are Convicted of a Crime?
Persons convicted of sex crimes against children are often required to stay away from parks and playgrounds as part of their sentence. Someone in California who is convicted of drunk driving could be ordered to stay away from liquor stores. So, is it unconstitutional to order a man convicted of stealing from Home Depot to stay away from any Home Depot store? If you are convicted of a crime and…
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Orange County Cracking Down on Video Game Gambling
Video games, increasingly looked at as a way to have fun by people of all ages, is quickly becoming a cause of concern in Orange County. Some residents of Orange County are using video games to transform their private homes into illegal gambling arcades, and in doing so, they could be facing serious consequences. Rise of Slaphouses in Orange County Many homes in Southern California have set up arcade video…
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Should California Redefine Rape Laws?
Recently, the nation was fixated on the light punishment for 20-year-old Stanford student Brock Turner, who received a sentence of only six months in jail after he was convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman. Well, your Facebook friends and relatives weren’t the only ones paying attention to this case. It got the attention of California lawmakers, who are now attempting to redefine rape laws in the state. The Definition…
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Netflix and No Chill: Is Sharing Your Netflix Password a Federal Crime?
Could a law designed to prevent computer fraud unintentionally make criminals out of millions of Americans who use services such as Netflix and Amazon? That is precisely what one federal judge sees as the potential outcome of a recent ruling in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. “Criminalizing All Sorts of Innocuous Conduct” The case, United States v. Nosal, concerned a violation of the 1984 Computer Fraud…
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Can Cops Use Your Cellphone to Find You if You Left It at a Crime Scene?
You’ve just committed a crime, but you dropped your smartphone while you were doing it. Now the police arrive to investigate the scene of the crime, and they find your phone. Are they allowed to use the phone to find you? Do they need a warrant to check your phone? This situation was called into question in a recent case. Using Your Phone to Find You The California case involved…
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You Still Have Rights When You are on Probation
If you are convicted of a crime and placed on probation, you will be required to follow certain terms and conditions of your probation. These conditions are often related to the circumstances of your crime. So, what happens when the conditions of your probation are nearly impossible to follow? Can the court take away your right to use the internet and travel freely? This question was recently decided by the…
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Could Unpaid Court Fees Send You to Jail?
Davontae Sanford was 14 when he was sent to prison for murders he did not commit. When he was 23, another man confessed to those murders and his nine-year nightmare appeared to be finally ending. Then, he got a bill from the court. When it came time for his release, Sanford’s wrongful imprisonment resulted in just over $2,000 in court costs and fines that had yet to be paid. These…
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Court Takes Aim at Concealed-Carry Permits in New Ruling
California has some of the strictest gun control laws in the country. Recently, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals made those laws more strict. The court declared that California counties have the right to deny applications for concealed carry permits if the applicant cannot show “good cause” for needing to carry a concealed firearm in public. The ruling gives each county the power to determine what good cause means.…
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Court Rules California Concealed Weapons Laws Include Backpacks
It is against the law to carry a loaded firearm on your person or in your vehicle while in public under California Penal Code Section 25850.1 But what exactly does “on your person” mean? The definition of “on your person” was questioned in a recent Supreme Court case involving a man who was carrying a loaded firearm in his backpack. Is it illegal to carry a weapon in your backpack?…
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