BE SURE YOUR LAWYER IS IN FACT A LAWYER
BE SURE YOUR LAWYER IS IN FACT A LAWYER
That's the message that a recent press release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office sends. The press release involves the recent conviction of Ross Stanley Berton, age 61. Mr. Berton pleaded guilty to 15 counts of grand theft, two counts of offering false evidence, one count of forgery and one count of identity theft. Fifteen counts were dismissed as part of the plea agreement, the District Attorney stated.…
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CHP GETS FEDERAL GRANT TO CRACKDOWN ON DUI DRIVERS WITH ARREST WARRANTS
A recent press release from the California Highway Patrol announced that the agency has received a federal grant to arrest DUI drivers with outstanding warrants for failure to appear in court on DUI charges, or failure to pay fines or show proof of completion of other requirements imposed by the court after a DUI conviction. The CHP press release described how every year individuals are arrested for DUI and enter…
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SEX OFFENDERS AND MYSPACE
Recently, the Connecticut Attorney General wanted information from MySpace as to whether any registered sex offenders had a web page on My Space. At first News Corp, which owns MySpace, did not comply with the Attorney General's request, but eventually they turned over the information and also removed the profiles of over 7,000 MySpace participants from the site after identifying them as Registered Sex Offenders. Interestingly enough, though, MySpace does…
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CA LEGISLATURE: TIME CHANGE HAS NO IMPACT ON CLOSING TIME, MAYBE?!?!?
Many of us are still trying to adapt to the new dates for changing our clocks from Pacific Standard Time to Pacific Daylight Time and back, and figuring out how to get the time on our VCRs and cellular telephones to change consistent with the new rules established by the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 – the federal legislation that changed the dates when we change our clocks. It…
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THERE IS NO PRIVACY ON THE INTERNET
According to a recent report on , this point was made clear recently to a group of teenage girls in New York, who apparently videotaped themselves confronting a younger girl, and then slapping and kicking the girl in the head and body. The girls then apparently posted the video footage of the beating on YouTube. After police discovered the video, the girls were all arrested and charged with attempted assault.…
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COURT: BREATH TESTS ADMISSIBLE
A March 17, 2008 ruling by the New Jersey Supreme Court declares that results of breath tests given to DUI suspects on devices manufactured by Alcotest are sufficiently reliable to be admitted in New Jersey DUI prosecutions. 20 people who had been arrested for DUI in New Jersey collectively filed a lawsuit challenging the use of the breath tests in their cases. Specifically, the defendants argued that the manner in…
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WHAT YOU SAY CAN COME BACK TO HAUNT YOU
When a person is in custody very often they feel it is "safe" to share their thoughts to other inmates. In some cases inmates may call a lawyer on the phone to ask for legal advice. In other cases an inmate who has retained a law firm may decide to discuss the facts of their case with their lawyer over a jail house phone. Based upon recent decisions of the…
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IMMIGRATION CONSEQUENCES OF CRIMINAL CASES
(Your Criminal Case can lead to your deportation or denial of citizenship) It is critical that if you are not a United States citizen and are accused of a criminal offense in California must you immediately inform your criminal defense attorney of your immigration status. Your criminal defense attorney can then discuss with you your immigration status and then can have you work with immigration lawyers who can help determine…
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NEWS FLASH: COPS TAPE RECORD JAIL CELLS
While this headline might seem so intuitive as to border on the humorous, a recent case in Los Angeles reveals that there is some benefit in conveying this message. According to , the case involves two elderly women who are alleged to have hatched a scheme to befriend transient men, take out hefty insurance policies on their lives, and then drug them and, while the men were drugged, to run…
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WHAT’S THAT LEPRECHAUN GOT IN HIS PIPE ANYWAY?
I guess green beer and corned beef and cabbage are a thing of the past. The web site The Smoking Gun recently reported that, on March 17, 2008, Ohio law enforcement officers seized crack cocaine that had been dyed green as the Emerald Isle itself – in honor of St. Patrick's Day. This is not the first time that narcotics officers had seen crack cocaine dyed for festive purposes. One…
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