Access Denied: Courts Draw a Line Between Security and Self-Incrimination
Access Denied: Courts Draw a Line Between Security and Self-Incrimination
Put yourself in this scenario for a moment: After a long day at work, you come home where you want nothing more than to just eat dinner, relax in front of the TV and get a good night’s sleep. Instead, you and your significant other end up in a fight and the neighbors call the police, who arrest you after an accusation that you tried to strangle your loved one.…
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Crime Trends in California
California is seeing record declines in violent and property crimes. Statistics from the FBI and the California Department of Justice indicate that violent crime is at a 46-year low – as low as it was in 1967. The data is significant because California has seen substantial population growth since the late 1960s. The population growth has been particularly concentrated in sprawling urban areas such as the San Francisco Bay Area…
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Is Stranger Rape the Only “Real Rape” in Los Angeles?
In 2012, the U.S. Justice Department funded a research report that revealed some startling attitudes toward the crime of rape in the Los Angeles Police and Sheriff’s Departments.1 The study’s authors examined clearance statistics for sexual assaults in the City and County of Los Angeles, and interviewed several police officers, sheriff’s deputies, detectives, prosecutors, and victims, getting their views on the nature of this crime and how the victim’s own…
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Relaxed Concealed Carry Standard in California Upheld
Prior to February 2014, California gun laws prevented law-abiding citizens from obtaining a concealed carry permit unless they were able to present documented justification for the permit. In February, a federal appeals court voted 2 to 1 to overturn the state’s requirement that applicants cite specific reasons detailing why they need a concealed carry permit. In the court’s decision, Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain wrote “The right to bear arms includes the…
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Hit and Runs Involving Bicyclists on the Rise in LA
A recent report shows that hit-and-runs involving vehicle-bicyclist collisions are on the rise in Los Angeles County. Between 2002 and 2012, more than 5,600 cyclists were injured and at least 36 cyclists died from hit-and-run related incidents, which is an increase of 42%. Of those incidents, 40% of cases involved minors under the age of 18 years old.1 An alarmingly high number of vehicles involved in hit-and-run incidents are never…
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First District of California Rules DNA Sample Law Unconstitutional
In a recent California state court ruling, the First District Court of Appeal determined a the law that permitted police to gather a DNA sample from any individual arrested on suspicion of a felony was unconstitutional. On the other side of the country however, in Maryland, a very similar law was upheld by the high court, giving the police the right to collect DNA samples from anyone arrested in connection with…
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Why Suge Knight and Katt Williams Face Different Sentences for the Same Crime (PC 667.5)
For the past 20 years, few men have cast a shadow over the music industry that looms quite as large as Marion “Suge” Knight’s. The former college football player and bodyguard is a co-founder of Death Row Records. Knight has been a driving force in establishing the West Coast rap scene, teaming with rapper/producer Dr. Dre to promote heavyweight artists such as Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur. In the rap…
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iPads for Inmates?
Think of all the technological innovations over the last two decades that we use to stay connected to each other on a daily basis: computers, tablets, smartphones, and wireless Internet access. For many of us, it is difficult to imagine living without these conveniences. What if you had been asleep for the past 20 years? What would you think an "app" is? To you, a smartphone would look like something…
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California Ends “Gay Panic” Defense
Defense attorneys can be a creative lot, and that has often led to a cynical view of the legal profession. In 1978, San Francisco Supervisor Dan White murdered Mayor George Moscone and fellow Supervisor Harvey Milk. White had been known to be a fitness fanatic, but prior to the killings, had become depressed. His defense team presented testimony from a doctor that his diet consisting of Twinkies and other junk…
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The Consequences of Juvenile Sex Crime Charges in Orange County
Given the proliferation in use of high-tech portable electronic devices as well as wider access to the Internet, it probably does not surprise many that a number of teens and even children experiment with sexuality at a much younger age. Of course, some of these acts may be considered perfectly normal or natural. It is important to remember, however, that juveniles in Orange County may be charged with serious crimes…
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