Assisting in or Encouraging a Crime Can Result in a Lengthy Prison Sentence
Assisting in or Encouraging a Crime Can Result in a Lengthy Prison Sentence
Have you ever been offered an opportunity to assist in a crime? Perhaps a friend or family member asked for your help in committing theft or robbery. If you had any influence in committing the crime, either by assisting in its planning, being an active participant or ordering others to commit the crime, you can be found guilty of aiding and abetting and could be facing severe punishment. Under California…
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Thousands of Drug Offenders Could Get Sentence Reductions
More than 46,000 federal drug offenders could be eligible for sentence reductions after the U.S. Sentencing Commission recently approved a plan to extend federal drug sentencing guidelines to current inmates. 1 Prisoners who are eligible for sentence reductions will not be released until November 2015, giving judges the time necessary to review candidates and allow prosecutors to object if there are concerns about any inmates. 2 The commission's unanimous vote…
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Driver Takes Passed-out Passenger to a Motel: Was His Arrest a Rush to Judgment?
Recently, a San Fernando Valley-based independent driver for the rideshare service Uber was arrested after being suspected of criminal activity involving a woman too drunk to tell him where she wanted to go. Frederick Dencer, 32, of Encino, was charged on suspicion of kidnapping with intent to commit sexual assault, according to LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon. 1 The driver was held in custody after the woman called 911 to complain…
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Lawsuit Alleges Mistreatment of OC Student Expelled for Cheating Scandal
Corona del Mar (CdM) High School is reacting to a lawsuit filed by the family of a student who was expelled in a recent cheating scandal. Filed on May 9, the lawsuit alleges that school officials illegally threatened and intimidated the student into making coerced statements. Eleven students were forced into signing expulsion agreements in January prohibiting their return to CdM High this year. By signing the agreements, the students…
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California Death Penalty Ruled Unconstitutional
A federal judge in Orange County has ruled that California's death penalty is unconstitutional because it violates a person's right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. In a 29-page ruling, Santa Ana-based U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney vacated the death sentence of Ernest D. Jones, who was sentenced to death nearly two decades ago. 1 This decision will be viewed as a major legal victory for those…
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Appeals Court Rules Fourth Amendment Protects Cell Site Location Privacy (U.S. v. Davis)
When you are making phone calls on your cellphone, should you expect your identity to be private? The U.S. Supreme Court doesn't think so. However, what happens when your cellphone records are used not to determine who you've been in contact with, but where you were at the time? A federal appeals court was asked to answer that question recently in a case involving a suspect convicted in part upon…
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Did Donald Sterling Threaten Witnesses?
The on-going saga of Donald Sterling's public meltdown took another bizarre twist recently when his estranged wife, Shelly Sterling, sought a court order against the disgraced owner of the Los Angeles Clippers after he allegedly threatened witnesses in connection with the contested sale of the team. Shelly Sterling had sought an emergency protective order after Donald Sterling had left hostile voicemails for the two doctors who had found him mentally…
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Should Police Need a Warrant to Put a GPS Tracking Device in a Person’s Car?
The U.S. Court of Appeals is currently deciding whether the police need a warrant to put a GPS tracking device in a person's car. The case under review stems from a series of pharmacy robberies investigated by Philadelphia police in 2010. After pulling over electrician Harry Katzin, the police found tools, gloves and a ski mask in his van. After Katzin said they were his work tools, he was let…
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California Police Involved in On-Duty Shootings Must Now Be Identified
Recently, the California Supreme Court ruled that police departments must give the names of officers involved in on-duty shootings. The case stems from the fatal shooting of a man holding a garden hose by two Long Beach police officers. The Los Angeles Times filed a Public Records Act request for the names of the two officers involved. The names were later released in a police report clearing the officers of…
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“Theftie” is the New “Selfie” – How You Can Incriminate Yourself if You Steal a Smartphone
Most of us have done it. With smartphone cameras' ability to take forward-facing pictures, we've snapped one or two (or several) portrait shots of ourselves to see how we look. "Selfies" may be vain, but they don't hurt anybody. But as a recent case in Florida demonstrates, it can hurt you if you stole the phone you were using to take the selfie. In Tampa, Fla., police are searching for…
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