Criminal Appeals
What happens when the FBI lies in court?
Judge rules that FBI misled the court and FBI's statements to court were blatantly false A United States District Court Judge has ruled that the government misled the court in a case involving government surveillance in Southern California's Muslim-American Community. In 2007, The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of six Muslim groups and five individuals who were attempting to obtain records under the Freedom of Information…
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I’ve been sentenced to serve jail time, but I have a job. Is there any way for me to serve my time while still going to work?
For people who have been convicted of lower-level crimes (misdemeanors) but still have work or school obligations, it may be possible to enroll in an inmate worker program – also referred to as "pay & stay." If permitted by the court, a convicted person can seek to work or attend school during the day and check into a city-run detainment facility in the evening. The inmate worker program is designed…
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NEW LAW MAY ALLOW PRISON INMATES TO BE RELEASED FROM PRISON TO SERVE THEIR TIME WHILE CARING FOR THEIR CHILDREN OR DEPENDENTS
Prison: Alternative Custody for "Female inmates, Pregnant inmates, or Inmates Who … [Are] Primary Caregivers of Dependent Children" (Stats. 2010, Ch.644 [S.B. 1266]) A new law that went into effect January on 1, 2011, which authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) to offer a program for female inmates, pregnant inmates, or male/female inmates who are caregivers of dependent children a chance to participate in voluntary…
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Court’s Erroneous Admission of Gang Evidence Resulted in Reversal of Murder Convictions
In a recent decision by the California Court of Appeals, it was held that the trial court erred in admitting irrelevant and highly prejudicial gang evidence of the defendants' membership in a motorcycle club, where there was no evidence that the club was a street gang or a criminal enterprise, and where the prosecution offered this evidence in its case-in-chief primarily to show defendants' criminal disposition to commit murder. (People…
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Juror Misconduct Results in the Reversal of a Defendant’s Criminal Conviction
It was recently reported that a California court held that a juror in a criminal trial was engaged in prejudicial misconduct. The court found that a juror engaged in conversations with a non-juror friend about trial matters concerning the merits of the case, including discussions about the defendant's decision not to testify. (People v. Cissna (Feb. 26, 2010) Case No. D053464). It was thus decided a retrial would be granted.…
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Nonmutual Collateral Estoppel Does Not Apply to Verdicts in Criminal Cases
The California Supreme Court has overruled a 35-year-old court precedent that allowed defendants in criminal trials to assert nonmutual collateral estoppel. (People v. Sparks, Feb. 8, 2010, No. S164614.) The high court ruled that a verdict regarding one defendant has no effect on the trial of a different defendant because courts should determine the propriety of a prosecution based on that prosecution's own record, not a different record from another…
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California’s DNA Testing Procedures Questioned by the U.S. Supreme Court – Protect Your Sixth Amendment Rights
In 2007, the California Supreme Court held that a DNA expert could testify about evidence from a test he or she did not perform. (People v. Geier (2007) 41 Cal.4th 555). This state has followed a long established practice where supervisors testify about lab tests, instead of technicians who actually tested forensic evidence. However, the validity of the California decision has been questioned by the 2008 United States Supreme Court's…
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Two Elected San Bernardino County Officials Charged with Bribery and Why You Need an Experienced Southern California Defense Attorney to Represent You – California Penal Code Section 641
It was recently reported that two San Bernardino officials have been charged with over a dozen felony counts, including bribery and misappropriation of public funds. Former Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Postmus and former Assistant County Assessor Jim Erwin are accused of accepting $100,000 apiece from land development company Colonies Partners to settle a lawsuit the company filed against the city for $102 million. The lawsuit was filed because the…
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Discretionary Procedural Rulings In Appellate Matters Are Not Automatically Inadequate For the Purposes of the Adequate State Ground Doctrine
In answering the question of whether discretionary procedural rulings are "automatically inadequate" to bar federal habeas corpus review, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that a state procedural rule is not automatically "inadequate" under the adequate state ground doctrine because the state rule is discretionary rather than mandatory. ﴾Beard v. Kindler ﴾Dec. 8, 2009﴿ 08-992, 2009 U.S. LEXIS 8944﴿. Under the adequate state ground doctrine, a federal habeas court…
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I am Accused of Corporal Injury on a Child – What Should I Do? – California Penal Code Section 273d
Anyone who has been charged with corporal injury on a child, under California Penal Code Section 273d, should be prepared to retain an experienced criminal defense attorney. An experienced criminal defense attorney will know how to examine all the circumstances surrounding your case to secure the most favorable result. Corporal injury on a child is defined as an infliction of a physical punishment on a child that results in a…
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