Criminal Appeals
California Supreme Court to Hear Riverside Dismissal Cases
In a follow-up to a blog previously posted on this site, the California Supreme Court has decided to review to Riverside County criminal cases that had been dismissed for lack of a judge to hear them. The case that was previously posted on and that is currently under review by the California Supreme Court is People v. Wagner. This is the case where the defendant allegedly shot the victim in…
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Appealing a Confession: What Counts as Voluntary?
A recent California Supreme Court opinion held half of a defendant's statement to be inadmissible because it was coerced by the police. However, the first part of the statement was still enough for the jury to convict the defendant of a double murder. The California Supreme Court was not happy with the police tactics used to illicit the confession and wrote extensively about the improper procedure. The court ruled, in…
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Court Rules that Defendant Was Not Denied Right to Cross Examine a Witness that Was Deaf, Could Not Speak, and Never Learned Sign Language
The United States Constitution gives defendants the right to cross-examine witnesses against them in criminal proceedings. A defendant in California appealed his conviction of murder on the grounds that he was unable effectively to cross-examine the prosecution's key witness. The mother of the victim in this case was the prosecution's key witness. The victim's mother, is deaf, cannot speak, and has never learned a standard sign language. Rather, she communicates…
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Grocery Store Owner in Los Angles County to Get a New Trial in Light of New Evidence
The founder of Numero Uno markets, a chain of grocery stores throughout Southern California, was granted a new trial last week. This came after a Federal Judge in Los Angels threw out guilty verdicts that had previously been imposed against him. In throwing out 50 guilty verdicts against the grocery store founder, the Judge ruled that new evidence came to light that may have exonerated him. Prosecutors allege that the…
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Without Proper Regulation, Prosecutorial Misconduct is Likely to Continue
What this Means for Criminal Defendants and their Attorneys Last year, Ted Stevens, the 85-year-old former Senator from Alaska was convicted of corruption charges. Charges against Stevens played a pivotal role in voters failing to reelect the seven-term senator to office. But months after jurors found Stevens guilty, the Attorney General dismissed the case citing prosecutorial misconduct. This case is a prime example of the potential for misconduct by both…
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DNA Evidence Receives a Boost
Why Having an Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney On Your Side Could Help You Avoid a False Conviction DNA evidence has always been thought to be the infallible wave of the future; however, new information could change this perspective. Even though every person's DNA is unique, and every trace of a person's DNA that is left behind will be identical, the testing methods available today cannot compare every single gene in…
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Can Police Knock On My Front Door When Acting Solely On an Anonymous and Uncorroborated Tip?
Numerous Court of Appeal cases have approved the police practice of "knock and talk" based entirely on an anonymous and uncorroborated tip. Recently, the California Supreme Court stated, "even if acting on an anonymous tip, police may knock on the door of a residence, speak with the occupant, and request permission to enter and search" People v. Rivera, 41 Cal.4th 304 (2007). An aggressive and experienced Orange County criminal defense…
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U.S. Attorney Misconduct Leads to Another Overturned Conviction
Why Having an Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney Can Make a Difference A U.S. District Judge recently ruled that supermarket mogul George Torres did not get a fair trial after it was discovered that the federal prosecutors failed to provide the defense with evidence that harmed the credibility of two key witnesses. This failure to disclose led to the dismissal of racketeering and other charges that were based on the testimony.…
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Defendant Convicted of First Degree Murder Has Sentence Overturned Based on Insufficient Evidence
Why You Need an Experienced Criminal Defense Lawyer on Your Side The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently overturned a first degree murder conviction in US v. Begay (2009 DJDAR 7955). Begay was convicted of two counts of first degree murder and two counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence. The District Court imposed mandatory concurrent life sentences for each murder conviction as well as 35 years…
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A Court May Consider a Dismissed Charge When Imposing Probation Conditions
An Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney Knows How to Argue Against Facts Underlying a Dismissed Charge A California appellate court has recently held that trial courts have broad discretion in granting or denying probation and imposing probation conditions. Further, the appellate court ruled that a trial court even may consider a charge that the defendant was not convicted of or pled guilty to. See People v. Martin, C.A. 4th/2, DAR p.10639.…
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