Criminal Appeals
Immigration Law and Vacating a Plea
People v. Akhile For those considering filing a motion to vacate a plea based on Penal Code Section 1016.5, familiarity with this case is a must. In the above case, Appellant is a Native of Nigeria who entered the United States on a Tourist Visa and never left. In February of 1992, Appellant plead guilty to grand Theft and Embezzlement. The Trial Court sentenced him to two years state prison.…
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California Criminal Defense Attorneys Must Keep Their Clients Informed
You Need a Lawyer Who Tells You What Your Rights Are A recent appellate decision came down where judges reiterated the fact that lawyers need to tell clients what their rights are. Most California criminal defense lawyers of course know that part of their job duties includes telling their clients what their rights are. Apparently, however, not all attorneys communicate very well with their clients. Apparently, not all attorneys make…
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California Appeals Court Rules that DA Cannot “Surprise Defendant” With New Torture Charges
Criminal defense attorney files writ to have charges missed due to unfair surprise A California Court of Appeals recently reviewed a writ of prohibition to restrain the Superior Court of San Diego County from proceeding further on torture charges that were pending against Augustin Robert Quinones. Quinones was originally charged with assault with a deadly weapon by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury. The charges came soon…
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Is Sentence Modification or Reduction Possible for Me?
Our experienced criminal defense lawyers in California frequently are contacted by family members of individuals who have plead guilty to a crime and been sentenced to serve time in state prison. These concerned family members want to know whether we can take their loved ones case back to court and ask the judge to modify the sentence or reduce the sentence. In most cases, the judge that sentenced the defendant…
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Criminal Appeals Lawyers Reduce Probation Terms
The actions of a California criminal appeals lawyer recently compelled a California Court of Appeals to strike down as unconstitutionally overbroad a term of probation that stated that the defendant was not permitted to "associate, socially, nor be present at any time, at any place, public or private, with any person, as designated by his probation officer." In People vs. O'Neil, the First District Court of Appeals decided on August…
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California Appeals Court Reverses Death Sentence
For the second time last month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a death sentence, citing inadequate assistance of counsel. 2008 DJDAR 9426. In March of 1986, appellant Henry Earl Duncan was convicted of robbery and first-degree murder. After finding the special circumstance allegation of his case to be true, Duncan was sentenced to death for murder by the jury. Id. The victim in the case, Josephine Eileen DeBaun,…
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California Appeals Attorneys Reverse Firearm Conviction
An accused parked his car a short distance from his home and walked toward his front door. A police officer stopped him and told him that he had failed to signal before changing lanes. The accused became upset and threatened the officer. The accused was on parole. The officer arrested him for making a threat against the police officer. The officer then proceeded to search the defendant's vehicle and found…
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Man Freed From Prison After Faulty Conviction – Real Perpetrators Will Not Face Justice
If you want to know just how shaky and unreliable eyewitness identifications can be, just ask Patrick Waller, who was recently ordered released from prison by a judge in Dallas, Texas after DNA testing showed that police and prosecutors had locked up the wrong man. According to a recent story on , Waller's ordeal began in 1992 when two men kidnapped a couple and stole several hundred dollars. The men…
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Conviction Reversed When Trial Court Fails to Properly Explain The Elements of The Crime of Assault to The Jury
The case in issue is People v. Miller, a recent case from the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District. In Miller, the Defendant was charged with assault with a deadly weapon among other felonies charges. Facts On February 2, 2006, Glenn Fong was making a left turn onto First Street from Alamitos Avenue in Long Beach. His car was struck on the passenger side by a car being driven…
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JUDGE GRANTS DEFENDANT NEW TRIAL WHEN PROSECUTION VIOLATES DEFENDANTS RIGHT BY FAILING TO TURN OVER DISCOVERY
When you are accused of a crime the prosecution must turn over discovery to your California criminal defense lawyer so that he can assist you to prepare your defense. In a recent federal criminal prosecution the defendants conviction was reversed when a federal judge found that the prosecution had "persistently and recklessly violated its constitutional responsibilities to discovery and disclose crucial information" to the defense. The court was extremely upset…
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