Criminal Defense
Your “Miranda Rights” are Going Down the Drain Due to the Conservative United States Supreme Court
The Miranda decision was decided decades ago. When the decision was reached by the United States Supreme Court they made it clear that when you are arrested you must be read your Miranda rights and unless you clearly waive those rights the police are not allowed to speak to you without your lawyer being present. This was decided because of decades of abuse by the police in obtaining "tainted" confessions…
Read More
DA Attempts to Retry Case Already Dismissed by Judge
How can this happen in our country? One of our clients was formerly prosecuted for child molestation. The evidence against him was weak but the DA pressed the case to trial. The jurors and the judge heard the evidence and 10 jurors voted not guilty. We then asked the judge to dismiss the case but the DA wanted to have another chance with another jury trial. The judge said no…
Read More
When Are You Considered “Under Arrest” During A Police Encounter?
Most people think they are arrested when a police officer says "You Are Under Arrest" or puts you in the back of the police car. This is incorrect. An arrest is the act of legal authority taking actual physical custody of a citizen thus causing a restraint on that citizen's liberty. An arrest occurs when there is a submission to authority causing a seizure of your person. The standard to…
Read More
Who Benefits More from Plea Bargaining, the Prosecution or the Defense?
Both the prosecutor and the defendant may reap benefits from plea bargaining. Without plea bargaining, prosecutors would be forced to conduct trials in nearly all criminal cases. Prosecutors are reluctant to try cases where they may not be able to meet their burden of proving each elements of the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Therefore, prosecutors have a strong incentive to offer plea bargains to defendants in order to…
Read More
Judge Files Lawsuit to Stop Jails from Releasing Prisoners Before they Have Completed their Jail Sentence
One state judge is fed up with what is going on with the local jail where he sends prisoners to serve their sentences. The judge has been sentencing defendants to specific amounts of time to be served in the local county jail. However, the jail is releasing the defendants soon after they enter the jail and well before they complete their imposed jail sentence. The overcrowding situation in Southern California…
Read More
The Difference Between Direct and Circumstantial Evidence
Every time there is a highly publicized criminal trial, the legal experts and/or analysts will usually reference both circumstantial and direct evidence. Moreover, you may hear these terms used on your favorite television program such as C.S.I., Law and Order, etc. But, what does direct and circumstantial evidence mean? First, it is important to note what the term "evidence" means. There is jury instruction which defines "evidence." The jury instruction…
Read More
What You Need to Know About Stalking Laws in California
As one of the first states to pass stalking laws in the early 1990s, California is very proactive in alleged incidences of stalking and harassment. From the arresting officer to the judge, people are very sensitive to the alleged victim in these cases and we understand you might feel like your voice is not being heard. These offenses are typically highly emotional. More than likely you are very close to…
Read More
I Am On the Jury and I Believe There is Something Missing. As a Juror, Can I Make My Own Independent Investigation?
Are jurors allowed to conduct their own independent investigations? The simple answer to this question is no! As a juror, you may feel that something is missing from the trial that you are sitting as a juror on. For example, you may feel that certain witnesses have not been called to testify, other extremely relevant evidence has not been presented, one the attorneys is doing a bad job in presenting…
Read More
I am Charged with Attempt to Commit a Crime. What Does That Mean?
"I didn't actually complete a crime. I simply started to commit a crime, but didn't follow through with it. Is this still a crime?" From time to time, we get calls from callers wanting to know if such an occurrence still qualifies as a crime. They want to know if they can still be prosecuted even if they didn't actually "complete" a crime for what ever reason there may be.…
Read More
Leaving your child unattended in you car can lead to serious criminal consequences!! (California Vehicle Code Section 15620, California Vehicle Code Section 15620 (b), California Penal Code 273A)
You're running into a store to grab some groceries, returning a video rental or picking some medicine from a pharmacy. You decide that there is little or no harm to leave your young child in the car unattended for a few minutes. The next thing you know you return to your car to find the police waiting for you. You are then either arrested or charged with a misdemeanor or…
Read More