Criminal Defense
CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT RULES THAT: LAW ENFORCEMENT CAN SEARCH ENTIRE CONTENT OF YOUR CELL PHONE IF YOU ARE ARRESTED
On January 3, 2011, the California Supreme Court ruled in People v. Diaz that a warrantless search of an arrestee's cell phone contents did not violate the Fourth Amendment. Appellant Gregory Diaz was arrested after participating in an alleged drug sale with a police informant. A detective searched Diaz' person pursuant to Diaz' arrest and found a cell phone. About 90 minutes after Diaz' arrest, a deputy sheriff warrantlessly searched…
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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA DEFENSE BLOG MOST POPULAR CALIFORNIA CRIMINAL DEFENSE BLOG, ACCORDING TO ABA JOURNAL READERS
The American Bar Association (ABA) Journal reported that the Southern California Defense Blog is the most popular California criminal defense blog among its online readers. This is a tremendous honor that has come about due to the tremendous efforts of the brilliant lawyers at Wallin and Klarich who are responsible for the content of the Southern California Defense Blog. Unlike other law blogs which are geared toward other attorneys, the…
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FEDERAL COURT RULES THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT IS PERMITTED TO PUT GPS DEVICE ON YOUR VEHICLE TO MONITOR YOU EVEN IF YOUR CAR IS PARKED ON YOUR PROPERTY
A recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, allows government agents to enter onto your property and plant a GPS device on your car without a warrant. According to this ruling, this does not violate your Fourth Amendment rights, because only individuals with gates, fences, or a no-trespassing signs can have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their driveway. The ruling on August 12, 2010…
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California Supreme Court holds that criminal cases must be dismissed if the State violates the right of the accused to a “speedy trial.”
In upholding 18 criminal case dismissals, a ruling passed down by the California Supreme Court unanimously rejected Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco's argument that that all available courtrooms should have been converted to help deal with the severe backlog of criminal cases that were awaiting trial. The backlog of pending criminal cases in Riverside County was so overwhelming that a number of them had been dismissed due to the…
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PC 261 Rape – Television Dance Competition Choreographer Facing Allegations Of Rape
Alex Da Silva, a well-known dancer and choreographer is best known for his is work on the television show 'So You Think You Can Dance'. Da Silva was arrested at his Los Angeles home on muliple allegations of Penal Code 261 rape. Four of Da Silva's former dance students have made rape allegations against the choreographer. Da Silva has previously been accused of sexually assaulting three women. However, at the…
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PC 203 & 205, PC 206, and PC 273d – Father Accused of Biting Out and Eating His Child’s Eye Pleads Not Guilty
A man accused of biting out his 4-year-old son's eye while allegedly high on PCP, pleaded "not guilty" on Monday by reason of insanity. On April 28, 2009, 34-year-old Angelo Mendoza of Bakersfield had chained himself naked to a tree and was trying to hack his own leg off with a pickax when police responded to the scene. Before police arrived, concerned neighbors went to Mendoza's apartment to check on…
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GAY 13-YEAR-OLD COMMITS SUICIDE AFTER YEARS OF ALLEGED BULLYING – CALIFORNIA PENAL CODE SECTION 422.6
On September 28, 2010, 13-year-old Seth Walsh was pronounced dead after sustaining injuries from apparently hanging himself from a tree in his backyard on September 19. According to a police report, emergency personnel found Walsh unconscious and not breathing after attempting to commit suicide. He had reportedly been subject to years of alleged bullying because he was gay, including alleged bullying on the day he died. Police interviewed some of…
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EIGHT CURRENT, FORMER BELL, CALIFORNIA OFFICIALS ARRESTED AND CHARGED IN CORRUPTION SCANDAL – CALIFORNIA PENAL CODE SECTION 424(A), SECTION 503
On September 21, 2010, eight current and former city officials were arrested and charged with numerous counts of misappropriation of city funds and crimes related to the abuse of their authority. Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley alleged that the accused Bell officials misappropriated over $5.5 million in city funds. The accused officials are former city manager Robert Rizzo, the alleged mastermind behind the corruption scheme; Mayor Oscar Hernandez; former…
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The Court must be Clear on Restitution Calculations
The California Court of Appeal recently held that a Court abuses its discretion when it fails to make clear the statement of calculation method it used in ordering restitution to the victim of the crime. In People v. Jones, No. C063113, the defendant entered a plea of no contest to driving under the influence and admitted prior DUI convictions. As part of a plea agreement, a charge of hit and…
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California Allows Prior Convictions To Be Used Against A Defendant Even If The Conviction Did Not Occur In California
Evidence of a prior offense is most often used by the prosecution to increase seriousness of the crime or to increase the sentence. For example, a defendant with a prior conviction for driving under the influence, will face much harsher punishments if the prior convictions occurred within 10 years. The California Penal Code allows a foreign conviction to be used as a serious felony prior when the record of conviction…
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