Criminal Defense
You Have Legal Rights When You Share a Residence and Refuse Police Officers Request to Search Your Home or Apartment (Part 1)
Several recent Court rulings have addressed the issue of consent entry into one's residence. The issue of lawful consent becomes more complex when dealing with a residence shared by two occupants. In Georgia v. Randolph (2006) 164 L Ed.2d 208, the court held that if two occupants are at the door and one says officers may enter and the other refuses consent to enter, then officers cannot enter unless there…
Read More
Los Angeles DMV Hearings and DUI Defense Attorneys
Los Angeles is the largest city in California and the second largest in the United States. Commonly referred to as the "City of Angels", approximately 3,833,995 individuals resided within the vast spread of Los Angeles in July 2008. In a greater metropolitan area with about 12.9 million inhabitants, Los Angeles is a major location for large corporations, sports venues, entertainment, and has the advantage of access to several highways. With…
Read More
Domestic Violence – Officer’s Entry Into Suspect’s Home Found To Be Lawful Based Upon Express or Implied Consent (Part 3)
Two leading domestic violence cases, People v. Frye (1998) 18 .4th 894 and People v. Wilkins (1993) 14 .4th 761, have held that law enforcement entries into a suspect's home were lawful as consent entries. The court in People v. Frye stated as follows; it may be inferred from the fact the victim and defendant resided together in the apartment that the victim possessed authority to consent to the officer's…
Read More
Domestic Violence – Exigent Circumstances May Justify An Officer’s Warrantless Entry Into Your Residence (Part 2)
In the context of an officer's warrantless entry into your residence, the most important issue is objective reasonableness. Whether, under the circumstances of your case, the officer's warrantless entry into your residence was objectively reasonable. If so, the "exigent circumstances" expection to the general warrant requirement may apply to justify the entry. A common issue in domestic violence cases is whether the officer responding to the scene should have secured…
Read More
Domestic Violence – Officer’s Presence At One’s Residence (Part 1)
Several cases have involved situations wherein officers go to a residence in response to a report of domestic violence being committed. Generally, if an obviously battered victim is present and the batterer is still within the residence, the officer may enter the residence to arrest the batterer. This was expressed in the case of People v. Frye (1998) 18 Cal.4th 894. The issue is whether, in light of the facts…
Read More
Riverside County Man Sentenced to 100 Years for Operating Ponzi Scheme
In September, a Federal Judge in Riverside County sentenced Richard Monroe Harkless to 100 years in prison for operating a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors of about $35 million. Federal prosecutors boast that the sentence is the longest ever imposed for a financial crime in Southern California. Harkless ran the scheme form 2000-2003 through a company he called MX Factors and dozens of the company's estimated 700 investors wrote the…
Read More
Death Penalty Conviction Overturned Due to an Attorney’s Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently overturned a defendant's death penalty finding that his lawyer did not provide effective assistance of counsel. In 1982, in an Arizona state court, Laurence Libberton was convicted of the murder of Juan Maya. The key witness at the trial, Martin Norton, a juvenile also charged in connection with the crime, testified that the Libberton shot Maya. During the penalty phase of the trial,…
Read More
Ventura County CHP Officer Convicted of Hate Crime
If any of you were arrested by the CHP in the Ventura area, it might be worth your while to ask your lawyer to give you a copy of the police report and check out the police report. This is especially true if you think that the cop was lying in your report about some of the facts in your case. Recently, a local Ventura County CHP officer was convicted…
Read More
Simi Valley Reckless Driving and DUI Attorneys
Simi Valley is Ventura County's third biggest city with an approximate population of 126,300. As a diverse community in Southern California, Simi Valley is surrounded by beautiful hills and mountains. Covering about 42 square miles, the vast city has convenient access to Highways 118, 23, 101 and Interstates 5, 405, and 210. Such proximity to these freeways also brings many visitors to Simi Valley. Although a safe and thriving area,…
Read More
Gov. Schwarzenegger Signs New Bill to Require First-Time DUI Offenders in Los Angeles County to Install Interlock Devices
Recently, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 91, otherwise know as AB 91, creating a pilot program in Los Angeles County as well as in three other California counties that will effect first time Driving Under the Influence (DUI) offenders in Los Angeles County. The pilot project would begin on July 1, 2010 and would extend to January 1, 2016. By July 1, 2015, the Department of Motor Vehicles…
Read More