Criminal Defense
Can I Legally Possess a Firearm If I Have Been Convicted of Misdemeanor Battery?
The legality of firearm possession for people who have committed crimes in California is often a difficult issue. If you have been convicted of certain crimes, not only are you subject to California’s laws restricting gun possession, but you are also subject to a strict federal law – the Lautenberg Amendment (18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9)) imposes a lifetime ban on gun ownership by any person who has committed a “misdemeanor crime…
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Should I Admit Guilt to My Attorney?
All lawyers have an ethical responsibility to vigorously advocate for their client. In California, a lawyer must put his or her client’s interest above all—even if a client admits guilt. This is because a lawyer never knows if the client is being coerced, protecting someone else close to them, or is not of right mind when admitting guilt. Innocent Until Proven Guilty Every American citizen has the constitutional right to…
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Look Happy on Facebook? It Could Destroy Your Case
If you are like most people who use Facebook, you probably enjoy reading about the good things that happen in the lives of your social circle, and you probably share the same type of information, photos and videos. In fact, a recent study found that the majority of social media users screen the photos they post online and only post photos in which they seem “socially desirable.” The study also…
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Can Police Scan Your Credit Card?
Credit cards are a convenient way to pay for pretty much anything. Many of us don’t think twice about handing our credit card over the counter to make a quick purchase or using it to buy something online. Those plastic cards can come in handy. However, many people do not realize that credit cards store your information on them. Magnetic strips on the back of credit cards contain a few…
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Does Prison Reform Lead to an Increase in Crime?
Ever since California voters passed Proposition 47 into law in 2014, law enforcement and others have been quick to blame the new law for leading to an increase in criminal activity. The same claims have been made of the 2011 Public Safety Realignment Act (PSRA), which shifted the responsibility for treatment of lower level, non-violent felons from the state to each county. While there have been no meaningful studies to…
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Can Social Media Prevent Future Crimes?
In 2002, Steven Spielberg directed Tom Cruise in the movie Minority Report. Spoiler alert: the movie’s plot focused on a detective in a futuristic world where the police used the gifts of three people who could see into the future to stop crimes before they could happen. Fourteen years after that movie’s release, it seems that all Cruise’s character would have needed is some Internet savvy to find out whom…
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Was Sean Penn’s Meeting with El Chapo a Crime?
In one of the stranger bits of news to start 2016, Sean Penn, the Academy Award-winning actor and director, secretly met with and interviewed one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, aka “El Chapo.” Guzmán is the head of the Sinaloa drug cartel, one of the largest criminal organizations in Mexico. Mexican actress Kate del Castillo arranged the interview after the drug lord approached her about…
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Has Prop 47 Increased Crime in California?
There is a Latin phrase that many attorneys learn in law school: “post hoc, ergo propter hoc.” Basically, that phrase translates to “after this, therefore because of this.” When one event is seemingly related to an event that follows it, there is a tendency to assume the second event was caused by the first event. However, this principle of causation is generally not true. Applying this idea would be like…
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New Laws for California in 2016
It has been famously said that ignorance of the law is no defense. With that in mind, the lawyers at Wallin & Klarich are here to remind you that with each new year comes new laws that you need to know about. By keeping yourself up to date, you can avoid the embarrassment of telling a police officer “I didn’t know I couldn’t do that!” California Gun Laws for 2016…
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Are Women Treated Better Than Men in Criminal Cases?
Gender equality is a common topic of discussion in modern times. But one area of gender equality that deserves more attention is the differences in how men and women are treated by the criminal justice system. A recent study published in the Journal of Criminal Justice highlights a number of areas where men and women are treated differently when charged with a similar crime.[1] Do Women Receive More Favorable Treatment?…
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