Criminal Defense
California Procedural Rights & Stipulation
Absent A Stipulation, A Commissioner Lacks the Authority to Rule on an Issue Contested by the Criminal Defense Attorney A Defendant refused to sign a stipulation giving a commissioner the authority to continue a preliminary hearing. In Harutyunyan v. Superior Court, the California Appellate Court held that while a commissioner can hear uncontested matters, the commissioner had no authority to continue the preliminary hearing on a contested issue absent a…
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California Personal Possession of Child Pornography
"Personal Possession" of Child Pornography Can Be Supported By Many Different Forms of Circumstantial Evidence In Tecklenburg v. Superior Court, child pornography was found in the defendant's home on the family computer. The defendant argued that the child pornography was not his and that it may have been the result of accidental internet use or involuntary computer pop-ups. The prosecution set forth evidence that the size and format of the…
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California Sex Offender Registration
The Sex Offender Registration Imposed 20 Years Ago Violated Equal Protection Twenty years after a sex offender was convicted by a jury of oral copulation with a minor and was required to register as a sex offender, the offender moved to lift the lifetime registration requirement. The Superior Court, denied the motion. In Lewis v. Superior Court, 169 .4th 70, the California Court of Appeal held that mandatory sex offender…
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California Child Pornography
Simultaneous Possession of Multiple Child Pornography Materials in Multiple Computers at the Same Location is Chargeable, But As One Violation of State Law In People v. Manfredi, the defendant was found with multiple images of child pornography in his home on multiple computers, hard drives, discs and tapes. As a result, the prosecutor filed several counts of possession of child pornography under Penal Code section 311.11. The defendant argued that…
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Miranda Rights In California
Pay Attention to Your Miranda Rights You learned from the television that police officers are supposed to read you your Miranda rights if you are arrested. Do you know how many Miranda rights you have? Do you know what your Miranda rights are? Do you know how important they can be? A judge recently decided that if a police officer does not tell the person he arrests all of his…
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Inform Your Lawyer About Past Conduct
Don't Let Your Ghost of Christmas Past Come Back to Haunt You If you are charged with a crime, there is always a chance that your case will end up going to jury trial. When considering whether or not to go to trial, you and your lawyer must first determine what evidence will be presented to the jury. After all, what the jury sees and hears is what determines your…
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Chris Brown Restraining Order
Chris Brown was charged with two felony counts of assault and making criminal threats against singer, Rihanna, on March 5, 2009. When he appeared in court, the judge ordered a protective order; Chris Brown must not molest, annoy, harass, make threats, or have any negative contact against anyone. Rihanna's attorney was present and stated that the singer did not want a "no contact" order made, which if granted/ordered, the defendant…
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California DUI Law Imposes Stricter License Suspension Criteria
Are You on Probation for a DUI? If so, please keep reading because recent changes in California Law make having your California driver's license suspended much easier. Beginning January 1, 2009 California Vehicle Code section 23154 will impose a zero tolerance policy on people on probation for DUI's. In other words, if the cops stop you and you have any alcohol in your system, you're going to see your license…
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Los Angeles Murder Conviction Overturned
Judge Throws Out A Nearly 30-year-Old Murder Conviction After Finding Prosecutorial Misconduct. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge tossed out a nearly 30-year-old murder conviction. Judge David S. Wesley found that the prosecutors had violated the defendant's rights and withheld evidence from defense attorneys. In his ruling, Judge Wesley said that attorneys for Adam Miranda should have been told that witness Joe Saucedo had confessed to the killing. Adam…
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California Deputy DA Suspended for Professional Misconduct
Some DA's may go as far as to violate the law to put you in jail When facing serious criminal charges it's extremely important to have a criminal defense attorney present in order to properly defend you. The consequences of being convicted of these crimes can be severe and for that reason you need an attorney that knows the law and has vast experience in criminal defense in order to…
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