Criminal Defense
Officer’s Have Heightened Duty to Confirm an Anonymous Tipster’s Information
An Experienced Criminal Defense Firm will Expose a Lack of Reliability from an Anonymous Informant An anonymous tip, standing alone, seldom will exhibit sufficient indicia of reliability to support reasonable suspicion for an investigatory or traffic stop. An informant who provides information face-to-face to law enforcement is not considered the same as an anonymous tipster. See United States v. Romain, 393 F.3d, 63 (2004). Officers do not have the same…
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Courts Give a Presumption of “Reasonable Suspicion” Established from a Citizen Informant’s Statements
An Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney Knows How to Effectively Rebut this Presumption As discussed in the blog yesterday, a person who tips officers to suspected criminal conduct is called an "informant." A citizen informant generally gains knowledge of an alleged criminal offense by being either a witness or a victim. A citizen informant is deemed to be reliable, unless this presumption of reliability is rebutted. Courts have held that a…
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A Traffic Stop Based on an Anonymous Informant’s Tip Must Be Reliable to be a Legal Stop
Why You Need a Criminal Defense Attorney Who Knows Search and Seizure Laws In order to conduct a legal traffic stop, an officer must have what is called "reasonable suspicion" to stop the car. Often, officers will rely on a tip they received from someone who may know the suspect, one who may have seen the suspect engage in an illegal activity, or a person with a hunch to create…
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Conviction Reversed and Defendant Wins New Trial After Appeal is Granted: You Have the Right to a Fair Trial
The California Court of Appeal in People v. Hernandez found that when an armed sheriff stood behind the defendant while the defendant was testifying this violated the defendant's right to a fair trial. An experienced defense attorney knows that there are many factors a court may not consider in ensuring the defendant's right to a fair trial. The Court of Appeal found for the defense; the use of an armed…
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Do Standardized Field Sobriety Tests Accurately Assess a Driver’s Mental and Physical Impairment?
During a California DUI detection process, the officer screens (or tests) a driver prior to making an arrest decision. The pre-arrest screening phase starts out with the administration of the standardized field sobriety tests. These tests are said to be designed to assess a driver's mental and physical impairment. The three most commonly used field sobriety tests are: horizontal gaze nystagmus walk and turn test one-leg stand test The walk…
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Hollywood DUI and Criminal Defense Attorneys
Hollywood is a well-known district in Los Angeles, California located just west-northwest of Downtown LA. Hollywood is most known for being the historical center of movie stars and movie studios. A few out of many landmarks in Hollywood include the Hollywood Bowl, Capitol Records, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the Shrine Auditorium, and the Griffith Park Observatory. According to the 2000 census, 210,777 people lived in Hollywood with a population density of…
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Supreme Court Rules that Juvenile “Strikes” Can be Used Under Three Strikes Law
Why You Need an Experienced Three Strikes Criminal Defense Law Firm In the recent case of Superior Court v. Nguyen held that a juvenile who was adjudicated a ward of the court in Juvenile Court for a crime that would be considered a strike under California Three Strike Laws will count as a strike if that juvenile offender commits another felony. In a 6-1 Supreme Court decision, the Nguyen case…
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Inconsequential “Clues” Considered Together May Amount to Reasonable Suspicion of Criminal Activity
Why You Need a Criminal Defense Attorney to Defend Your Rights During the course of an ordinary traffic stop, an officer may detect clues of an illegal drug crime in California. These clues, while seemingly inconsequential, when considered in the aggregate, may provide the additional reasonable suspicion required to detain an individual for further investigation. Generally, no single factor will justify further detention. Each individual factor, considered separately, may well…
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Valencia DUI and Criminal Defense Attorneys
Valencia, California is a planned community that along with three other communities, merged to form Santa Clarita, California in 1987. The area is extensively used as filming locations for many TV series', past and present. Some of these shows include The Power Rangers, NCIS, Weeds and Melrose Place. Valencia is also known for its paseos, a network of walkways that connect the entire community without crossing streets at grade. The…
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Goleta Man Arrested in Craigslist Lure
An Experienced Sex Crime Defense Attorney can Quietly Move This Case Through the Criminal System A Goleta Man who lured women to his home under the guise of a job posting to clean his home was arrested on suspicion of exposing himself, according to an article on the . The 59 year old Santa Barbara man, who was free on bail, was awaiting arraignment on 3 charges of indecent exposure…
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