Criminal Defense
Attempted Lewd Act Conviction Did Not Require Police to Wait Until Defendant Actually Enter a Hotel Room With a Minor
Jeffrey MacKanin, a California Department of Justice special agent supervisor who oversaw a Federal and State task force investigating child exploitation crimes, posed on line as a 13-year-old runaway girl named "Hope. " On December 7, 2004 Arthur Crabtree, an attorney who sometimes acted as a "Pro Tem Judge" and was once a city of Glendale Police Officer, contacted "Hope" online. A series of contacts ensued between Crabtree and "Hope"…
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Unlawful for Officer to Arrest without Probable Cause to Detain a Driver
What an Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney Can Do for You An officer must see an objective violation of the law, or have reasonable suspicion that a crime is about to occur or has occurred, before an officer may detain an individual. Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 116 S. Ct. 1769, 135 L. Ed. 2d 89 (1996). In Whren, the United States' Supreme Court held that a police officer's…
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Stages of the Criminal Process: Arraignment
When a person is charged with a crime, the first formal legal process is the arraignment. The arraignment is a hearing before a judge where several important things occur. If a person is in custody, the arraignment must occur within two to three days. Otherwise, arraignment is usually set for a date several weeks in the future. There are several purposes of an arraignment. First, the defendant is formally read…
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Domestic Violence and Victim Restitution
Why You Need to Protect Yourself Even After Disposition by Hiring an Experienced Domestic Violence Attorney If you are facing California criminal charges of domestic violence, it is important to know that there is more to your case than simply the sentence imposed by the court. After a finding of guilty or no contest, the court may then impose additional restitution in an effort to compensate the victim for his…
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Know Your Rights: Even Minors Are Protected From the Tyranny of Illegal Searches
The California Court of Appeal recently decided In re H.H. (2009 DJDAR 7935), a case involving a minor who was illegally searched after being pulled over for riding a bicycle without proper lighting equipment. When the minor was pulled over he was asked to "step from the bicycle" at which time he took off the backpack he was wearing and said "I am not on probation" and refused to give…
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California Sentencing Laws for Multiple Convictions Can Be Complicated
Why You Need the Assistance of a Criminal Defense Law Firm Often, a defendant is charged with multiple crimes stemming out of the same incident. For example, a person involved in a bar fight may be charged with both disturbing the peace and assault in California. While both charges are based on the same course of conduct, it is still possible to be found guilty of violating both laws. In…
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United States Supreme Court Rules that Police May Not Automatically Search the Car of Anyone They Pull Over for a Traffic Infraction
Recently in Arizona v. Gant, United States Supreme Court ruled that it was not proper for officers to have the authority to automatically search the car of a person who is stopped over a traffic infraction. The court held that in order to justify a search, the police must either reasonably fear that the arrestee might have access to a weapon in the car or have a reasonable prospect of…
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Crime Down In Los Angeles and Other Parts of California
An article in the Los Angeles Times discusses recent L.A. Sheriff's statistics that show crime in Los Angeles and across Southern California has reduced in recent months. The reduction comes despite an economic downturn which has resulted in an unemployment rate in double digits, an imploded housing market, and the closing of countless businesses. The decline flies in the face of predictions made by many crime experts that the region…
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Law Students Help Free Three-Strike Offenders
A recent article in the Los Angeles Times discusses a clinic at Stanford Law School that focuses entirely on convicts who are serving extended sentences because of California's Three Strikes Law. The students at this law clinic are devoting their time and effort to reversing what they view as miscarriages of justice under the California Law. Since September, the Stanford Criminal Defense Clinic, has persuaded judges to lessen the sentences…
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Appealing a Felony Conviction in California
Felony Conviction Reversed when Prosecutors Fail to Turn Over Evidence to Defense: Why You Need an Experienced Criminal Appeals Lawyer to Win Your Case The Federal Court of Appeals has reversed the conviction of a defendant who had been found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm due to prosecutorial misconduct. The defendant had been sentenced to prison and now will be given a new trial where…
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