Law & Information
Food For Thought: How Selling Food Can Put You in Hot Water (HS 114381)
Mariza Ruelas only wanted a recipe for a cake. Now, the single mother of six faces a year in county jail.1 According to the San Joaquin District Attorney’s Office, Ruelas and several others belonging to a Facebook group frequently broke the law by selling homemade meals without a license. Could this really be a crime? The California Homemade Food Act of 2013 California law allows people to sell certain foods…
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California Puts 6 New Gun Laws in Place
California’s stance on gun control is changing drastically. Several new laws that were recently passed place more restrictions on how guns and firearms are handled. Governor Jerry Brown recently signed these six new stricter gun control bills into law. Brown sees the new laws as a way to improve public safety while also protecting the rights of current law-abiding gun owners. Restrictions on Ammunition Two of the new laws involve…
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Will California’s Kill Switch Law Reduce Phone Theft?
In August 2014, California passed a “kill switch” law requiring all smartphones sold in the state to include built-in remote locking technology. The “kill switch” law, which went into effect July, allows the owner of a smartphone to disable the device even when he or she does not have possession of the phone. The largest smartphone manufacturers, Apple and Google, are offering remote kill software, known as “Activation Lock” and…
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Jailhouse Phones are Tapped. Watch What You Say
When the family members or friends of an inmate accept a jailhouse call, they will likely have to acknowledge a recording stating that the call is being recorded. There are also usually signs by the phones in the jail informing inmates that their calls are being recorded. The only calls that remain private are between inmates and their attorneys. Despite the warning, inmates often talk about their cases over the…
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Search Warrants 2.0: An Upgrade for the Digital Age
Search warrants have been a part of our criminal justice system since this country was founded, but when the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1791, the Founding Fathers could not have possibly anticipated the advances in technology that are a part of our daily lives in the 21st century. Laptops, tablets and smartphones could not have been imagined at a time when even the telegraph had…
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Swatting: Far From a Harmless Prank (PC 148.3)
You have just gotten home from a long, difficult day at work. You are at a point where you can relax and truly consider yourself done for the day, and now it is time to have some fun. You fire up your Xbox and start playing “Grand Theft Auto V,” the open world game where you can commit just about any act of violence or criminal mischief you have ever…
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Going to Class Could Get You Out of Jail in California
The recently passed Prop 47 changed some felony and wobbler offenses to misdemeanors, but local jails continue to feel the burden of overcrowding. To help reduce inmate populations, some counties are introducing new alternatives to serving jail time. San Luis Obispo County recently launched a diversion program that will offer some first-time misdemeanor offenders classes as an alternative to jail time. Orange County launched the same program in 2011, and…
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Transgender Rights in California
Before Bruce Jenner was famous for living in front of the camera on “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” he was an Olympic champion, taking home the gold medal in the 1976 decathlon at the Summer Games in Montreal. Winning the decathlon gave Jenner the unofficial title of greatest athlete in the world, and secured his place as one of the best competitors the United States has ever produced. Nearly 40…
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You Could Have Your Case Dismissed if Cops Violated Your Constitutional Rights
You have been arrested for a drug offense because the cops found drugs on you and claimed they were yours. Do you have a way to avoid jail time and a criminal record? You may if the police violated your constitutional rights. Cops often make mistakes in the way they do their job. They may search your vehicle without legal cause. They may stop your vehicle when they have no…
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Protester’s Rights in California
Following grand jury decisions not to indict police officers involved in the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, many California citizens have taken the streets to express their disapproval and frustration. In some cases, police have reacted to these demonstrations by issuing arrests. By doing so, police may be violating your Constitutional rights. Knowing your legal rights may help you avoid an arrest or conviction. The U.S. and California…
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