Crime Conviction
What You Need To Know If You Or A Loved One Is Facing A Murder Charge
What You Need To Know If You Or A Loved One Is Facing A Murder Charge Murder, defined as the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought, is one of the most severe crimes under California law. If you or a loved one are convicted of a murder charge there will be very serious punishment. Murder cases have many complex legal issues and you will need the guidance…
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Smoking Marijuana While Speeding Can Lead To A Murder Conviction If Someone Is Killed
In People v. Murphy, the California Court of Appeal considered whether there was sufficient evidence to find implied malice in a vehicular homicide case, where the defendant was smoking marijuana and then drove his car 88 mph in a residential area. The defendant, Murphy, was smoking marijuana in his vehicle when getting an oil change. On his way home, he ran through a red light at an intersection in a…
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3 Men Exonerated After 36 Years Imprisonment for “Georgetown Jacket” Murder
After spending 36 years in prison for being falsely convicted of murder, Alfred Chestnut, Ransom Watkins, and Andrew Stewart have been released. Their exoneration came after a reexamination of their case revealed that police coercion towards witnesses resulted in a wrongful conviction for all three men. History of the Case On Thanksgiving Day 1983, Chestnu, Watkins and Stewart, who were 16 years old at the time, were arrested and charged…
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CALIFORNIA LIMITS THE USE OF THE KILL ZONE THEORY OF LIABILITY FOR MURDER CHARGES
The California Supreme Court has issued a decision which strictly limits a prosecutor’s ability to convict a defendant of attempted murder based on a “kill zone” theory of liability. In cases where defendants are charged with attempted murder under the kill zone theory, prosecutors have been able to argue a defendant’s intent to kill each member within a group of individuals when the defendant’s actions placed the potential victim(s) within…
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No Body, No Murder Conviction?
Dumped in a lake. Dissolved in acid. Fed to pigs. In movies and TV shows, murderers often find creative ways to dispose of one key piece of evidence: the victim’s body. In reality, disposing of the body may not prevent a murder conviction in California. Several people in California have been convicted of murder in cases where the body was never found. One of the most famous cases involved Donald…
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3D Printer Helps Convict California Gang Member of Murder
In a recent California appellate case (case number G047199), a gang member lost an appeal of his 50 years to life sentence for first-degree murder. The gang member's initial conviction was aided in part by 3D printing technology that helped match the gang member's gun with the bullet retrieved from the victim's body. 1 In 2003, 15 year-old gang member Jaime Guadalupe Gonzalez shot and killed rival gang member Juan…
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You Can Be Found Guilty of Murder Even if You Were Not at the Crime Scene
If you plan a robbery and someone dies, you can be convicted of murder even if you did not take part in the robbery. In a recent court of appeals case, California affirmed a lower court's decision to convict the mastermind behind a robbery in which the victim fatally shot one of the robbers. If you are facing murder charges, you should contact a skilled criminal defense attorney with extensive…
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Could it Really Take over 6 Years for Your Criminal Case to Get to Trial?
If you are accused of murder in Orange County, it could take more than six years for your case to go to trial. Iftekar Murtaza is accused of plotting and carrying out the murder of the father and sister of his former girlfriend. In addition, he is accused of attacking her mother and setting her family home on fire by dousing it with gasoline. If he is found guilty he…
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Why is George Zimmerman Still On Trial For Murder?
Why is George Zimmerman on trial for murder? We can only blame the Florida prosecutors pursuing the case if an acquittal results in violence. As a criminal defense attorney with over 30 years of experience, I watched with great interest as George Zimmerman was arrested and accused of murdering Trayvon Martin. From the outset of this matter, it was clear to me that law enforcement personnel were not excited about…
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Jodi Arias Is Likely Going To Be Executed Because She Could Not Keep Her Mouth Shut
Murder cases are not easy to prove. In fact, prosecutors and the police do everything in their power to convince an accused person who is facing murder charges to make statements against their interest. Most persons accused of murder are wise and follow Wallin & Klarich' s advise to "shut up, shut up, shut up" when the police want to speak to you. In many high profile cases, the media…
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