Criminal Appeals
Grocery Store Owner in Los Angles County to Get a New Trial in Light of New Evidence
The founder of Numero Uno markets, a chain of grocery stores throughout Southern California, was granted a new trial last week. This came after a Federal Judge in Los Angels threw out guilty verdicts that had previously been imposed against him. In throwing out 50 guilty verdicts against the grocery store founder, the Judge ruled that new evidence came to light that may have exonerated him. Prosecutors allege that the…
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Shooting at Oxnard Juvenile Court was a False Alarm
Oxnard Juvenile Court building was shut down one morning in late October, after a reported shooting in the lobby. The entire facility was locked down and court proceedings were delayed while police searched for the gun man. According to police, the suspect was a man wearing a Chargers football jersey and slicked back hair. After closing the building for most of the morning and into the afternoon, the detectives determined…
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California Law Seeks to Prevent Minors Drunk in Public
It has been well established that minors will consume alcohol before they are legally permitted to at 21. Lawmakers in California hope a new law will help deter minors from not only drinking, but from being drunk in public. As of 2009, the California Courts will impose a suspension or delay of driving privileges on minors who are convicted of being drunk in public. California law states that any person,…
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Overhaul of Federal Immigration Detention Facilities
On Tuesday, October 6, 2009, Federal Officials promised to do a comprehensive review of every contract and consider new agreements to reform the immigration detention system. Back in 2007, federal officials were to pay $51 million to expand the Mira Loma facility to house and additional 1,400 immigrants. This facility is currently the largest in the state and is run by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The reform is…
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Prosecution Has Wide Discretion in Deciding What Criminal Charges to File, If Any
In Orange County, California, Joel Miranda, has been indicted on gross vehicular manslaughter charges for killing a pedestrian while driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Miranda's blood alcohol level was almost three times the legal limit, at 0.23%. Allegedly, Miranda fled the scene of the fatal crash. Miranda pleaded not guilty and his bail remains at one million dollars. The defendant has three prior DUI convictions. Other similarly…
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Paving the Way for Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity?
Recently CNN reported that Philip Garrido, the Northern California man who is accused of abducting Jaycee Lee Dugard, believed that he was able to speak to his neighbors and anyone in the world through a black box without speaking. Authorities claim that the Garridos held Jaycee Dugard captive for almost twenty years. Philip Garrido, who is a registered sex offender and fathered Dugard's two children, pled not guilty to the…
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Mel Gibson Does His Best to Forget His 2006 Conviction for Drunk Driving
Mel Gibson's 2006 misdemeanor conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol never happened. At least according to his criminal record. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lawrence J. Mira granted Actor Mel Gibson's request to have his criminal record expunged. As a first-time drunk-driving offender, Gibson was eligible to have the conviction removed from his record after completing the terms of his probation. As terms of his probation, Gibson…
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Conviction for Assault is Reversed Where the Judge Denied Defense Counsel’s Motion for Separate Trials
In People v. Earle, the trial court denied the defendant's motion for separate trials. 172 .4th 372 (2009). The defendant was charged with one count of misdemeanor indecent exposure and another count of felony assault in California. These counts occurred on different days, in different locations and with different victims. The defendant conceded that evidence against him for the indecent exposure count was strong but was forced to go to…
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Protect Yourself from Being Arrested in Your Home
In the case of People v. Ramey, 16 Cal.3d 263 (1976), the California Supreme court limited but did not prohibit the right of police officers to arrest a suspect in the home. The Court in Ramey held, "in the absence of a bona fide emergency, or consent to enter, police action is seizing the individual in the home must be preceded by the judicial authorization of an arrest warrant." 16…
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New Court Ruling Results in Murder Reversal: The Criminally Accused Have a Right to Confront the Witnesses Against Them – Part II
The California Third District Court of Appeal reversed a 2006 second-degree murder conviction. People v. Dungo, 2009 DJDAR 12630. In Dungo, the defendant was convicted and sentenced to 15-years-to-life for choking his girlfriend to death. This reversal came after Melendez, discussed in the previous blog. In the California case, the criminal defense attorney successfully argued that the defendant's rights were violated when the defendant's counsel was not able to cross…
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