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Conditions in Orange County Jails Inhumane, According to ACLU Report
Nobody wants to go to jail. You will have little opportunity to contact your family and friends, and you will not be able to move about freely or enjoy the daily activities of your life. However, residents of Orange County may have more reason to want to avoid jail time. According to a report published recently by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), conditions in Orange County jails are inhumane.…
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Should Internet Trolling Be a Serious Crime?
If you spend any amount of time online (and we know you do because you are reading this article), you are undoubtedly familiar with Internet “trolls.” These are the people who, empowered by the anonymity of the Internet, seemingly only enjoy life when they are making someone else’s life miserable. Trolls usually operate by reacting to an online opinion post or comment of someone by deliberately posting offensive or inflammatory…
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Was Sean Penn’s Meeting with El Chapo a Crime?
In one of the stranger bits of news to start 2016, Sean Penn, the Academy Award-winning actor and director, secretly met with and interviewed one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, aka “El Chapo.” Guzmán is the head of the Sinaloa drug cartel, one of the largest criminal organizations in Mexico. Mexican actress Kate del Castillo arranged the interview after the drug lord approached her about…
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iPads for Inmates?
Think of all the technological innovations over the last two decades that we use to stay connected to each other on a daily basis: computers, tablets, smartphones, and wireless Internet access. For many of us, it is difficult to imagine living without these conveniences. What if you had been asleep for the past 20 years? What would you think an "app" is? To you, a smartphone would look like something…
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Leave Your Guns Unlocked in Your Home and Face Going to Jail
Prior to legally purchasing a firearm in California, you must first abide by a series of rules and regulations. These guidelines were created to ensure that you act responsibly as a gun owner. Possessing a firearm may provide owners with a sense of security and well-being, but, as we know far too well, if a firearm is put into the wrong hands the outcome can be tragic. A Los Angeles…
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Should Smoking and Drinking While Pregnant Make You a Criminal?
Should a woman face criminal prosecution for child abuse if she smokes, uses drugs, or drinks during pregnancy? That is the debate that many states have wrestled with for decades. For example, in the case of Cornelia Whitner, South Carolina's Supreme Court ruled that she could be criminally liable for using cocaine during her pregnancy. 1 However, the court's ruling did not stop at the use of illegal drugs. The…
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Even Lawyers Need to Be Careful What They Post Online
Remember the days of asking a celebrity for an autograph? If you spotted a Hollywood actor or famous musician, you had to find anything they could sign. Those days are gone. Autographs have been replaced with photos, and every celebrity is asked to stop and take a selfie that will be posted online for the world to see. However, altering digital photos is now easier than ever. While everyone is…
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Split Sentencing Gives Inmates a Chance
The city of San Diego introduced a "split sentencing" program in an effort to reduce the number of repeat criminal offenders. Split sentencing provides offenders with the opportunity to spend part of their sentence in jail and the remainder in supervised rehabilitation within the community. As early signs begin to point to a reduction in San Diego's recidivism rate, other counties are beginning to take note and preparing to follow…
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Driver Takes Passed-out Passenger to a Motel: Was His Arrest a Rush to Judgment?
Recently, a San Fernando Valley-based independent driver for the rideshare service Uber was arrested after being suspected of criminal activity involving a woman too drunk to tell him where she wanted to go. Frederick Dencer, 32, of Encino, was charged on suspicion of kidnapping with intent to commit sexual assault, according to LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon. 1 The driver was held in custody after the woman called 911 to complain…
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Did Donald Sterling Threaten Witnesses?
The on-going saga of Donald Sterling's public meltdown took another bizarre twist recently when his estranged wife, Shelly Sterling, sought a court order against the disgraced owner of the Los Angeles Clippers after he allegedly threatened witnesses in connection with the contested sale of the team. Shelly Sterling had sought an emergency protective order after Donald Sterling had left hostile voicemails for the two doctors who had found him mentally…
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