In Counterfeit DVD and CD Case, Victim Cannot Recover Future Economic Losses.
When a person owns a copyright and finds out that another person has been selling items governed by the copyright without approval, that person is understandably outraged. The intellectual property...
View ArticleCourt Diversion Programs For Narcotic Offenders (PC 1000 and Prop 36)
If you or a loved one face charges for possession of an illegal drug, a common response is, "prison will not solve the problem; treatment and education would be better."
View ArticleSuspect's Miranda Rights Not Violated When He Volunteered Statements About...
Our clients frequently tell us that when they were arrested, police never "read them their rights." This is a reference to one's Miranda rights, which movies and television frequently show being read...
View ArticleBeware - Conspiracy Liability Very Broad For Robbery.
Under California law, a person involved in a crime is either a principal or an accessory. Cases decided by our Supreme Court have included conspirators as principals, as conspirators fall within the...
View ArticleConviction For Murder of Cop Reconsidered For DA Withholding Evidence.
Jesse Gonzalez was convicted of first degree murder with special circumstances for killing a police officer on duty. The conviction arose after he used a shotgun when Los Angeles Sheriff's Department...
View ArticleCourt Rules That Driving Includes Being Stopped at Red Light While Using Cell...
Our office receives about one call per week about traffic violations involving the use of cell phones. The caller usually received a ticket for using the cell phone and simply wants to know if there is...
View ArticleCourt Makes Mistake in Sentencing Mentally Disordered Offender to Treatment
Kelvin Harrison was convicted in San Bernardino County of battery with serious bodily injury. He was sentenced to prison for two years.
View ArticleMurder Conviction Reversed For District Attorney Withholding Evidence
On January 10, 2012, the United States Supreme Court reversed a murder conviction in Smith v. Cain (2012 DJDAR 296). The opinion held that a Louisiana district attorney violated his duty to produce...
View ArticleAn Admission is Inadmissible If After an Illegal Search As the Fruit of a...
At about 7:40 p.m. on September 22, 2009, a tipster called the Pomona Police Department to report that Scott Shetler was manufacturing and using methamphetamine in his home in Pomona, California.
View ArticleRestitution Order Can Apply to One Who Receives Stolen Property, But Does Not...
It is a common misperception that if one receives stolen property, such as a credit card, one can use it without incurring criminal liability if he or she has a good faith belief that the credit card...
View ArticleAssembly Bill 327 (AB 327) - the Fix For California's Three Strikes Law?
California's Three Strikes law is often criticized for its "one size fits all" approach in sentencing a defendant with two or more prior strike convictions. Strikes include, but are not limited to,...
View ArticlePolice Use of GPS on Drug Dealer's Car Without a Warrant Held Improper;...
Technology is often a good thing, making difficult things easier and slow things faster. It can also be misused, or even abused, trampling privacy rights, even if technology seems to make the world a...
View ArticleConviction by Red Light Camera Upheld on Appeal
Within the last two years, there have been two successful challenges to tickets issued based on "red light camera" photographs and videos for violation of California Vehicle Code § 21413 (failure to...
View ArticleStreet Terrorism Sentence Stricken When Defendant Already Punished For...
Our clients often look at the charges alleged against them and comment something to the effect of, "well, is this allowed? I am being charged with three different crimes for doing one thing." Our...
View ArticleCan I Reduce My Bail?
To ensure a defendant's appearance in court at a future date, law enforcement may set bail as a condition of releasing that defendant from police custody. Bail is a matter of right except in cases...
View ArticleWhat is a Misdemeanor "Pre-Trial Hearing?"
The legal process is packed with terminology that can be misleading even to attorneys. For example, a pre-trial hearing certainly implies that trial is imminent or definite. Therefore, when our office...
View ArticleOpening a Garage Door With a Stolen Garage Door Opener is Only Attempted...
Our office has received several calls over the years about a romantic relationship that ended, but one party retains possession of a remote control garage door opener to the garage of the other person....
View ArticleWhat Are the Limits of a "Protective Sweep" Search Without a Warrant?
It is well-established law that warrantless searches of a home are "presumptively unreasonable" under the Fourth Amendment. Payton v. New York (1980) 445 U.S. 573, 586.
View ArticleWhat is Driving Without a Valid License (Vehicle Code § 12500(a)) Or on a...
One of the more common offenses our clients face, usually in conjunction with other offenses such as DUI or speeding, is driving without a valid license, a violation of California Vehicle Code §...
View ArticleWhat is Shoplifting (Penal Code Section 484(a)) and Its Defenses?
Shoplifting is the unpermitted taking of an item belonging to another with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of the item. It is defined as petty theft (California Penal Code § 484 (a)), which...
View ArticleBeware: Living With a Prostitute Can Be Illegal and Land You in Prison
In Solano County, California, Defendant Sean ali Grant was convicted of pimping under Penal Code § 266h(a), as well as assault with a deadly weapon (§ 245(a)(1), corporal injury to a cohabitant (§...
View ArticleHow Much Time in Jail or Prison Will I Actually Serve?
In nearly every case, our clients ask about how much time they will actually spend in jail or prison. This curiosity arises not just because of widespread media attention about jail and prison...
View ArticleCourt May Not Involuntarily Commit a Mentally Retarded Person Without a...
On March 15, 2011, the Santa Clara County District Attorney filed a petition under Welfare & Institutions Code § 6500, asking the court to commit Ronald Cuevas to "involuntary treatment at...
View ArticleRestitution in Domestic Violence Case Does Not Violate Harvey Rule
Under People v. Harvey (1979) 25 Cal. 3d 754, a defendant who signs a plea bargain allowing a sentencing judge to consider the entire case, including dismissed and charges not filed, waives the right...
View ArticleJudge Errs in Requiring Sex Offender Registration Felony Child Endangerment...
Defendant Toni Allexy, age 38, was a high school cheerleading coach. She invited a fourteen year old football player from the school to her house and encouraged him to drink alcohol with her. He did so.
View ArticleSecond-Time DUI Offender Must Be Granted Restricted License After 90 Days of...
A great deal of confusion exists even among prosecutors and the DMV concerning whether a person convicted of a second-time DUI (defined as a second conviction within ten years of the first conviction)...
View ArticleSixth Amendment Not Violated in DUI Case When Someone Testifies About Lab...
On the night of August 17, 2007, Virginia Lopez was working at a restaurant in Julian, California, near San Diego. While working, she had three shots of tequila between 8:45 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. At...
View ArticleRestitution Award in DUI Case Reversed and Vacated Because Trial Court's...
Monetary restitution awards in some criminal cases are a mere "a drop in the bucket," or sadly insufficient toward paying a victim of crime for damages suffered. For example, a rape victim may receive...
View ArticleA Principal in Disturbing the Peace May Be Sentenced to 25- Year-To-Life For...
In 2008, inside a Stockton grocery store, Eduardo Liesa, a member of the Sureño street gang, allegedly made rude comments and threw gang signs to two Norteño gang members. The two gangs were rival gangs.
View ArticleWhat is Statutory Rape (Penal Code § 261.5)?
Statutory rape is defined under Penal Code § 261.5 as sexual intercourse with a person under 18 years of age. The two individuals cannot be husband and wife. This crime is more broadly often referred...
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