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Criminal Law

Southern California Criminal Defense Blog

Information about California Defense Law as well as up-to-date news from the legal sector.
By Walin & Klarich

Post Frequency: 9.1/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 15:11:30

Riverside DMV Hearings and DUI Defense Attorneys

Posted on December 29, 2009
The city of Riverside has an approximate population of 311,575. As the largest city in the Inland Empire region of California, Riverside is also the 12th largest city in the state. With a population density of 3,267.2 people per square mile and with a total area of 98...

Lawsuit Filed in Attempt to Overturn City Council Decision to Limit Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Posted on December 28, 2009
The Los Angeles Collective Association and the Green Oasis dispensary, which is made up of medical marijuana collectives, has filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles? moratorium that seeks to control the sale of medical marijuana. They argue that the moratorium is too vague and its extension into mid-March is in violation of state law...

U.S. Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments for Life without Parole for Minors

Posted on December 27, 2009
Recently, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases involving life sentences without the option for parole for minors. The two cases, Graham v. Florida and Sullivan v. Florida both involved two minors who were convicted of serious felonies when they were 16 and 13 years old, respectively...

Criminal Threats Are More Serious than You Think - How Penal Code Section 422 Could Result in Criminal Charges

Posted on December 26, 2009
Law enforcement agencies and courts do not take threats lightly. Many times a statement intended as a joke or a statement that was hastily made with little or no thought of its implications, could be construed as a criminal threat under Penal Code Section 422...

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What is Factual Innocence and How Can I Be Found to Have Been Factually Innocent According to Penal Code Section 851.8?

Posted on December 25, 2009
Factual innocence is one of the many remedies available to those who have been arrested for a crime but ultimately had the charges dismissed. However, there are many essential elements that must be proven before a court will deem you factually innocent...

Why You Need a Skilled Federal Criminal Defense Law Firm at Your Side when Facing a Federal Drug Offense

Posted on December 24, 2009
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), through the help of Congress has assembled a categorized list of drugs known as the schedule list. The list includes almost all of the drugs, and their derivative compounds, that can be found in the legal or illegal market...

Anaheim DUI Sobriety Checkpoint

Posted on December 23, 2009
?Tis the Season. Police will conduct another holiday sobriety checkpoint starting at 8 p.m. on Saturday December, 26 until 3 a.m. Sunday December 27, at a major, unannounced thoroughfare. Motorists passing through the checkpoint will also receive safe driving literature donated by Mothers Against Drunk Drivers...

Anaheim DMV Hearings and DUI Defense Attorneys

Posted on December 22, 2009
With approximately 348,467 residents, Anaheim is the tenth largest city in California based on population. Covering a major region in Orange County, Anaheim is 50.5 square miles in size. Mostly known for being home to Disneyland, Disney?s California Adventure, and the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim is a highly desired tourist spot...

Celebrity Burglaries Led by 19-Year-Old

Posted on December 22, 2009
A recent article details the burglary spree that victimized homes of young Hollywood stars Audrina Patridge, Lindsay Lohan, Orlando Bloom, Rachel Bilson and the Hilton family. The ringleader behind these thefts, according to a confession by one of the robbers, was a 19 year old Las Vegas woman whose desire to own the designer clothes and jewelry of such celebrities as Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton motivated her to spearhead the thefts...

When Does a Police Officer Have to Read Me My Miranda Rights? The Answer is Only When You Are Considered "In Custody" (Part 2)

Posted on December 21, 2009
This is a continuation of our blog from yesterday and it provides you with additional critical information as to the issue of when law enforcement must read you your Miranda rights. An analysis of the facts of your case will help answer the question of whether you were "in custody" for Miranda purposes...

When Does a Police Officer Have to Read Me My Miranda Rights? The Answer is Only When You Are Considered "In Custody" (Part 1)

Posted on December 20, 2009
We are often asked, ?When do the police have to read me my Miranda rights?? The answer is the police must read you your Miranda rights if you are deemed to be ?in custody? and the police wish to ask you questions. If a suspect is not in "custody," no Miranda rules apply...

Stolen Party Machinery Results in Jail Time and Grand Theft Conviction

Posted on December 19, 2009
A Long Beach woman was recently sentenced to 90 days in jail after pleading guilty in the West Orange County Justice Center to felony theft by fraud, according to an article in the Orange County Register. The woman allegedly threw a birthday party for her son that she never intended to pay for...

You Can Defend Yourself against Excessive Force in a Citizen's Arrest

Posted on December 18, 2009
In a recent California Appellate Court decision, the court determined that a person who is being subjected to a ?citizen?s arrest? may use self-defense if he or she reasonably believes that he or she is in imminent danger of excessive force by the arresting citizen...

Embezzlement: What is It?

Posted on December 17, 2009
According to California Penal Code Section 503 Embezzlement is ?the fraudulent appropriation of property by a person to whom it has been entrusted.? In other words, if some one entrusts you with money or property, and you use that money or property for something other than it was originally intended, you are guilty of embezzlement...

Santa Ana DMV Hearings and DUI Defense Attorneys

Posted on December 17, 2009
Santa Ana has an estimated population of 339,130, making it the most heavily populated city within the large region of Orange County. The city of Santa Ana is only 10 miles away from several California beaches and is located alongside the Santa Ana River in Southern California...

Polanski Has Options to Have Case Dismissed

Posted on December 16, 2009
The Los Angeles district attorney has announced that if Switzerland does extradite filmmaker Roman Polanski, the criminal case from which he fled 31 years ago will be reopened. Polanski was originally indicted by the grand jury on six felonies that included rape against a 13 year old, but these charges were later dismissed after he accepted a deal to plead guilty to unlawful intercourse with a minor...

Long Beach DMV Hearings and DUI Defense Attorneys

Posted on December 15, 2009
Located along the Pacific coast in Southern California, the city of Long Beach has an approximate population of 492,682. As the second-largest city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, Long Beach has a lot to offer its residents and visitors alike. Widely known as one of the world?s largest shipping ports, the Port of Long Beach, the city is also a successful provider towards the development of high-technology and aerospace industry...

Videotape Reveals Images Contradictory to LAPD Officers' Testimony

Posted on December 15, 2009
Los Angeles officers Richard Amio, Evan Samuel and Manuel Ortiz have been recently prosecuted for perjury and conspiracy after a videotape revealed images that contradicted their testimonies. While testifying for a drug-possession case, the officers claimed that defendant Guillermo Alarcon threw a box that broke open revealing cocaine...

What You Need to Know if You Are Facing a Domestic Violence Charge

Posted on December 14, 2009
The language in recent case decisions indicates that courts recognize the danger inherent in domestic violence situations. The volatility of situations involving domestic violence make them particularly well suited for an application of the emergency circumstances doctrine, where law enforcement can enter your home without a warrant given that an emergency is taking place...

If You Were Arrested and Spoke to Police, Your Statement May Be Suppressed

Posted on December 13, 2009
Why You Should Retain an Experienced Criminal Defense Law Firm to Help You Confessions must be the product of a voluntary statement. Whether a confession is voluntary becomes very relevant in the context of a law enforcement interrogation. If a defendant challenges the voluntariness of a confession or admission, the prosecution has the ultimate burden of showing the statement was voluntary...

LAPD and Federal Agents Arrest 78 People in Major Gang Crack-Down

Posted on December 12, 2009
Last month, several LAPD officers teamed up with other Federal agents in a highly coordinated team-effort and arrested 78 suspected members of the notorious ?Avenues? street gang. The gang, based out of the north-eastern part of Los Angeles, has been tied to extensive drug trafficking as well as several murders over the past year, including the assassination of a Los Angeles County Sheriff?s deputy...

Possession of Certain Chemicals Could Land You in Jail

Posted on December 11, 2009
Why You Need a Good Drug Defense Attorney The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has a list of chemicals that it has placed on a watch list. The Chemical Diversion and Trafficking Act of 1988 imposed legal impediments to obtaining the chemicals necessary to manufacture drugs of abuse...

Police Entry into Residence Without a Warrant - What is the "Emergency Exception" to the Warrant Requirement? (Part 2)

Posted on December 10, 2009
In general, police must have a warrant before entering a residence. Of course, certain exceptions apply to the general rule which requires a warrant before entry. One such exception is known as the, "emergency exception." The emergency exception is often used by police and prosecutors to justify a warrantless entry...

San Diego DMV Hearings and DUI Defense Attorneys

Posted on December 10, 2009
As the eight largest city in population in the U.S., San Diego has much to offer its residents as well as tourists who enjoy visiting the area. San Diego is situated in the Southwest region of California beside the Pacific Ocean and is approximately 372...

You Have Legal Rights When You Share a Residence and Refuse Police Officers Request to Search Your Home or Apartment (Part 1)

Posted on December 09, 2009
Several recent Court rulings have addressed the issue of consent entry into one's residence. The issue of lawful consent becomes more complex when dealing with a residence shared by two occupants. In Georgia v. Randolph (2006) 164 L Ed.2d 208, the court held that if two occupants are at the door and one says officers may enter and the other refuses consent to enter, then officers cannot enter unless there is some other basis for doing so...

Domestic Violence - Officer's Entry Into Suspect's Home Found To Be Lawful Based Upon Express or Implied Consent (Part 3)

Posted on December 08, 2009
Two leading domestic violence cases, People v. Frye (1998) 18 Cal.App.4th 894 and People v. Wilkins (1993) 14 Cal.App.4th 761, have held that law enforcement entries into a suspect?s home were lawful as consent entries. The court in People v. Frye stated as follows; it may be inferred from the fact the victim and defendant resided together in the apartment that the victim possessed authority to consent to the officer's entry...

Los Angeles DMV Hearings and DUI Defense Attorneys

Posted on December 08, 2009
Los Angeles is the largest city in California and the second largest in the United States. Commonly referred to as the ?City of Angels?, approximately 3,833,995 individuals resided within the vast spread of Los Angeles in July 2008. In a greater metropolitan area with about 12...

Domestic Violence - Exigent Circumstances May Justify An Officer's Warrantless Entry Into Your Residence (Part 2)

Posted on December 07, 2009
In the context of an officer's warrantless entry into your residence, the most important issue is objective reasonableness. Whether, under the circumstances of your case, the officer's warrantless entry into your residence was objectively reasonable. If so, the "exigent circumstances" expection to the general warrant requirement may apply to justify the entry...

Domestic Violence - Officer's Presence At One's Residence (Part 1)

Posted on December 06, 2009
Several cases have involved situations wherein officers go to a residence in response to a report of domestic violence being committed. Generally, if an obviously battered victim is present and the batterer is still within the residence, the officer may enter the residence to arrest the batterer...

Riverside County Man Sentenced to 100 Years for Operating Ponzi Scheme

Posted on December 05, 2009
In September, a Federal Judge in Riverside County sentenced Richard Monroe Harkless to 100 years in prison for operating a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors of about $35 million. Federal prosecutors boast that the sentence is the longest ever imposed for a financial crime in Southern California...

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