As a criminal defense attorney I am constantly trying to stay up to date on new criminal case law and legislation as well as the state of the justice system in California and the United States. One of the ways I do this is by getting emails from organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Anti-Defamation League and even the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action. As anyone who reads my blog likely knows, I have fairly conservative views and I rarely jump on any liberal bandwagons. I recently got …

Post Traumatic stress disorder is a popular defense these days. With the establishment of veterans courts around the country, courts are seeing more and more defenses to crimes based upon combat service in the military. Here in Los Angeles there is a Veteran’s Court in Downtown LA run by a fantastic superior court judge. Judge Michael Tynan will cut your the brakes you deserve. However, just as quickly, he will send you to prison for not following the rules. Judge Tynan is running LA County’s veteran’s court and he is doing a bang up job. If a criminal defendant is …

Many years after the voters in California passed an initiative to allow legal use and possession of marijuana, the federal government still does not see it our way. The Compassionate Use Act allows authorized persons with medical needs and a doctor’s recommendation to have, use and even cultivate marijuana for personal use or for use as a caregiver or within specified group. I got a call just this Friday from a woman charged with possession of under an ounce of marijuana. She was on a federal military base and had the marijuana (with a valid CA prescription) on the base. …

One of the first questions that a prospective client asks me is always about cost: How much will it cost to hire a criminal defense attorney like you? My answer is always the same: I have an office policy minimum and I don’t get on any case for less than $2,500. The fees go up from there depending upon severity of the case, prior criminal history, court location and other factors. Like all things in life there are exceptions to the rule. Driving on a suspended license cases or traffic tickets would likely cost less money. Likewise, there are reasons …

The California Highway Patrol reported that DUI arrests were up significantly from last Labor Day Weekend. Not only were DUI arrests up, but fatal accidents were up as well, says the CHP. Last year only one fatal accident was reported during the first two days of Labor Day Weekend, but this year there were six reported fatal accidents. In addition DUI arrests were up to 1,008 from 990 last year. The CHP reported that there had been a downward trend in DUI arrests and fatal traffic collisions over the last few years. Sadly, this year has shown an increase in …

A Riverside County man was tragically sentenced to 29 to life in prison for shoplifting less than $21 worth of merchandise from a Home Depot Store in the Lake Elsinore area. Yes, he had an extensive criminal history. Yes, he was on parole for at least one prior felony conviction. Yes, he has had strikes “stricken” before. And yes, it should have happened again. According to the local media, Scott Hove, 45, of Riverside County, was previously charged with a third strike offense in Riverside County. In that case, he was charged with drug possession. The District Attorney argued to …

In a landmark case, the Federal Court just ruled that immigrants are entitled to a hearing and potential bail before any prolonged detention. The Court said that failure to do so is unconstitutional The ruling which came down in the Third Federal Circuit effects immigration detainees in NewJersey and Pennsylvania. The case was brought by a detainee from the country of Senegal who was detained for nearly three years in immigration custody without the opportunity for a bail hearing. Cheikh Diop was not given a hearing to determine whether or not his detention was necessary for this three year period. …

Judge Charles Campbell declared a mistrial in the high profile murder trial of Brandon McInerney. A mistrial is declared for many different reasons, but in this case it was declared because the jury was hopelessly deadlocked and was unable to reach an unanimous decision on either the murder charge or the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter. The twelve member jury is reported to have deliberated for over 17 hours and was ultimately unable to reach a decision. In criminal cases in California, 12 jurors must reach an unanimous decision in order to find a criminal defendant either not guilty or …

Due to the State budget crises, California plans to start moving low-level, nonviolent offenders from over-crowded prisons to the over-crowded jails run by the State’s 58 Counties. Recently, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca submitted a plan to begin the prisoner transition from State Prison to LA County Jail. Clearly this is a plan that is destined for failure. LA County’s jail system is already amongst the largest municipal jail system in the world. It is already overcrowded, understaffed and the conditioners there are, in a word, disgusting. How then does Sheriff Baca expect to accommodate more inmates from the …

Orange County Judge David Chaffee just ruled that Anaheim is within the law when it bans all medical marijuana dispensaries in it’s city. In a hotly contested ruling, a Superior Court judge in Orange County just sent the dispensaries packing – or at least moving – outside the city of Anaheim. Attorney Anthony Curiale, who represents the Qualified Patients Association, says his client, who runs a marijuana dispensary is going to appeal. Curiale goes on to state the the city ordinance is unconstitutional and conflicts with state law. Paul Chabot of the Coalition for a Drug Free California indicated that …