CALIFORNIA ENDS GRAND JURY HEARINGS IN FATAL POLICE SHOOTINGS California is the first state to announce that it will ban grand juries in the preliminary determination on whether a law enforcement office should face criminal charges after killing someone in the line of duty. The reasoning behind the ban, which…
A California arrest warrant authorizes law enforcement to arrest and apprehend you if you are suspected of committing a crime outside of the presence of an officer. Judges issue arrest warrants based upon the evidence presented to them by an officer or District Attorney. Also, an arrest warrant can be…
There is no functional difference between temporary and permanent insanity under California law. The sole issue in California is the status of the defendant’s sanity at the time of the crime. The method of determining a defendant’s sanity is the two pronged M’Naghten rule. 1) The first prong requires a defendant to understand…
As temperatures rise going into spring and summer, so does the risk of vehicular hyperthermia for children left inside hot vehicles. Each year since 1998 an average of 38 children have died in hot cars in the U.S. Although these tragedies occur nationally, California is one of only 20 states…
California Proposition 47, Do You Qualify? California Proposition 47 is a recently approved law, which allows many individuals who have criminal convictions, to reduce their felony conviction(s) to misdemeanor convictions. Further, it allows those who are currently being prosecuted for felonies, to have their charges reduced to misdemeanors and prosecuted…
Being arrested and facing criminal charges is a traumatic experience but choosing the right lawyer can minimize the stress and anxiety one suffers while moving through the process toward a resolution. When trying to decide which lawyer is right for you, there are a few things to consider when making…
A Santa Ana youth coach who was convicted of molesting three boys over a two year period of time faces possible life in prison. The youth coach was found guilty of nine counts of lewd acts with a minor, four counts of showing pornography to a minor and one count…
After a neighbor noticed suspicious activity at a neighbor’s house, police were called regarding a possible burglary. The Westminster Police arrived just as a car with four suspects in it drove off. The police officers chased the car, which ended up crashing into a brick wall. Three suspects were caught…
Last week, the FBI released a survey that proved that in 2008, crimes in Orange County went down, especially violent crimes and property crimes. This dip in crimes is a nationwide trend with violent crimes down 1.9% and property crimes down 1%. Property and violent crime dipped in both Santa…
A Huntington Beach couple were terrorized Wednesday afternoon when robbers broke in with handguns and stole a shotgun and some marijuana plants. The police are continuing their investigation into the crime. What makes this interesting is what was taken. It may be that the victims become defendants since they would…