A person who is not a citizen of the United States—even one who is legally residing in this country—can be permanently deported if he or she has committed certain crimes. I discussed thisin greater detail last year. Immigration law is administered by the federal government but most often, a…
For those of us who live in Southern California, the increasing sight of homeless encampments has been cause for both compassion and alarm. The ever-increasing number of homeless people in our area is often attributed to spiking rental rates and the increasing costs of living here. But there may…
Many of my clients are surprised at the amount of information law enforcement has gathered about them. I wrote awhile back about how ubiquitous law enforcement surveillance is in our everyday lives. Many of my clients learn the hard way. Not only is it impossible to hide from the…
Recently New York Public Radio station WNYC profiled an in-depth investigation on police misconduct in the New York Police Department. The investigation revealed hundreds of incidents of misconduct by NYPD officers, including stealing and assaulting New York City residents. The investigation revealed that some of the officers were found…
APPELLATE COURT FORCES CHANGE IN BAIL HEARINGS I have previously written about the judicially appointed Pretrial Detention Reform Workgroup’s efforts to analyze and recommend reforms to the California bail system and the California Money Bail Reform Act. Both efforts are directed at reforming the inherently unfair bail system in California…
The evidence is the heart of any criminal case. We usually think of evidence as evidence that supports (or proves) the allegation that the crime was committed. This is technically called “inculpatory evidence” as it tends to incriminate (or inculpate) the defendant. But what about evidence that tends to…
A turkey? A person who has had a bit too much to drink? A spinning top? Well, it might be all those things, but in California law, a “wobbler” refers to an offense that may be charged and punished as a felony or a misdemeanor. There are literally hundreds…
While every defendant has a constitutional right to a jury of his or her peers, criminal charges rarely go to trial. In fact, around 97% of criminal cases are resolved by a plea bargain. A plea bargain is when the defendant pleads guilty or nolo contendere (no contest) to…
A defendant was charged with three separate armed robberies. The three victims all identified the defendant in a “six-pack” photographic lineup. In closing arguments at the jury trial, the defense attorney questioned the correctness of the identifications. The prosecution rebutted, stating that there were three victims who identified the…
This is a true crime story with a twist: Ascension Alverez-Tejeda and his girlfriend were transporting drugs in their vehicle. They stopped at a traffic light and when the light turned green, the car in front of them began to move through the light then stalled. Mr. Alverez-Tejeda stopped…