The so-called felony murder rule that treated an accomplice to a murder as if he or she was the actual murderer was amended in 2017 so that an accomplice could only be convicted as the murderer when malice aforethought is shown. In practical terms, this means that an accomplice…
A bench warrant is a warrant for a person’s arrest issued by a judge (the “bench”). Most often these warrants are issued because a person failed to appear in court for an arraignment or other matter or because he or she violated a court order. It is not uncommon for…
A person convicted by a judge or jury of a misdemeanor or a felony has a right to appeal that conviction. However, it is not enough to be unhappy with the verdict or think the trial was unfair, there are specific grounds upon which the appeal may be made. Appeals…
I think we can all agree that 2020 was a bad year all around. Drug abuse and overdose was no exception. In 2020, the number of drug overdose deaths increased 30% to an estimated 93,000 people, the largest number of annual overdose deaths ever recorded in this county. For comparison,…
The opioid addiction and overdose crisis is old news, but is this country on the cusp of a new prescription drug epidemic? Some experts fear that a class of drugs, benzodiazepines, is the next drug epidemic. Benzodiazepines, commonly referred to as “Benzos”, are effective at treating acute anxiety and panic…
BEGINNING JULY 1, 2021 Beginning July 1, 2021, many California residents who are required to register as sex offenders under Penal Code section 290 will be relieved of the lifetime registration requirement. Who is eligible? Tier 1 and Tier 2 offenders. Tier One offenders include those who were convicted…
SIXTEEN YEARS AGO HE STOOD BEFORE THE JUDGE AS A CONVICTED DRUG DEALER, NOW HE STANDS BEFORE THE SAME JUDGE TO BE SWORN IN AS AN ATTORNEY. Being a criminal defense attorney in Orange County can be tough and demanding work. I know that every one of my clients is…
A criminal trial is all about the evidence. It is the backbone of the prosecution’s case. Evidence of a crime is most often circumstantial. It is unusual for the police and prosecutors to have direct evidence of the crime, especially in those cases that go to trial. Direct evidence is…
It has been almost a year now since restaurants in California have been forced to close all or part of their dining facilities. For many small restauranteurs, the take-out business has kept them afloat…. but barely. Most Californians are sympathetic to the plight of the small restauranteur and many of…
You may not know that your vehicle records and stores a large assortment of time stamped data that can range from the opening and closing of the vehicle’s doors, the speed at which the vehicle was driving at any given date and time, voice commands stored in the onboard bluetooth…