If you or a friend or family member has been arrested in Orange County, the following are a few things you need to know to get out of jail: (1) Posting bail. The usual way to get released from jail is to “post bail.” Bail is cash or a cash…
The Los Angeles Times is reporting that a festive Christmas Eve party took a terrible turn for a Covina family. The Times reports that a man dressed in a Santa suit opened fire at his ex-wife’s Christmas Eve party and then set the house ablaze. Authorities believe that eight people…
According to the L.A. Daily News, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Christopher Cox said his agency neglected to pursue allegations of wrongdoing by Bernard L. Madoff, the alleged perpetrator of a $50 billion Ponzi scheme for the last ten years. As a result, Cox ordered a probe by the…
Westminster police responded to a typical disturbing the peace call last week–but instead of finding disgruntled family members, they fell upon a herd of wicker reindeer in the living room, yards of Christmas lights, faux Christmas trees, several snowmen and many inflatable Santa Claus figures. According to the L.A. Times,…
Earlier this week I posted a blog about the effectiveness of gun control and it seems that gun control is also on the minds of Los Angeles City Council. Yesterday, the L.A. Times reported that the Public Safety Committee of the Los Angeles City Council approved a package of gun…
The media has spent much of the past ten days covering the arrest of New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress on gun charges and the tragedy in India where 125 people lost their lives at the hands of terrorists. (A recent L.A. Times article can be found here) Both bring…
For most misdemeanor offenses in California, a police officer can only make an arrest of a suspect without a warrant if the offense was committed in the officer’s presence. If a felony is suspected, officers can arrest people based upon witness statements, or where a warrant for the person’s arrest…
An alleged drug dealer’s five-year prison sentence was overturned last week and charges dismissed after Los Angeles County prosecutors conceded that police included false information in an arrest report to protect the identity of a confidential informant. The Los Angeles Daily News reports the District Attorney’s office told a judge…
The Los Angeles Times reports that California’s Proposition 5—aka the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act (NORA)–was defeated by a margin of roughly 60 percent to 40 percent. As I discussed in an earlier post, the measure, which drew the attention of drug policy advocates nationwide, was regarded by some as “the…
That’s the question the U.S. Supreme Court was considering when they heard oral arguments in Oregon v. Ice— a case adressing whether under Apprendi v. New Jersey (2000), a sentencing judge violates the Sixth Amendment by imposing consecutive sentences based on a fact not found by the jury or admitted…