Richard Winton of The Los Angles Times reports today that nearly 200 potential sexual assault cases have gone without prosecution because Los Angeles Police officials failed to test them within the 10-year statute of limitations period required to identify and charge a suspect in a sexual crime. These claims come…
California Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
Former director of UCLA’s Willed Body Program pleads guilty to cadaver scheme
In May, the former director of UCLA’s Willed Body Program, Henry Reid, was indicted by a grand jury for selling body parts to businessman Ernest Nelson who resold them to medical research companies. The LA Times reports that today, Mr. Reid plead guilty to felony charges that he damaged or…
Copper wire thefts reaching epidemic levels
The weak economy has forced people to find creative ways to supplement their income. The Los Angeles Times reports that a surge in the price of copper has produced an outbreak of theft of copper wires from light poles. And, according to reports, there have been at least eight thefts…
Report suggests that fears that immigration is a threat to Southern California public safety are unjustified
According to a recent study, immigrants—including immigrants living in Orange County—are far less likely than the average U.S.-born citizen to commit crime in California. The Public Policy Institute of California report, that can be found here, said that while people born outside the United States make up about 35 percent…
California’s Proposition 5 would overhaul sentencing of drug offenders
Sponsors of the Proposition 5 are asking voters in November to increase treatment and eliminate incarceration for those convicted of nonviolent, drug-related crimes. The Los Angeles Times reports that the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act, funded in part by billionaire George Soros, would be “the most ambitious sentencing and prison reform…
U.S. Supreme Court Petitions to watch
There are some interesting Petitions for Certiorari the U.S. Supreme Court is considering this fall. At their September 29th conference, the Justices will determine which petitions involve issues that are compelling enough to move to the briefing stage—commonly referred to as the Court granting “cert.” Each year, the 7,000 petitions…
OC sheriff’s deputy charged with assault for unlawfully tasering suspect
An Orange County sheriff’s deputy was indicted for allegedly abusing his authority when he tasered a handcuffed suspect in his patrol car last year. Mike Anton of the L.A. Times reports that Christopher Hibbs, a 12-year veteran of the sheriff’s department, was indicted by an Orange County grand jury on…
San Diego Police Kill Gun Brandishing Man
A 64-year-old San Diego man was shot and killed Friday night during a confrontation with police that began when he allegedly fired several shots into the home of a San Diego sheriff’s deputy. Tony Perry from the Los Angeles Times reports that the incident began when the man banged on…
USC Cornerback Facing Felony Charges for Resisting Police
University of Southern California cornerback Shareece Wright has been charged by San Bernardino law enforcement with resisting a police officer in connection to a party in his hometown of Colton last weekend. Resisting police a police officer using force or violence is a felony in California. The Los Angeles Times…
Juveniles arrested in murder of Santa Ana Boy
Two juvenile Santa Ana gang members were arrested in the murder of a 13-year-old boy who was gunned down Wednesday while crossing the street with a group of friends near Santa Ana High School. H.G Reza and Tony Barboza of the Los Angeles Times report that the suspects are 16…