Not just in California, but across the county, bail reformis a hot topic. Why? Because the bail systemeffectively consigns many defendants to incarceration before they are found guilty…or innocent. Defendants who are unable to come up with the funds to make bail often remain incarcerated until final judgment, but…
California Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
CONVICTION INTEGRITY UNITS
Back in the mid to late 1980’s law enforcement and prosecutors started using the new technology of DNA testing to solve crimes. Soon thereafter, criminal defense attorneys recognized that DNA testing can not only help solve crimes but can also be used to exonerate individualswrongly accused or convicted of…
DID ORANGE COUNTY JAIL VIOLATE THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE?
When a person accused of a crime hires a defense attorney, every communication between the defendant and his or her attorney is privileged communication, meaning anything the accused tells the attorney cannot be divulged by the attorney nor can the attorney be forced to give up information the client…
THE MENTAL HEALTH CONSERVATORSHIP (LPS CONSERVATORSHIP)
For some mentally ill defendants, alternative sentencingoptions aren’t available, they might not be eligible for court ordered treatment under Laura’s Lawor the treatment failed, or perhaps they have been in a repetitive cycle of Penal Code section 1368 mental incompetencytreatment. Whatever the failures of the justice system to adequately…
LAURA’S LAW MAY PROVIDE RELIEF TO FAMILIES OF THE SERIOUSLY MENTALLY ILL OFFENDER
Continuing my discussion on mental illness and the criminal justice system, I now turn to a little-known California law that was enacted in 2002, known as Laura’s Law. This legislation, codified in the California Welfare and Institutions Code, sections 5345 et seq., permits the court to order certain persons…
When a Criminal Defendant is Incompetent to Stand Trial Due to Mental Illness
As a criminal defense attorney in Orange County, I am sometimes left with the heart-wrenching task of helping the parents of an adult child with a mental illness wind their way through our state justice system; a system that often leaves no room for opportunities to address the underlying…
NEW LAW OFFERS PRETRIAL DIVERSION TO SOME OFFENDERS SUFFERING FROM A MENTAL DISORDER
Most criminal convictions require a showing of intent or an understanding that an act or omission will result in the commission of a crime. This is expressed by the Latin term “mens rea,” which as “guilty mind.” In common law and up to this day, this standard has been…
PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT IN CALIFORNIA
I have previously writtenon these pages about the alleged prosecutorial misconduct by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office—misconduct that made national headlines. That incident prompted the California Legislature to introduce and enact a new lawthat that punishes California prosecutors who tamper with or withhold exculpatory evidence. Prosecutorial misconduct is a…
CONSUMER GENETIC TESTING: A NEW TOOL IN LAW ENFORCEMENT IN CALIFORNIA
Have you sent your spit to one of the genetic-testing companies? It can be interesting to find out our DNA ancestry and perhaps proactive to learn if you might be genetically predisposed to certain health risks. And the police are interested in your DNA profile too. In the 1970’s…
FENTANYL’S CHINA CONNECTION
Fentanylis the deadliest opioid of all the opioids being abused in this country. It is said to be 50 times more powerful than pure heroin, making it very easy to overdose on the drug-hence the highest rate of fatal overdoses in this country can be attributed to Fentanyl. In…