Number of Juror Challenges May be Changed Number of Juror Challenges May be Changed . California Senate Bill (SB) 213 would reduce the number or peremptory challenges in a misdemeanor trial from 10 down to 6. The theory is that this will “speed up justice”. During jury selection, many people have prejudices they will not admit out loud.…
Interesting Law Enforcement Tools and Technology Interesting Law Enforcement Tools and Technology . While reviewing some documents in a court case, I came across the sentence: The police department used an ALPR (Automated License Plate Reader) and noted that the suspect’s vehicle was located near the ABC/XYZ area. In the case file I was reviewing, police were…
Sports Injury or Assault with a Deadly Weapon? Sports Injury or Assault with a Deadly Weapon? . Anyone who has watched professional sports or even weekend warrior sports knows You can get hurt and. Some guys play dirty. During the October 11 Dodgers/Mets Playoff game, Chase Utley allegedly slid into third base a little too late and…
Prison Fire Camps Prison Fire Camps . Over the 30-something years I have been a California lawyer, I have learned about fire-camp from the inmate’s point of view. Young healthy inmates who have a prison sentence to serve for a non-violent crime have often asked about going to “fire camp”. California prisoners have wanted the excitement and the…
Your Rights in a Vehicle Stop: Contrasting Situations Your Rights in a Vehicle Stop: Contrasting Situations. On July 18, 2013, a Texas officer stopped a young woman named Sandra Bland for failing to signal a lane change. The officer’s dash-cam activated, capturing most of the audio and video during the incident. Ms. Bland complied by pulling…
California Supreme Court Strikes Down Certain Jessica’s Law Provisions California Supreme Court Strikes Down Certain Jessica’s Law Provisions . On March 2, 2015, the California Supreme Court decided In re Taylor, and declared the residency restrictions for registered sex offenders under the Jessica’s Law unconstitutional – but only as to the way San Diego County courts applied the law. Because…
IGNORANCE OF THE LAW IS NO EXCUSE! IGNORANCE OF THE LAW IS NO EXCUSE! . How many times have you heard “Ignorance of the law is no excuse!”, meaning that a person can break the law and still be charged with a crime, even if he does not know that he is breaking the law.
Domestic Violence, the NFL, and Combat Veterans Domestic Violence, the NFL, and Combat Veterans . We have heard so much about the NFL problem with domestic violence in the last year. An anti-domestic violence commercial was featured among the Superbowl ads. Football is a violent sport. NFL stars are sought-after by just about everyone, including…
California Anti-Bullying Laws California Anti-Bullying Laws . All of us have heard of the dangers of bullying. Bullying has been alleged to develop students into mass school-shooters. It has been cited as the cause of teenage or young adult suicides. Bullying is basically harassment, most often harassment by groups of people as opposed to one individual. Of course,…
Texas prison inmate Jerry Hartfield was convicted of murder and put on death row in 1976. He has claimed innocence for many years and has an IQ or 51, about on par with the average first-grader’s ability to reason. Mr. Hartfield’s conviction was overturned in 1980 based upon misconduct in dismissing a juror who indicated he had issue…