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Generally speaking, the principles of criminal defense are the same at the Federal level as they are at the state level. However, procedures and rules are quite different. It’s important to have an experienced attorney who has been admitted to practice in your federal district. Of all criminal charges, the most intimidating can be federal Read More …
Robbery (PC 211): Penal Code 211 defines “Robbery” in the state of California as: taking the personal property that is in the possession of another person, from their immediate presence, against their will, or through the use of force and/or fear (for example, wearing masks and wielding guns). However, the crime can also be committed Read More …
A California criminal conviction can weigh heavily on those individuals who are not yet United States citizens. Certain kinds of criminal convictions can lead to deportation- regardless of how long that person has resided in the United States. There are also “inadmissible crimes” that will restrict an immigrant from re-entering the country after leaving, becoming Read More …
If you have been injured due to another person’s negligence (or in the result of an accident), as a victim, you may be entitled to compensation for injuries and losses. Common types include (but are not limited to): medical malpractice, workplace accidents, motor vehicle and/or traffic accidents and so forth. If you believe you have Read More …
Driving Under the Influence: Alcohol/Drugs (VC 23152) Per California DUI laws, it is illegal to drive a vehicle with blood alcohol content (BAC) percentages: 0.08% or higher―21 years old or older operating a regular passenger vehicle. 0.04% or higher―operating a commercial vehicle. 0.01% or higher―younger than 21 years old. It is also illegal to drive Read More …
DUI with Injury (VC 23153) If you drove under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs and while driving you injured another person, you may be convicted with VC 23153(b) “driving with a BAC of 0.08% or greater and causing an injury”. Misdemeanor DUI with Injury: Informal probation can range between 3 to 5 years with Read More …
California DUI Refusal (VC 13353): Refusal to take Blood, Breath, or Urine Sample Chemical test/DUI refusal charges can be very serious. Refusing to take a blood, breath, or urine sample will result in additional jail time served with longer license revocation periods. In addition, you will not be able to acquire a restricted license due Read More …
Driving with Suspended License (VC 14601): It is illegal to drive or operate a vehicle when you know that your license has been suspended or revoked. The most common reasons for suspension or revocation are due to DUI conviction(s), mental or physical disabilities, or the result of negligent driving, placing too many points on your Read More …
Hit & Run (VC 20002) In California you may be charged with a hit and run if the following occurred if: you left the scene of an accident, failed to identify yourself to parties involved, and caused property damage. A misdemeanor hit and run in California is concerned with property damage. A Felony hit and Read More …
Drunk in Public/Public Intoxication (PC 647 (f)): In order to violate California’s “drunk in public” law, you need to be so intoxicated that you are either unable to exercise care for your safety or those around you, or, you have interfered, obstructed, or prevented others from using streets, roads, sidewalks, and so forth. Behaving in Read More …
Disturbing the Peace (PC 415): Several ways a person can violate California’s “disturbing the peace” law is by: Unlawfully fighting, or challenging another in a fight, in a public place, willfully and maliciously disturbing the peace by loud and unreasonable noise, and/or using offensive words in public so as to provoke violence. Penalties (PC 415): Read More …
Transportation for Sale (HS 11352): In order to be convicted under statute HS 11352, the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you either: engaged in transporting, importing, selling, administering or giving away drugs in California, that you knew the drug was in your presence and that it is an illegal substance, and that Read More …
Possession for Sale (HS 11351): It is a crime to possess narcotics in California. Possession for sale of controlled substance(s) is an even more serious crime. If you are found, by a police officer, with large quantities of a drug, packaging of the drug in separate baggies, scales, lots of cash, and/or the presence of Read More …
Grand Theft (PC 487): In California, the crime of theft is defined as the unlawful taking of someone else’s property. It is considered grand theft under Penal Code 487 if the property is valued over $950. If convicted of grand theft, you may face many repercussions to your professional and personal life. Examples of grand Read More …
Identity Theft (PC 530.5): Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in California. Identity theft is essentially the taking of another person’s identify for use in an unlawful or fraudulent manner. Several unlawful examples of identity theft include (but are not limited to): to secure a personal financial benefit by using another person’s Read More …
Petty Theft (PC 484) & Shoplifting (PC 459.5) There are many forms of theft under California law. Theft, in the simplest form, is the unlawful taking of someone else’s property. When the property is valued under $950, the crime is considered petty theft under Penal Code 484. The separate offense of shoplifting, defined as Penal Read More …
Embezzlement (PC 503): If you fraudulently appropriate property that belongs to someone else and has been entrusted to you, you can be charged and convicted of embezzlement, even if you borrowed it temporarily. Penalties (PC 503): Depending on the value that was stolen or borrowed, embezzlement in California is punished as California grand theft or Read More …
Forgery (PC 470): You can get arrested for forgery if you knowingly intended to commit any of the following: sign another person’s name on a document, fake someone’s handwriting, change or falsify a legal document (a will or deed), or fake a document pertaining to money, property, or finances. However, you are not guilty of Read More …
Fraud (PC 484): A person who commits an act that results in unfair or undeserved benefit for yourself and/or causes loss or harm to another person, then you have violated California’s criminal fraud laws. Generally, there are two main motives for violating the statute: financial gain and/or to escape criminal culpability. Penalties (PC 484): Many Read More …
Assault with Deadly Weapon “ADW” (PC 245): The California crime of assault with a deadly weapon is defined under Penal Code 245 as an act committed with a so-called “deadly weapon,” or by means of force to produce great bodily injury. Penalties (PC 245): This crime is considered a “wobbler,” meaning that the prosecutor may Read More …
Arson (PC 451/452): California’s arson laws make it a crime to willfully or recklessly set fire to any building, forest land, or property. Acting in a reckless manner is often called “reckless burning” or “reckless arson.” It is also a crime to set fire to your own property on fire if your property is a Read More …
Battery (PC 242): Battery is the actual use of force or violence on someone else. The legal definition is as follows: you touched someone else, willfully, in a harmful or offensive manner. If all three elements are not proven by the prosecutor, then you are not guilty of PC 242 battery. The second element, “willfully,” Read More …
Domestic Violence (PC 273.5): California domestic violence laws make it illegal to use physical force or to communicate threats of harm against an intimate partner or cohabitant. Common DV crimes include (but are not limited to): PC 243(e)(1) pc Domestic Battery, PC 273d pc Child Abuse, PC 368 Elder Abuse, PC 422 Criminal Threats, and Read More …
Child Pornography (PC 311.11): Child Pornography is a criminal defense that is defined as any visual depiction involving the use of a minor, or one appearing to be a minor, engaging in a sexually explicit conduct. Visual depictions include video, pictures, drawings, animations, film, photographs or computer-generated images or pictures. Child Pornography has become problematic Read More …
Engaging in or Soliciting Lewd Conduct in Public (PC 647 (a)): Under Penal Code 647 (a), it is illegal to engage in lewd or dissolute conduct in any place, or to solicit someone else to do so. Lewd conduct is defined as touching your private parts (or another person’s private parts) with the intention of Read More …
Failure to Register as a Sex Offender (PC 290 (b)): If you are required to register under California’s sex offender registration law, and you fail to do so, you may be convicted under CAPC 290, “Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.” California’s Sex Offender Registration Act (Also known as Megan’s Law), requires anyone who Read More …
Indecent Exposure (PC 314): California Penal Code 314 PC makes it unlawful to willfully expose your genitals to someone else with the intent by a desire to sexually gratify yourself or offend the other person. While the law is broad and vague, the statute has remained unchanged since its enactment centuries ago. Penalties (PC 314): Read More …
Rape (PC 261): California’s rape statute defines the crime of “rape” as nonconsensual sexual intercourse through the use of threats, force, or fraud. The sexual intercourse needs to be either against that person’s will, or without that person’s consent (such as, having sex with a female who is passed out drunk). For the act to Read More …
Charges in California that carry the death penalty are: first-degree murder with special circumstances (capital murder); sabotage; train wrecking causing death; treason; perjury causing execution of an innocent person; fatal assault by a prisoner serving a life sentence. A qualified attorney can help your friend or loved one avoid the death penalty, or life in Read More …
California’s vehicular manslaughter laws (PC 191.5 & 192) punish acts of driving that kill another person when the driver drives in an unlawful way, with or without gross negligence, or drives during the commission of a lawful act which might produce death in an unlawful manner, or knowingly causes the accident for financial gain. Vehicular Read More …
The judge has the sole discretion in modifying the terms of probation. A modification request can be initiated by the judge, the defendant, or by the prosecutor. Depending on the circumstances of each case, a modification may or may not be helpful to the probationer. In order to be considered for early termination of probation, Read More …
California Penal Code 1018 PC allows defendants to withdraw their guilty pleas under a variety of circumstances. The law states that if you demonstrate “good cause” and file a Motion to Withdraw a Plea either before you are sentenced, or within 6 months of a probationary sentence, then you must be given the opportunity to Read More …