What constitutes an arrest warrant in California? An arrest warrant is a court order issued by a judge that directs any peace officer to arrest a specified individual charged with a crime, and to bring him or her before a judge for further criminal proceedings. A warrant is usually based “What is an Arrest Warrant in California?”
Appellate Court Tosses Salcido Lawsuit
The Fourth District Court of Appeals tossed Judge Salcido’s lawsuit against the Honorable Judge Peter Deddeh and her fellow judges. The Court noted that the traditional way a lawsuit is brought, where an aggrieved litigant such as the Office of the District Attorney or a criminal defendant, appeals a judicial decision. The “Appellate Court Tosses Salcido Lawsuit”
Roman Polanski has a Fighting Chance and Nothing to Lose
The man famous for his Hollywood movies, murdered wife, and life as a fugitive may be extradited from Switzerland to a Los Angeles, California courtroom. Polanski faces sentencing in a felony sex case over three decades old. He fled the United States jurisdiction after he pleaded guilty and before the sentencing hearing. He has “Roman Polanski has a Fighting Chance and Nothing to Lose”
Law Enforcement Is Overburdened by Misguided Laws
A kidnapped girl was discovered 18 years after her abduction at the home of a convicted parolee and registered sex offender despite the fact that law enforcement has repeatedly been in contact with the man and has visited his home on many occasions over the years. That law enforcement for “Law Enforcement Is Overburdened by Misguided Laws”
San Diego Criminal Courts Closing, Prisoner Early Release
The unprecedented California budget crisis has now resulted in the San Diego Superior Court closing every third Wednesday of the month, effective September 1, 2009. Court clerks have already cut-back to a shorter work day, and the court closing will put further strain on a majority of criminal court defendants and “San Diego Criminal Courts Closing, Prisoner Early Release”
Is that Drug Really Cocaine, Methamphetamine, Marijuana, or Heroin?
In serious drug prosecutions, criminal defense lawyers cannot blindly trust police crime lab reports supposedly confirming that a substance is really cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, or heroin. For that matter, anything coming out of the crime lab, such as blood toxicology results, DNA results and chain-of custody receipts should not be “Is that Drug Really Cocaine, Methamphetamine, Marijuana, or Heroin?”
Sneaking past the Attorney to get the Defendant: Montejo v. Louisiana
Criminal defense lawyers uniformly advise their clients to provide information to law enforcement only by and through an attorney, and for good reason. Many cases are prosecutable only because the defendant gave the police what they needed to make their case. In the past, attorneys did not have to worry “Sneaking past the Attorney to get the Defendant: Montejo v. Louisiana”
How to Obtain a Dismissal of a Theft Case: Civil Compromise
The most commonly prosecuted theft offenses involve the alleged taking of property from a retail merchant. Often the dollar value of the items is relatively small and the accused has no prior criminal record. Yet a conviction for petty theft is a serious matter. The law requires at least one “How to Obtain a Dismissal of a Theft Case: Civil Compromise”
Analysis of the Latest Felony Sentencing Case: Traps for the Unwary Criminal Defense Lawyer
The California Supreme Court reaffirmed the principals articulated in the landmark case of Cunningham , supra, by ruling that a defendant was entitled to attack the court’s imposition of the upper term in because, under the circumstances of this case, an express waiver of jury trial on aggravating circumstances was “Analysis of the Latest Felony Sentencing Case: Traps for the Unwary Criminal Defense Lawyer”