California Criminal Lawyers Blog

Our Santa Ana domestic violence criminal defense attorneys disagree with the police practice of arresting both people involved in a domestic dispute. For some officers, this is a routine response to "he said, she said" situations in which each accuses the other of being the violent one. The practice can create unfair accusations against the victim of the violence, victimizing that person a second time. A Jan. 24 article from the San Francisco Examiner makes another case against this policy: it puts the wrongly arrested person at risk of deportation. Thanks to a new federal program called Secure Communities, all fingerprints from arrestees are going through a database to identify people who might be in the United States illegally. The article said at least three victims of domestic violence have been deported this way in northern California.

That figure comes from Angela Chan, a police commissioner for the city of San Francisco and an immigration attorney. Two of them are clients, she said, including a woman who was arrested after she called the police during an altercation with her husband. The charges against the woman were dropped, but she is in immigration detention and her one-year-old daughter is now in foster care. Chan and others expressed concerns that the situation will discourage illegal immigrants from getting help for domestic violence. San Francisco's famous sanctuary ordinance forbids the deportation of illegal immigrants who are charged only with a misdemeanor, or not charged at all, after an arrest. The city police and county sheriff's department have both looked for ways to legally decline to participate in Secure Communities, but haven't found any.

As Torrance domestic violence criminal defense lawyers, we think this is a sad but not entirely unexpected result of making arrests without thinking about whether they are really deserved. An arrest that doesn't end with criminal charges is already bad enough -- it's frightening, humiliating and an unjust way to treat someone who might already have been the victim of domestic violence. But for people who don't have U.S. citizenship, it can also throw into question their right to be here. Not everyone in Orange County has sympathy for illegal immigrants, but most people would agree that it's unfair to imprison someone who is the victim rather than the perpetrator of a crime. And even immigrants who are here legally can be threatened by a domestic violence conviction, since it could be considered a "crime of moral turpitude" that could trigger deportation.

Continue reading "Police Habit of Arresting Both Partners in Domestic Disputes Can Lead to Deportations" »

Our Santa Ana domestic violence criminal defense attorneys disagree with the police practice of arresting both people involved in a domestic dispute. For some officers, this is a routine response to a "he said, she said" situations in which each accuses the other of being the violent one. The practice can create unfair accusations against the victim of the violence, victimizing that person a second time. A Jan. 24 article from the San Francisco Examiner makes another case against this policy: it puts the wrongly arrested person at risk of deportation. Thanks to a new federal program called Secure Communities, all fingerprints from arrestees are going through a database to identify people who might be in the United States illegally. The article said at least three victims of domestic violence have been deported this way in northern California.

That figure comes from Angela Chan, a police commissioner for the city of San Francisco and an immigration attorney. Two of them are clients, she said, including a woman who was arrested after she called the police during an altercation with her husband. The charges against the woman were dropped, but she is in immigration detention and her one-year-old daughter is now in foster care. Chan and others expressed concerns that the situation will discourage illegal immigrants from getting help for domestic violence. San Francisco's famous sanctuary ordinance forbids the deportation of illegal immigrants who are charged only with a misdemeanor, or not charged at all, after an arrest. The city police and county sheriff's department have both looked for ways to legally decline to participate in Secure Communities, but haven't found any.

As Torrance domestic violence criminal defense lawyers, we think this is a sad but not entirely unexpected result of making arrests without thinking about whether they are really deserved. An arrest that doesn't end with criminal charges is already bad enough -- it's frightening, humiliating and an unjust way to treat someone who might already have been the victim of domestic violence. But for people who don't have U.S. citizenship, it can also throw into question their right to be here. Not everyone in Orange County has sympathy for illegal immigrants, but most people would agree that it's unfair to imprison someone who is the victim rather than the perpetrator of a crime. And even immigrants who are here legally can be threatened by a domestic violence conviction, since it could be considered a "crime of moral turpitude" that could trigger deportation.

Continue reading "Police Habit of Arresting Both Partners in Domestic Disputes Can Lead to Deportations" »

A drunk driving charge against a Major League Baseball player caught our attention as Anaheim drunk driving defense lawyers. According to the Orange County Register, former Angels player Adam Kennedy was pulled over on the 73 toll road near MacArthur Boulevard in Newport Beach on the night of Jan. 26. Kennedy is currently with the Seattle Mariners organization and has played for several teams since being part of the Angels lineup that won the 2002 World Series. He is originally from Riverside and attended California State University Northridge on a baseball scholarship.

Celebrity gossip site TMZ.com broke the news of Kennedy's arrest. He was pulled over by the California Highway Patrol at about 9 p.m. on Jan. 26. About 10 minutes later, he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and booked into jail, where he stayed until early the next morning. Officers did not release information on whether there was a blood-alcohol content test and if so, what the results were. However, a CHP spokesman told the Seattle Times that Kennedy had been determined to be under the influence. The news broke in the middle of a Seattle Mariners spring training press conference, prompting the team's general manager to say he hadn't heard of the arrest and could not comment.

As Fontana DUI criminal defense attorneys, we hope Kennedy gets legal representation as soon as possible. A DUI charge is serious for anyone, but for a famous sports figure, it can also have career repercussions. Players are often penalized for intoxicated driving or other criminal misadventures by losing playing time or money. In Kennedy's case, he was invited to try out as a utility player for the Mariners, so his place on the team is not assured. This arrest might or might not mean penalties at work. Because he's out on bail, it could also mean travel restrictions. And of course, being part of a World Series-winning team means Kennedy is famous enough to be fodder for embarrassing news reports. An experienced attorney should be able to help him limit or navigate around these problems to continue his life as much as possible.

Continue reading "Former Angels Second Baseman Arrested in Orange County on Suspicion of DUI" »

Our San Juan Capistrano DUI criminal defense lawyers were sad to see that another driver has been sentenced to prison for a drunk driving death. As the Orange County Register reported Jan. 21, Christopher James Koppi of Anaheim was sentenced to 13 years in prison for causing the death of 59-year-old Richard James Pettigrew. Koppi, 29, is not accused of driving his car into Pettigrew's, but prosecutors say he was so drunk that he allowed his truck to run out of gas on the 57 freeway in Anaheim. The stalled pickup sitting in the road caused a chain-reaction crash, with Pettigrew's 1981 Datsun in the middle. Koppi was sentenced to 13 years in prison for gross vehicular manslaughter while driving under the influence, less than the minimum of 17 years the prosecution asked for.

The crash happened at about 4:30 a.m. on Aug. 26, 2006, as Pettigrew was coming home from his job as a security guard. Koppi had been drinking heavily, which may be why he didn't realize his pickup truck was about to run out of gas. Pettigrew was unable to stop in time to avoid the stalled pickup and slammed into it at highway speeds. Another, unnamed, driver then hit Pettigrew's car. Pettigrew died at the scene; no injuries were reported for Koppi or the other driver. Two hours after the accident, police measured Koppi's blood-alcohol content at 0.20, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08. He also had a prior drunk driving conviction as well as a conviction for aggravated assault. His defense attorneys and fiance said he was remorseful and was in alcohol rehabilitation, and asked for lenience.

As Riverside drunk driving criminal defense attorneys, we hope they're right. The 13-year sentence may be less than the prosecution wanted, but it's still a lot of time to think about the accident and its causes. Many drivers may wonder whether this accident truly counts as a DUI accident, since Koppi did not directly crash into Pettigrew. In fact, California law gives prosecutors broad leeway to charge drivers whose actions under the influence caused a crash, even indirectly. Koppi was convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, which means he was accused of doing something grossly negligent that caused the fatal crash, while he was also intoxicated. Running out of gas on the freeway was enough to meet the test for gross negligence, even if that's a mistake that sober people also make.

Continue reading "Driver Who Ran Out of Gas on Freeway Gets 13 Years in Prison for DUI Manslaughter" »

As Garden Grove domestic violence criminal defense attorneys, we appreciate that the ongoing coverage of actor Mel Gibson's legal woes shine a light on domestic violence prosecutions. As the Los Angeles Times reported Jan. 19, Los Angeles County prosecutors met recently with Gibson's attorneys to discuss possible charges against him. Gibson's latest legal troubles stem from a series of phone messages recorded by his ex-girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva. The messages are angry and threatening, and Grigorieva has also claimed Gibson hit her on at least two occasions and threatened her with a handgun. Those allegations are the basis of the investigation by the District Attorney's office.

Prosecutors have not yet made a decision about whether to charge Gibson. They cautioned the media not to believe any charges exist unless they say so. Unnamed sources told the newspaper that prosecutors don't intend to file charges until after they resolve the allegations by Gibson that Grigorieva or someone close to her was attempting to extort him with the tapes. The tapes show Gibson threatening and insulting Grigorieva, and in one instance using a racial slur. However, the allegations being investigated are more serious. Grigorieva claims Gibson hit her while she was holding their daughter, born in October of 2009, and on another occasion hit her hard enough to knock out a dental veneer. She also claims he threatened her with a gun. He has said he never punched her, but slapped her once to "shock her so she would stop screaming."

As Chino Hills domestic violence criminal defense lawyers, we're pleased that prosecutors are taking the time to fully investigate this case. Because it involves a celebrity behaving badly, this case has gotten a lot of media attention, much of it critical of Gibson. The "court of public opinion" can make snap judgments, but in a court of law, everyone is innocent until proven guilty -- including people who may not be well liked. Regardless of what Gibson said on tape, the tapes do not prove that he physically abused Grigorieva. As with all domestic violence cases, that will have to be proven with physical evidence, witness testimony and other objective evidence. It's also worth mentioning that the two are fighting for custody of their daughter, which could create a motivation to lie.

Continue reading "Los Angeles Prosecutors Weigh Whether to Charge Mel Gibson With Domestic Violence" »

Our Irvine intoxicated driving criminal defense attorneys wrote last fall about a proposal by the city of Huntington Beach to post pictures of DUI offenders online. The proposal attracted a lot of attention, but also attracted criticism for the implication that the city wanted to shame the drivers publicly. As the Orange County Register reported Jan. 19, Huntington Beach's city council has bowed to that criticism and asked the city's police department not to follow through on the plan. The originator of the idea, Councilman Devin Dwyer, said he thought it was a good plan. But other council members objected that it could be bad for tourism in "Surf City," and that public humiliation would affect relatives more than habitual drunk drivers themselves.

Huntington Beach has seen a rise in DUIs and drunk driving accidents in the past few years, leading the police department and city government to look for solutions. After the Huntington Beach Independent decided last fall to stop publishing names of arrestees, Dwyer proposed to post all DUI arrestees' names and pictures, but dialed it back to "habitual" drunk drivers after talking to the police chief and community. That ended up causing problems too; the chief said "habitual" was not well defined. Dwyer explicitly said he was trying to shame drivers, attracting both criticism and support from the community. In voting against the proposal, however, Councilwoman Connie Boardman said she thought repeat DUI offenders are often addicts or alcoholics, so their loved ones were more likely to feel the shame than they were.

We're glad that the city decided against this plan. As we've written before, the Independent decided to stop publishing names and photos of people who were arrested because it could be misleading -- it could lead readers to believe that those people had already been found guilty. As Long Beach drunk driving criminal defense lawyers,we can assure you that being arrested for driving under the influence does not necessarily mean you're guilty. Police officers exercise bad judgment sometimes, and our legal system gives everyone a chance to defend themselves. We also believe the police chief was right to ask whether posting pictures would improve public safety. Regardless of whether the community approves of shaming the drivers, it's not at all clear that public humiliation would work, especially with addicts.

Continue reading "Huntington Beach Decides Against Posting Mug Shots From DUI Arrests on Facebook" »

Our San Bernardino DUI criminal defense lawyers were interested to see an article on the DUI arrest of a man from Joshua Tree. The High Desert Start reported Jan. 20 that Garrett Kainoa, 33, was arrested the night before for suspected driving under the influence of drugs. Kainoa was in a single-vehicle rollover accident on Twentynine Palms Highway after one of his tires deflated on the road. Fortunately, no one was hurt. However, the California Highway Patrol suspected him of driving under the influence of drugs, so they arrested him and booked him into the Morongo Basin Jail.

It's not clear whether the CHP officer had test results showing that Kainoa was using drugs. No drug test or field sobriety test results were reported. Kainoa is on parole from a previous drug possession offense from last October. According to the article, Kainoa was going east on the highway at 60 to 65 mph when his left rear tire began to deflate. Kainoa turned right in a way that the CHP officer said was not safe; the officer attributed that decision to intoxication. The turn caused the SUV Kainoa was driving to spin on the highway toward the shoulder of the road, hit the dirt and overturn. The CHP reminded the newspaper's readers that intoxicated driving is illegal.

As Pomona drunk driving criminal defense attorneys, we wonder whether the officer's reasons for arresting Kainoa would hold up in court. The officer attributed Kainoa's mistaken choice to turn right to intoxication, but intoxication is far from the only reason people make bad decisions behind the wheel. Some drivers would panic if they found themselves dealing with a deflating tire at highway speeds -- and it's easy to make a mistake when panicked. Kainoa might also have genuinely lost control or thought a turn in the opposite direction would help. And if the officer knew he had a past drug possession conviction, that officer might have made an assumption. In the absence of a chemical test showing he was actually intoxicated at that time, Kainoa may be able to fight this charge.

Continue reading "Desert Man Arrested for Driving Under the Influence After Spinout on Highway" »

Our Los Angeles immigration attorneys, along with much of the rest of the nation, watched in horror last Saturday as Arizona's post-shooting details unfolded. Six dead. 14 wounded. Among the dead, a little girl and a federal judge. Among the injured: Congresswoman Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) shot, point-blank, in the head.

Then came the shooter's seeming gleeful mug shot grimace; a sparkle of madness in his eyes. Then, the requisite media spectacle which continues to play. And, with it, image after image after image. Victim snapshots. Mountains of flowers tucked with the occasional stuffed teddy bear. Wind-tossed Mylar balloons. Long still shots of hand-made well wishes and prayers. Another makeshift memorial. We are, if nothing else, a nation of expert mourners. In a strange way in our comprehensive loss and hope we are finally truly united.

If only momentarily.

There are countless roads of blame to meander when tragedies such as this occur. The paths are legion. Easily articulated. Challenging to remedy. Mental health. Gun control. (Thanks to Jan Brewer most Arizonans can carry concealed anywhere, anytime, no permit required the Daily Beast reports.) Law enforcement. Incendiary political speech. Media coverage. Teachers. Friends. Family. Of course, the suspect. The list is endless.

Here's a thought: there is always time to blame; perhaps now is a time to either set an example. Or follow one.

Reuters reports that Gabrielle Giffords is a member of the "blue dog" Democrats, a small tight-knit clan considered more conservative than their counterparts. Giffords is an ardent supporter, for example, of the Second Amendment. And, in one of the most contentious climates Giffords is like a cool hand to the fevered brow of immigration reform; even from the hot seat. Her district is at the epicenter of the immigration debate, spanning Tucson to the Mexican border. Her stance on immigration is centrists - hawkish on border enforcement, liberal when it comes to talking path-to-citizenship.

The alternative is to continue to perpetuate the hatred and the divisiveness. And what a dishonor that would be to the victims, the survivors and their family and friends.

With that said, as with all American tragedies, we come together yet the bond never holds. Within days of the tragedy both a Democrat and a Tea Party organizer told the Los Angeles Times they expected any toning down of rhetoric would be woefully short lived.

Our thoughts and prayers and best thoughts are with those who mourn this tragedy.

Continue reading "Injured Congresswoman Gabby Giffords a centrist on immigration reform" »

Our Newport Beach narcotics criminal defense attorneys were very pleased to see a positive move by the state for nonviolent drug offenders. As the East Bay Express reported Jan. 12, new Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget would keep criminal defendants out of prison if their offenses were first offenses, nonviolent, not serious and not sex crimes. That's a category that includes numerous low-level drugs and narcotics crimes, as well as offenses like shoplifting and writing bad checks. The governor's office estimates saving the state $500 million a year in prison costs this way. The Drug Policy Alliance estimates that 10,000 people are in California prisons for drug possession.

The prison proposal is part of the proposal to "realign" state services by passing responsibility for them on to counties. Drug defendants and other nonviolent offenders would not necessarily go free, but would likely serve time in county jail or probation, including Drug Court. The Drug Policy Alliance backs the prison part of the budget, the article said, because it would reduce the number of people who go to prison for relatively minor offenses. The people imprisoned for drug offenses include 17,000 who were accused of selling or growing marijuana. They also include parolees, who can be arrested and sent to prison for drug crimes as minor as smoking marijuana. Even though possession of small amounts of marijuana is now an infraction, any parole violation can send the person to prison for the underlying offense.

This is great news for Chino drug crimes criminal defense lawyers like us, and of course for our clients as well. As the article notes, California incarcerates thousands of people a year for nonviolent drug crimes. In addition to wasting money, as the budget implicitly points out, this is a huge waste of the lives of all of those people. Putting drug defendants in prison was politically popular in the 1980s, because it allowed politicians to appear "tough on crime" when they were seeking higher office. In practice, however, it has been toughest on the prisoners and their loved ones, without making an appreciable dent in drug use. Offenders not imprisoned under this policy will still have to complete probation, Drug Court or jail time -- but typically at a much lower financial and human cost.

Continue reading "Proposed State Budget Would Keep Drug and Other Nonviolent Offenders Out of Prison" »

Our Lake Forest drunk driving criminal defense lawyers were interested to see a news story about an unusual defense in a DUI case. San Diego's ABC 10 reported Jan. 11 on the opening statements in the trial of Anthony Guarino, 57, for causing a crash that killed one person and injured five more. Guarino is charged with DUI manslaughter and DUI causing injury in the Aug. 20 crash that killed Marc William Durham, 65, of Rancho Bernardo. His blood-alcohol content was measured at 0.15 about two hours after the crash, the article said, and Guarino admitted that he'd been drinking. But his DUI defense attorney said he suffered from severe sleep apnea causing occasional "micro-sleeps," in which the sufferer loses consciousness. That kind of episode caused the crash, the attorney said.

Guarino admitted to drinking at a bar in National City before the crash, both to police and to emergency room doctors. A witness testified that she was waiting to make a left turn when she saw Guarino's car coming down a hill and failing to slow down in time to avoid colliding with Durham's car. Police says Guarino was going 50-60 mph when his car hit the left rear side of Durham's. That set off a chain reaction involving four other cars and injuring a total of five people, including an eight-year-old boy. Guarino's DUI defense lawyer said he intended to turn left that day, but had a micro-sleep episode that caused his car to drift into another lane without applying his brakes. They argued that Guarino should face an ordinary DUI charge, not the manslaughter and injury charges, which could carry as much as 13 years in prison.

The prosecution in this case will likely argue that Guarino's sleep apnea defense is nonsense and direct jurors to consider his BAC instead. But as Murrieta intoxicated driving criminal defense attorneys, we know sleep apnea truly can cause the sort of episodes described. Sleep apnea is a condition in which breathing is interrupted or abnormally low while sufferers sleep, causing insufficient rest. Daytime sleepiness is one of the major symptoms -- so it's not surprising that sufferers might drift off, especially in the evening. In fact, sleepy driving is a distracted driving concern even for people without a sleep disorder. If Guarino can prove his sleep apnea cased this crash, it won't mean he faces no penalties; his BAC measurement still put him over the limit. But it would reduce the penalties he faces considerably by reducing the charges to a less serious DUI charge.

Continue reading "San Diego Man Charged With DUI Manslaughter Uses Sleep Apnea as a Defense" »

Our Buena Park domestic violence criminal defense lawyers were surprised to see a news report about an apparently high-risk service of an arrest warrant. The Orange County Register reported Jan. 12 on the arrest of Thuan Minh Lam, 34, on suspicion of arson. Authorities believe Lam set a car on fire Dec. 31 in Huntington Beach for reasons related to domestic violence, although they gave no details. The Huntington Beach SWAT team was involved because Lam's criminal background suggested that he may have been dangerous. Lam was arrested without incident and his Cowan Heights home was searched. He was taken to the Huntington Beach jail, where he is being held on $250,000 bail.

Public records suggest Lam has a history of domestic violence, the newspaper said. Someone with Lam's name and birth date pleaded guilty in 2003 to one felony count of stalking about one misdemeanor count of disobeying a domestic violence court order. He was sentenced to five years of probation, but later apparently violated that probation and spent two years in prison. On New Year's Eve, Lam is accused of setting a white Acura on fire in the 7800 block of MacDonald Drive in Huntington Beach. No one was hurt in that fire, but the car was destroyed. A roommate at the home where Lam lived said he was surprised that anyone who lived there was in serious criminal trouble. In addition to making Lam's arrest, police detained three other residents for reasons not stated.

As Pomona domestic violence criminal defense attorneys, we're surprised the police felt that Lam was dangerous enough to warrant a SWAT team. Arson is considered a violent crime under California law, but the arson Lam is accused of was nearly two weeks old before he was arrested. That makes it unlikely that Lam was still upset, if indeed he was ever upset, about the events of the day of the arson. In fact, judging by the roommate's description of the police visit -- he said he was making oatmeal at the time -- it was entirely unexpected. Unfortunately, it's not unusual for police officers to make this kind of disproportionate response in domestic violence cases. When officers respond without knowing all the facts, or believe false accusations from accusers with an agenda, they can change defendants' lives with wrongful charges.

Continue reading "SWAT Team Serves Warrant on Santa Ana Man Accused of Domestic Violence Arson" »

As Highland drunk driving criminal defense attorneys, we were sorry to see an article about serious criminal charges in an alleged DUI fatality and injury case. The Los Angeles Times LA Now blog reported Jan. 13 that Edward Stanley Butler, 70, has been charged with vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated without gross negligence. Butler is accused of driving drunk when he hit a car turning out of a parking lot in Orange. The resulting crash killed Tamiko Kaminaga, 60. Her 17-year-old son, Jorge Maresch, suffered a broken nose and cuts to his face. Butler was reportedly also injured. He is scheduled to be arranged Friday on the vehicular manslaughter charge and could face up to four years in prison if convicted.

According to an earlier article from the Orange County Register, the crash took place as Kaminaga was making a legal left turn out of a parking lot on South Tustin Street in Orange. Butler was driving south on the street in a pickup truck and failed to stop or slow down for Kaminaga's sedan. Police responding to the accident found an empty bottle of vodka in Butler's vehicle. Butler was sitting in the street next to his truck, and had slurred speech and red eyes, classic signs of intoxication. A blood-alcohol test showed that Butler's blood-alcohol level was 0.22, which is nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08 in California. Prosecutors told the media they plan to request that he be held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Our Downey intoxicated driving criminal defense lawyers hope Butler has retained an experienced defense attorney, because this is a serious charge. A charge of DUI manslaughter without gross negligence can be a misdemeanor or a felony, and prosecutors in this case have chosen to charge it as a felony. However, police and prosecutors sometimes make mistakes, and even charges like these can be defended. For example, people making unprotected left turns almost always have to yield to oncoming traffic. If Butler and his defense lawyer can show that Kaminaga didn't check oncoming traffic carefully enough, they may be able to show that her own negligence caused or contributed to the crash. They may also be able to turn up problems with the BAC test that is responsible for the "driving while intoxicated" part of the charge.

Continue reading "San Bernardino Man Charged With Vehicular Manslaughter and DUI With Injury" »

Our Westminster drunk driving criminal defense lawyers were disappointed to read about the death of a woman in Orange County Jail last week. The Orange County Register reported that Cynthia Kaye Drury, 46, was arrested on suspicion of heroin possession just before New Year's Day. Drury, of Norwalk, had not yet been charged with anything and was staying in the jail's Intake and Release Center, where inmates are kept on their way into and out of prison or court dates. She was found unresponsive in her cell on Dec. 31, from ailments the article did not specify. The district attorney's office is investigating the death, as is standard, and an autopsy will be performed, but no information will be released until the investigation is complete.

Drury ended up in jail after a witness called police to report a possible drunk driver. The caller said he or she was following a Ford Mustang through west Anaheim. Police found the Mustang in a parking lot with Drury behind the wheel; a passenger had already gotten out of the car. It's not clear whether officers administered field sobriety tests or a breath or blood test; no charges of DUI were reported in the article. However, officers reportedly searched the car and came up with a baggie of heroin in Drury's bag, leading to the drug possession charges. They also charged her with driving with a suspended license. At 7:30 p.m. the next day, sheriff's deputies found her unresponsive. Deputies called the jail's medical staff and paramedics, but they were unable to revive her.

As Long Beach DUI criminal defense attorneys, we hope the investigation by the prosecutor's office doesn't turn up any foul play by the police, or an intentional refusal to provide medical help. Accidents happen in jail and prison, but California prisons have also been criticized for failing to provide needed medical care to inmates. Whatever you may think of prisoners -- and working in criminal defense underscores the sad fact that not every prisoner is guilty -- letting prisoners suffer and die is a violation of their human rights. When people are in police custody, they literally depend on the officers for the most basic care. After all, prisoners cannot leave for medical care or call someone to come to them. Drunk driving and drug possession are crimes, but dying in custody is an unreasonably high price to pay.

Continue reading "Woman Arrested for Drug Possession After DUI Call Dies in Orange County Jail" »

Our Costa Mesa drug crimes criminal defense attorneys were disturbed and disappointed to see a court ruling that gives police departments free rein to search cell phones and other portable electronic devices carried by people they arrest. As MSNBC reported Jan. 4, the California Supreme Court has ruled that evidence from a cell phone search may be used in a drug case, even though there was no warrant for searching the phone. The court said the phone was part of personal effects like clothes, not part of the defendant's "papers," that would require a warrant or another exception. The majority said inspecting the phone was like inspecting a carton of cigarettes that the defendant had on his person. A dissenting justice, Kathryn Mickle Werdegar, said cell phone searches were intrusive and not justified.

The case was brought by Gregory Diaz, who was arrested in 2007 after buying drugs from a police informant. After his arrest, the police looked through his phone and found text messages that seemed to implicate him in another drug deal. There was no warrant to look through the phone. Diaz appealed his conviction on drug charges, saying the search of his phone was unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment. The justices disagreed, saying a warrantless search was legal because the phone was on his person. In effect, legal experts said, this means California police can search the cell phones, handheld computers and even laptops belonging to people they arrest, without asking a judge for permission or explaining what they're looking for.

The article quotes several critics of the ruling who believe it gives police officers too much power. As Torrance drug sales criminal defense lawyers, we strongly agree. Under established law, police officers need a warrant to search briefcases for anything other than a weapon. A computer or "smartphone" is nothing more than the digital equivalent of that briefcase, containing correspondence, contacts and other personal data. For this reason, we suspect the Supreme Court misunderstands the nature of cell phones or how much information they can store. As one observer pointed out, officers may still search phones and computers -- they just have to get a warrant. That's an important legal safeguard because it requires a judge's approval, which in turn requires police officers to have a good reason to want to look at the data -- not just go on fishing expeditions.

Continue reading "California Supreme Court Authorizes Warrantless Search of Cell Phone in Drug Case" »

One question we sometimes hear, in our work as Laguna Beach domestic violence criminal defense lawyers, is whether women are ever arrested for domestic violence. The answer is yes -- the law prohibits people of either gender from assault or battery on the people closest to them. A Jan. 6 article in the Orange County Register underscored that point. Teishawna Trimble, 25, was arrested that day for repeatedly stabbing the man she lives with at an apartment building in Fullerton. The man, 35, was hospitalized in "very critical" condition with stab wounds to his back and torso. Trimble was treated for knife wounds to her hands. The investigation is ongoing, but she was in custody as of that morning.

According to the article, Trimble and the man, whose name was not released, had lived together for about a year. Neighbors heard them arguing inside their apartment, but the couple apparently left the apartment and continued the fight, with Trimble following the man. She reportedly had a knife, and apartment complex employees called the police to report a fight and a woman stabbing a man just after 9 a.m. When the couple reached the pool area of the apartment complex, neighbors intervened to separate the two. It was not clear when the stabbing started, but blood was found throughout the complex and inside the apartment. A serrated kitchen knife was found by the pool. A police officer interviewed by the Register said Trimble would most likely be charged with felony domestic violence assault.

As Corona domestic violence criminal defense attorneys, we hope Trimble gets help from an experienced defense lawyer. If she is charged with a serious domestic violence crime, as the officer suggested, she will face a slew of civil and criminal penalties, some of which could take effect before she is even able to make bail. For example, the victim could likely get a protective order keeping her away from the home and thus all of her possessions. And of course, if she's convicted, she is likely facing prison on a felony charge. However, that doesn't mean she has no defense. If, for example, she was defending herself from the man, an experienced attorney may be able to get the case dropped or defend it at trial.

Continue reading "Woman Accused of Stabbing Man Multiple Times in Fullerton Domestic Dispute" »

As Rowland Heights drunk driving criminal defense attorneys, we have long had suspicions about how effective DUI checkpoints really are. However, they are still a popular enforcement tool for police departments, especially around the holidays. That's why we were interested to see a Jan. 3 article in the Fontana Herald News about a DUI roadblock in that city conducted for 7.5 hours over New Year's Eve. During that time, the police stopped and arrested two drunk drivers out of the 871 vehicles that passed through the checkpoint. Fontana police had previously arrested two other drivers using "saturation patrols" on Dec. 31.

The checkpoint was set up at Sierra and Walnut Avenues in Fontana, from 6 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. the next morning. During that time, 871 vehicles passed through the checkpoint and 67 were stopped. Of those, two stops arrested in intoxicated driving arrests. However, 32 drivers were cited for other traffic violations, which the article did not specify. An additional 30 vehicles were impounded by the police for violations including but not limited to driving without a license. The DUI roadblock and saturation patrols were part of a coordinated anti-drunk-driving campaign throughout San Bernardino County. Using a grant from the state, 25 police agencies throughout the county added extra officers to their patrols, with the specific goal of increasing DUI arrests. From Dec. 17 to Jan. 2, the officers involved in the program made 472 DUI arrests.

Our Garden Grove DUI criminal defense lawyers can't help but notice that just two of those 472 arrests came from the DUI checkpoint in Fontana. That means the checkpoint slowed down 869 drivers who were not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, including 65 who were stopped. Leaving aside the inconvenience to individuals, that's a lot of money and effort for two arrests. However, the roadblock still probably made good money for the police department because it also allowed it to collect impound fees on 30 cars and fines from 32 citations. A study published last year suggests this is the real reason police agencies like roadblocks -- because they are cash cows under the socially acceptable guise of fighting drunk driving.

Continue reading "Inland Empire DUI Checkpoint Nets Two Drivers But 30 Money-Making Impounds" »