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We have been asked why prosecutors are permitted to charge someone with California Penal Code 211 PC robbery when no force or fear was used to take the property. PC 211 defines the serious felony crime of robbery as taking personal property from someone without permission when the taking...

Domestic violence is generally described as physical or sexual violence against a current or former spouse, cohabitant, boyfriend, girlfriend, someone who has a child with the victim, or any relationship under the domestic violence statute. Domestic violence includes punching, shoving, grabbing...

Under California law, if you know someone has committed a felony crime and you willfully hide them or aid them in evading capture or brought to justice, you could be charged with accessory after the fact defined in Penal Code 32 PC. This law makes it a crime to assist a known felon by hiding...

In Los Angeles county, there are many residential burglaries, and there’s a presumption in the law that if someone commits a residential burglary, they will go to prison. In California, if you unlawfully enter somebody’s home, such as a house, apartment, rented room, or recreational vehicle, steal...

There are some statistics that have come out in LA county indicating that 30% of road rage incidents involve a gun. If you or a loved one is accused of a road rage incident with gun use, you probably have charges filed against you, like an assault with a deadly weapon, possibly brandishing a gun...

One big concern people have when they search for an attorney if they’re charged with some sex crime or sex offense is how much money it will cost. I’ve been doing this for 30 years and have handled thousands of sex crime cases, and I think I charge a pretty fair price. I will give you some ideas of the factors...

Anyone charged with lewd acts upon a minor violating Penal Code Section 288 faces prison time and lifetime registration.  So, having defended these cases for 30 years, it's not surprising to me that someone would be figuring out if there’s any defense to the crime. California PC 288 PC prohibits any...

It is a crime to commit lewd acts in public, which means lewdness committed in public view or in the presence of other people who might be offended. California Penal Code 647(a) PC describes lewd conduct in public as touching yourself or another person’s genitals, buttocks, or female breast to gratify...

When it comes to DUIs and deaths on the road, the California legislature – and even across the country, but mainly in California, especially in Los Angeles, where there are thousands of DUIs every year, have come up with some of the harshest laws that I’ve seen. I would never drink and drive based...

Why do people decide to cooperate with federal law enforcement agencies and prosecutors in a criminal case? This is a good question because, in my 30 years of experience, I realize that cooperation is one of the most significant ways that the feds can generate their cases. I would say probably better than 80% or higher...

California Penal Code 215 PC defines the felony crime of carjacking as taking a motor vehicle from another person using force or fear. Under this law, using “force or fear” means using actual physical force or making threats to cause harm to the victim. PC 215 can be filed by the prosecutor when...

The California “three-strikes” law under Penal Code 667 PC is a sentencing enhancement where a defendant will receive a prison sentence of 25 years to life if convicted of three serious or violent felony crimes. This statute also doubles the sentence for defendants convicted of any felony when they have...

I can tell you right now, since the early 1990s, I’ve lived, breathed, and slept criminal defense.  I’ve done everything I could to make myself the complete package. That includes working for the district attorney’s office, a superior court judge, the California state bar, and finally, working for you as the best...

Los Angeles is a massive metropolis with millions of people, and a lot of crime continues.  Police are arresting people left and right and sending them into criminal courts. The best attorney has got to have a skill set that gives them a lot of experience, having done criminal cases for many years and having...

Conspiring with other people to commit a crime is a serious offense in California under Penal Code 182 PC. If you are convicted of criminal conspiracy, you face the same legal penalties as if you had committed the crime, even if it was not completed.  A conspiracy is defined as an agreement with one...

Sex trafficking is a severe crime in Los Angeles and the surrounding counties in California.  Local state and federal law enforcement agencies have aggressively fought against sex trafficking. It’s primarily underage women working on the local streets or social media. There are people behind the...

There are numerous laws, both federal and state, that make conduct relating to medical, health care, and insurance fraud a criminal act. For example, California Penal Code 550 PC makes it a crime for anyone to knowingly submit fraudulent insurance claims, including presenting multiple claims for the...

California Penal Code 187 PC legally defines the crime of murder as the unlawful killing of someone or a fetus with malice aforethought. First-degree murder includes all premeditated killings along with felony murder that involves a scenario where somebody dies during a carjacking, robbery, or other...

In Los Angeles, there are many burglaries, especially now, and defendants and their families don’t realize what happens when people get caught committing a residential burglary.  A lot of times, it’s more than one residential burglary.  Each one of those charges is a strike.  So, if you get convicted of...

When it comes to domestic violence criminal cases, these cases are taken very seriously by prosecutors and judges alike.  Therefore, coming up with ideas for the best defenses is crucial in successfully dealing with a domestic violence case that you have pending in one of the criminal courts. In California...

A lot of people who are charged with serious drug-related offenses are facing 5, 10, 15, and even sometimes, 20-year mandatory minimums, which means that if they plead guilty or if they are convicted in a jury trial, the judge must sentence them to at least the required minimum. It can often become...

Los Angeles County has over 25 separate courthouses that cover many different jurisdictions related to sex crime offenses.  To find the best sex crime defense attorney, you want to get somebody familiar with dealing with these jurisdictions.  Because within the jurisdictions, there are judges that....

I see many people charged with California Penal Code 243.4 PC sexual battery, indicating that the contact with the victim in the case was accidental. The way the prosecutors have to prove a case like that is by using the evidence, and a lot of times, it is circumstantial evidence. So, how can a sexual...

Sex trafficking is a significant new crime, not only in Los Angeles, Orange County, and surrounding counties in California, but across the nation, and prosecutors – whether they be at the federal level or the state level in the local courts – are very serious about stamping out sex trafficking. What that has...

What is your next move after federal law enforcement agents or local law enforcement officers raid your house and take your computers, tablets, and cell phones related to a child pornography investigation? If you are found possessing, producing, selling, or distributing any material depicting a child...