Blog

Joyriding, also known as taking an owner's vehicle without their consent and defined under California Vehicle Code 10851 VC can have serious consequences.  You used to be subject to potentially three years in prison, but now since Governor Brown has changed the prison and county jail system, a...

Carjacking is a very similar crime to robbery.  In fact, a carjacking is a robbery. Carjacking is defined under California Penal Code 215 PC. I think the legislature just got more specific in these cases because people were specifically, and still are, targeting high-dollar cars, to take away from people by either force...

If you don't know, California Penal Code 211 PC robbery has been declared a strike pursuant to the California Three Strikes Law and the legislature of California.  It is characterized as a violent felony because usually, somebody's doing something violent during the robbery, whether it be using force...

The dividing line between felony and misdemeanors as it relates to California domestic violence-related offenses is important because obviously, nobody wants to get hit with a felony, because if you get charged with a felony in a domestic violence case you're looking at prison time, loss of weapons, loss of...

I notice that many criminal defendants when they're being charged with a California domestic violence case, and it looks like they're going to have to take a deal because the prosecutors have good evidence against them, they look for the best possible outcome. For example, they admitted everything...

The prosecutors do have a difficult road when it comes to prosecuting many California domestic violence cases in Los Angeles because a lot of times what happens — and they are used to this — is that the alleged victim decides they don't want the person prosecuted. So, now the prosecutors...

I would say probably one of the first and most important things to do if you're charged with a California domestic violence case is not to put yourself in a position where you're having any more problems with the alleged victim in the case. This is a common problem that pops up and what will end...

If you're convicted of a domestic violence or spousal abuse case in Los Angeles, you could be facing up to a year in custody.  The sheriffs in LA county usually will let people only serve 10% to 25% of their sentence as of this posting on the website. However, they will keep domestic violence...

People are shocked to know how seriously domestic violence cases are taken in Los Angeles county.  On a first offense there's bare-minimum sentences that are going to be imposed by the prosecutors if they can find you guilty of a first-time domestic violence or spousal abuse case.  Those minimum ...

There are a number of different defenses in California domestic violence cases.  But obviously, before anybody is going to start telling you over the phone what your defense is, they're going to need to know what the facts and circumstances are surrounding your case.  In other words, what happened...

A specific intent crime has to do with a criminal defendant having the specific intent to commit a specific crime.  For example, let's assume that the crime we're talking about is attempted murder. In order to be convicted of attempted murder, one of the elements of the crime is...

Obviously, the easy answer to this question is don't let them, but the police are a little bit more persistent than that and a lot of times they will get a search warrant to search your house.  If they come to your home with a valid search warrant, then you ought to just get out of their way and let them...

Defense of others you don't see a lot in criminal defense.  I've been doing this for twenty-five years.   Very rarely see it used as a defense.  Once in a while where it comes into play is where somebody does something to another individual or individuals in defense of another person. For example...

Can You Be Still Be Charged With California Hit and Run If You Return to the Scene of the Accident? This is a good question because this happens all the time in hit and run cases throughout Los Angeles County and that is, people get in some sort of an accident, they will leave for some reason or anothe...

It appears that California is attempting to do away with bail bondsmen.  What they're doing — again it appears because everything hasn't been all structured up and set up — but it looks like it's very similar to the federal system where basically a bail bondsman is not used. California Money Bail...

Believe it or not, there are a lot of different items that can be considered burglary tools, but of course, a built-in defense in possession of California Penal Code 466 PC burglary tools is that the tools could also be used for innocent purposes as well. So, in addition to having the burglary tools, a lot of...

Burglary is described under California Penal Code 459 PC, and attempted crimes are described under Penal Code 664 PC. You almost never see attempted burglary filed because whenever the authorities think someone's trying to burglarize a location, it's so easy to do it, especially a residential burglary...

The crime of burglary in Los Angeles is a real problem because it brings with it a lot of negative connotations — meaning people who are convicted of burglary are viewed as individuals who can't be trusted because they steal other people's properties. California Penal Code 459 defines the crime of...

This has to do with a kidnapping that takes place for purposes of ransom or to commit some other serious crime like rape, robbery, extortion.  So, obviously, this is one of the more serious crimes that an individual case. Aggravated kidnapping is defined Under California Penal Code 209 PC...

I get these California Penal Code 192b PC involuntary manslaughter cases all the time and a lot of times they're filed as criminal cases, so people are asking well if it was just an accident and I didn't do it on purpose, how could they possibly charge me with a crime?  And that relates to a number...

First of all, a lot of people believe you can't have a hit and run if the accident you were involved in wasn't your fault.  This is obviously false.  Any accident you're involved with, even if it's not your fault, you have to stop and exchange information with the person. If the person's not there you have to leave...

Probably one of the biggest factors in a California domestic violence case relates to the injuries that are inflicted upon the other party.  Obviously, the worse the injuries, the more likely the judge and prosecutor is going to want to send that particular person to jail and punish them.  The smaller the...

These two particular allegations carry with them prison time most of the time.  So, obviously, you want to know the difference.  They are allegations; they're not crimes themselves, so they have to be attached to a crime. Driving Under the Influence Causing Injury, For example, let's say somebody's...

This concept of being able to track people's phones is basically called Ping technology (P-I-N-G) and it has to do will cell towers being all around Los Angeles and people using their phones, and this is one little piece of evidence that prosecutors and police can use to try and convict somebody of a crime...

In the course of the last twenty-five years, I've handled thousands of criminal cases across Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley. I know that when a parent has a child in trouble and they're in another state or if they're in California, t's not easy to choose a defense attorney with experience dealing...