Ghost guns present a considerable threat to gun control laws. Ghost guns are guns that are assembled by component parts bought online. These guns are increasingly posing a challenge to law enforcement and to public safety. The component parts, essentially a gun kit, are available online for anyone to purchase.…
California Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
FENTANYL: A TRAGIC INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Manzanillo, a port city on Mexico’s Pacific coast and about 175 miles south of Puerto Vallarta, is one of the busiest ports in Mexico. It is also where most of the fentanyl gets it start as it winds its way up the North American continent. It is no secret that…
IS LIVESTREAMING A LAW ENFORCEMENT-CITIZEN CONTACT LEGAL?
Depending upon your point of view “livestreaming” police contacts benefits citizen civil rights, impedes police officers’ ability to do their job, and/or instigates riots. All these things are true. Many police officers don’t like it when citizens livestream their contact with the public; they believe it interferes with their ability…
California CARE Courts: A New Approach to Mental Health Treatment and Crime
In 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill creating Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Courts, a new system of courts designed to provide treatment and support to people with untreated mental illness and substance abuse disorders who are at risk of, or are already, becoming homeless…
AMENDED MENTAL HEALTH DIVERSION LAW SHOULD RESULT IN MORE MENTAL HEALTH DIVERSION ORDERS
The mental health diversion statute (Penal Code section 1001.36) was amended in the 2021-2022 Legislative Session to encourage the courts to make use of mental health diversion. The amended law became effective on January 1 of this year. Penal Code section 1001.36 was enacted in 2018 to address the fact…
Investigatory Stops
You are hanging out in a park with a couple of friends. Two police officers show up and ask you and your friends what you are doing in the park. You walk away, which is within your rights. If you do attempt to walk away and the officers prevent you…
Motor Vehicle Exhibitions (Sideshows)
Not long after the invention the Model T, people in the U.S. fell in love with their cars. Nowhere was the car culture more celebrated than in California. (Perhaps you recall the hit 80’s song “Walking in L.A.” The chorus: “Walkin’ in L.A., nobody walks in L.A.”.) Back in the…
Why You Should NEVER Talk to the Police Without an Attorney Present
No doubt you have heard the news that Alec Baldwin is to be charged with involuntary manslaughter after fatally shooting a cinematographer on set. I won’t recount the alleged series of events leading up to this charge as most everyone is familiar with the story. What is important to know…
The New “To Catch a Predator” is On Social Media
You may have watched the popular reality TV series “To Catch a Predator” which aired from 2004-2008. In that series, law enforcement would set up adult men who thought they had arranged a tryst with a minor. The scheme went something like this: an adult man would go online looking…
NEW LEGISLATION WILL AUTOMATICALLY DISMISS SOME PRIOR CONVICTIONS
Legislation recently signed into law by Governor Newsom will make certain previously convicted individuals automatically eligible for the dismissal of their conviction when four years have passed since the completion of their sentence. This new law makes many Penal Code section 1203.4 petitions for expungement automatic rather than requiring filing…