Articles Posted in Criminal

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TV star Charlie Sheen recently revealed that he is HIV positive. Mr. Sheen’s lifestyle is no secret, for years the tabloids have chronicled his seemingly non-stop partying, his coterie of “goddesses” and his many sexual escapades. According to Mr. Sheen’s revelation, he has known he was HIV positive for at least four years. He claims that he informed all of his sexual partners that he was HIV positive, but at least several of Mr. Sheen’s alleged sexual partners have denied that Mr. Sheen informed them of his condition.

Could Mr. Sheen have violated California criminal law? Well, maybe. When specific conditions are met, California makes it a felony to expose another person to HIV by engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse. (Cal. Health and Safety Code §120291.) Mr. Sheen may have violated this statute if he knew he was HIV positive at the time he engaged in unprotected sex but did not disclose his condition to the other party. If, as some of Mr. Sheens sexual partners in the last four years are correct, he did not inform them of his HIV positive status prior to having unprotected sex with them.

However, that is not enough to make it a crime. The statute also requires that the Mr. Sheen not only had unprotected sex and failed to disclose the infection but that he had the specific intent to infect the other person with HIV. Specific intent is a legal construct that means not only did the person commit the criminal act but that he or she did so with the knowledge and desire to achieve the illegal act. Thus in order to find Mr. Sheen guilty of this felony, the State of California would need to prove that Mr. Sheen had the unprotected sex with the specific objective of infecting his partner or partners with the HIV virus. Completion of the crime does not require that the partner did, in fact, become infected.

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California’s Proposition 47, which was considered a controversial measure, appears to be producing the results it was intended for.  However, there are still those skeptics who question whether or not the desired results are being met.  But, according to reports by the Stanford Justice Advocacy Project, any criticism of Prop 47 seems to be based on anecdotes and scare tactics rather than evidence and data.

The report further went on to highlight the positive effects of Prop 47 which includes a 13,000 inmate decrease in jail and prison population in California.  This alone will save the state and counties more than $300 million per year.  Early releases from county jails has been reduced by 35 percent, which means that overcrowding in jails has gone down.  The report went on to say that of the prisoners released under Prop. 47, less than 5 percent have returned to prison or been convicted of a new crime.  This seems to support the claim that there is no connection between any increase in crime over the last year and  inmates being freed due to Prop. 47.

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DOES CRIME INCREASE WHEN THE WEATHER IS HOT?

With the seemingly endless summer in Southern California and a very hot autumn this year, should we be more concerned about crime? Everyone knows that crime increases in hot weather, right? Well, not so fast. Several studies have disputed that oft cited axiom.

Statistics for Los Angeles homicides show that the murder rate is highest in July and August, but almost as high during the cooler months of December and January.   In New York City, the Wall Street Journal conducted a study in which seven index crimes—murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny and stolen vehicles— were reviewed month-by-month. The crimes were indexed by month for the years 2007 through 2009. The study found that New Yorkers are about as likely to be a victim of crime in the cold month of December or the cool month of October as they were in the hot summer months. A study on New Orleans shootings from January 2011 to June 2015 found virtually no relationship between hotter outside temperatures and the number of shootings.

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A bill recently signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown requires California’s public alert system to help in the effort to track down hit-and-run drivers. The new law uses emergency “yellow alerts” to broadcast the key details of fleeing hit-and-run vehicles. On digital freeway signs, the car’s color, make, model and license plate will be displayed in real-time. Hit-and-run collisions are on the rise, and especially in Southern California. In major cities like Los Angeles, nearly half of vehicular collisions involve a driver that flees the scene.  In 2014 alone, drivers of about 20,000 accidents left the scene and only 20 percent of the cases were ever solved.  According to state lawmakers that is about to change. In Colorado, this same program of “yellow alerts” quickly increased the arrest rate to 76 percent in hit-and-run cases. So what is a hit-and-run?

There are two types of hit-and-run crimes in California.  Penal Code 2001 applies to vehicle collisions that result in an injury or fatality, while Penal Code 2002 applies to accidents that result in damage to any property that is involved.  Both statutes require that any driver who is in an accident must immediately provide his or her name and current residence to the other driver. A hit and run crime involving any form of injury is punishable by fines between one thousand and ten thousand dollars and up to 4 years incarceration in state prison.  A hit and run crime involving only damage to property and no injury, is punishable by a fine of up to one thousand dollars and six months of county jail time.

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CALIFORNIA ENDS GRAND JURY HEARINGS IN FATAL POLICE SHOOTINGS

California is the first state to announce that it will ban grand juries in the preliminary determination on whether a law enforcement office should face criminal charges after killing someone in the line of duty. The reasoning behind the ban, which goes into effect next year, is to end public suspicion fostered by the secrecy of the grand jury process. The new law only affects criminal hearings on matters in which a police officer has killed a person in the line of duty.

In California, a grand jury is composed of a panel of citizens from each county, who serve for a set period of time. Each California county selects and empanels grand juries according to that county’s rules and grand juries can hear both criminal and civil matters. In criminal matters, a grand jury hears evidence and testimony presented by the prosecution and then decides whether there is enough evidence to indict.

This process is different from the more common form of criminal prosecution in California wherein the district attorney files a complaint against the person accused of the crime and following that, a judge hears the evidence in a preliminary hearing. While the prosecutor presents the evidence, a defense attorney is present to represent the person charged and can cross-examine witnesses. The defense attorney is also able to argue to the court that the evidence is not sufficient to “bind over” the defendant for trial. The judge determines whether the evidence tends towards a reasonable suspicion that the person (or persons) committed the crime. If the judge finds the evidence sufficient, the prosecutor will then file the charging document. There are some variations on this process, but this is the general scheme.

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A California arrest warrant authorizes law enforcement to arrest and apprehend you if you are suspected of committing a crime outside of the presence of an officer.

Judges issue arrest warrants based upon the evidence presented to them by an officer or District Attorney. Also, an arrest warrant can be issued following a grand jury indictment. In order to be lawful, a California arrest warrant must include the name of the defendant, the accused crime, the time of issuance, the county of issuance, the signature and title of the judge, and lastly, the name of the court.

Once a warrant is issued it is important to know the repercussions that occur before an arrest is made. In California, if there is a warrant out for your arrest you may lose some freedoms in order to prevent your sudden exodus from the local authorities. From small misdemeanors to serious felonies, the law is consistent as to how a warrant’s prohibitive measures function. If there is any warrant issued in your name these are 3 things you need to know: Continue reading →

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There is no functional difference between temporary and permanent insanity under California law. The sole issue in California is the status of the defendant’s sanity at the time of the crime. The method of determining a defendant’s sanity is the two pronged M’Naghten rule.

1) The first prong requires a defendant to understand the nature and quality of his or her act.

2) The second prong requires the defendant to be able to distinguish between right and wrong.

A defendant who cannot satisfy both of these prongs is statutorily insane.

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As temperatures rise going into spring and summer, so does the risk of vehicular hyperthermia for children left inside hot vehicles. Each year since 1998 an average of 38 children have died in hot cars in the U.S. Although these tragedies occur nationally, California is one of only 20 states that has addressed the issue formally. The law in California (Kaitlyn’s Law) holds that leaving a child unsupervised in a motor vehicle is a violation with a fine of one hundred dollars (CAL. VEH. CODE 15620).

(a) A parent, legal guardian, or other person responsible for a child who is 6 years of age or younger may not leave that child inside a motor vehicle without being subject to the supervision of a person who is 12 years of age or older, under either of the following circumstances:

(1) Where there are conditions that present a significant risk to the child’s health or safety.

(2) When the vehicle’s engine is running or the vehicle’s keys are in the ignition, or both.

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California Proposition 47, Do You Qualify?

California Proposition 47 is a recently approved law, which allows many individuals who have criminal convictions, to reduce their felony conviction(s) to misdemeanor convictions. Further, it allows those who are currently being prosecuted for felonies, to have their charges reduced to misdemeanors and prosecuted as misdemeanors. It is important to note that not all felony convictions and charges are eligible and not all individuals are eligible. Below is a brief overview of Proposition 47 and who qualifies.

Simply put, the new law reduces the classification of most non-serious and non-violent crimes from wobblers or felonies to misdemeanors. Wobblers are crimes that may be prosecuted and either a misdemeanor or a felony, depending upon the circumstances. Typically, the types of crimes eligible for Prop 47 are property and drug crimes. However, individuals who have prior “disqualifying” convictions will not qualify for Prop 47. Those convictions include any felony offense, which requires Penal Code 290(c) registration or convictions under Penal Code 667(e)(2)(C), (serious, violent crimes, including murder and certain sex and gun crimes, and registered sex offenders). The following are some of the crimes eligible for reduction of penalties under Proposition 47:

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Being arrested and facing criminal charges is a traumatic experience but choosing the right lawyer can minimize the stress and anxiety one suffers while moving through the process toward a resolution. When trying to decide which lawyer is right for you, there are a few things to consider when making a decision.

1. Choose an attorney who is familiar with the local courts. Every courthouse in every county has it’s own procedures. I have been working out of the same courthouses for more than 20 years and have developed professional and trusting relationships with court staff, which is very valuable for an attorney when it comes to strategy. My more than 20 years of criminal law defense work in Orange County, has allowed me to create relationships with judges, district attorneys and court staff, as well as the knowledge of how each particular courtroom works. Knowing who to talk to has afforded me opportunities to get the most positive outcome for my clients.

2. Choose an attorney who will maintain close personal contact with you. Facing criminal charges can throw most peoples lives into a spin and the anxiety can be at times overwhelming. Being able to talk to your attorney when you are feeling most vulnerable is invaluable and can make the whole process a little less stressful.

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