In the state of California, if a law enforcement officer takes you into custody without an arrest warrant, you probably committed a crime that was observed by the officer. When you are suspected of committing a crime, but no law enforcement officer saw you do it, the police will usually ask a judge to issue [...]

In the state of California, if you are charged with committing a crime and the state's case against you is weak, you may dispute the charge, exercise your right to a trial, and hope for a "not guilty" verdict from the jury. However, if the jurors determine that you are guilty of the crime, a [...]

In Los Angeles County, the Pretrial Services Division of the Los Angeles County Probation Department administers nine separate programs concerned with community safety, incarceration, and the alternative sentencing of particular offenders. Several of these programs include the possibility of early release and/or the dismissal of criminal charges. Some are cooperative programs that involve other county [...]

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution fully and uncompromisingly protects your right to free speech in California and in every other state. Everyone in the United States has a legal right to express an opinion, no matter how unpopular or offensive that opinion might be. Still, the law has always placed some reasonable restrictions [...]

The presumption of innocence is the legal principle that a defendant who is accused of a crime is to be considered innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The presumption of innocence is not only foundational to the criminal justice system in the United States, but it's also a part of the [...]

In California, if you record someone without obtaining that person's permission, it's an invasion of privacy, and it's always against the law. Or is it? Are there legal exceptions to the state's invasion of privacy law? That's the question that will be answered when the State of California prosecutes two antiabortion activists on felony invasion [...]

California Proposition 36, the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act of 2000, went into effect in 2001 after 60.86 percent of California's voters approved the measure in 2000. This is a general introduction to the pros and cons – and the impact, sixteen years later – of Proposition 36, which allows eligible defendants who are [...]

Although in the state of California, criminal defendants actually have six different ways they may plead to a criminal charge, the most common pleas entered are guilty, not guilty, and nolo contendere. Literally translated, the Latin phrase nolo contendere means "I do not wish to contest." When a defendant enters a plea of nolo contendere [...]

Brock Turner was a 19-year-old freshman at Stanford and a member of the school’s swim team when he was arrested on January 18, 2015. Turner was convicted in March 2016 on three counts of felony sexual assault. The convictions carried a potential sentence of fourteen years in prison, and the prosecutors asked for six years. [...]

We don’t hear very much about the Mafia in Los Angeles these days. Gangs and terrorists are a much bigger concern in the 21st century, and the typical Los Angeles County criminal defense attorney probably defends more accused drunk drivers and shoplifters than mobsters. It wasn’t always this way, however. Organized crime activity was so [...]