In a stunning loss for federal prosecutors, a jury has acquitted the leaders of the 41-day occupation and standoff at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. The Portland jury acquitted Bundy, his brother Ryan Bundy and five others of conspiring to impede federal workers from their jobs at the Malheur…
Articles Posted in Criminal Defense
California Enacts Law Penalizing Secret Recordings at Planned Parenthood
California governor Jerry Brown just signed into law A.B. 1671, which would punish the dissemination of secret recordings with health care providers. The bill was sponsored and lobbied by Planned Parenthood in response to the videos released by the Orange County-based Center for American Progress last summer. It is reported…
Criminal, Creepy Clowns Flood Southern California
It recently made national headlines that a creepy clown craze has swept the globe. Across the nation, police have received reports of people in creepy clown costumes trying to lure children or scare people. While the state of California seems to have escaped it the past several months, creepy clowns…
Actress Shailene Woodley Arrested for Protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline
Last week, Divergent actress and activist Shailene Woodley was arrested for criminal trespassing while peacefully protesting the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline. This was confirmed by the Morton County Sheriff’s Department and also posted on the actresses’ Instagram feed. Woodley had tried to film and live-stream her incident on Facebook, which…
As Election Season Looms, More Criminal Law Reforms Signed into Law
While Prop. 47 has been in the headlines with all the reforms in California criminal law, Governor Jerry Brown has quietly signed yet another group of criminal reform laws effective in 2017. Last week, Brown signed into law: S.B. 1134: sponsored by Sens. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and Joel Anderson…
Governor Jerry Brown Signs New Criminal Conviction Requirement for Civil Forfeiture
This September, the notoriously liberal state of California just made it harder for cops to take cash from innocent people. Governor Jerry Brown just signed into law SB 443, which limits the amount of civil forfeiture that is allowed to take place in the state by police and law enforcement…
Across the U.S. Police are Misusing Confidential Databases
According to an Associated Press investigation, police officers across the country misuse confidential law enforcement databases to get information on romantic partners, business associates, neighbors, journalists, and others for reasons that have nothing to do with their police work. Through multiple public records requests to state agencies and major-city police…
New Law May Complicate Release of Charlotte Police Video
In the latest fatal civilian shooting to make national headlines, Charlotte, North Carolina police have shot a man named Keith Scott. Scott, like many victims of police shootings, was a black man whom his family claims was unarmed and not a threat. While protesters have filled the streets in the…
Convicted Low-Level Felons Could Get Voting Rights in California
A new proposed bill in the state of California, A.B. 2466 now sits on Governor Jerry Brown’s desk for his approval. The bill would redefine who is entitled to register to vote, with the intent of restoring voting rights for the many ex-offenders within the state. Today, racial minorities remain…
Defendants’ Intent the Central Question in Oregon Standoff Trial
Now that Ammon Bundy, his brother, and the other co-defendants (nicknamed, the “Bundys“) involved in the destruction and occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge have been set for trial, a jury must now decide whether the defendant’s actions and intent amounted to a crime. Several defendants have already pleaded…