Back in July of 2015, a man named Mike Gurrieri filed a lawsuit against the San Diego Unified School District’s superintendent for allegedly ordering edits to his criminal investigation to cover up for the accused principal. Mr. Gurrieri was assigned by the San Diego Unified School District as an internal…
Articles Posted in Criminal Defense
The Basics of a Plea Bargain: Pros and Cons
More than 90% of all criminal cases do not make it to jury trial. Instead, they end in plea bargains – sometimes to the benefit, and sometimes to the detriment of criminal defense clients. What is a Plea Bargain? A plea bargain is an agreement between a defendant and a…
San Diego Court Waiver Allows Police to Search Cellphones Without a Warrant
In response to the passing and enactment of SB 178 (the Electronic Communications Privacy Act) for the new year, San Diego Superior Court judges have started using waiver days after the new state law took effect. SB 178 would require police and probation officers to get a warrant signed by…
Legal Experts Say Governor Brown’s Parole Plan Would Lessen Plea-Bargain Power
This past year, California has been no stranger to criminal justice reforms as a means to lower the state’s prison population. In addition to the 807 bills signed into law set to take place in 2016, Governor Jerry Brown (D- CA) has introduced another state ballot initiative which aims to…
Uber Driver Sues Ex-Taco Bell Exec, and Vice Versa
A former Taco Bell executive by the name of Benjamin Golden who was fired after a video of him went viral assaulting an Uber driver, has now filed a lawsuit for $5 million against the transportation company. This bizarre case was a response to the $25,000 lawsuit filed by the…
Gov. Brown Denies Parole For SD Officer’s Killer
Early this New year, Governor Jerry Brown has once again denied parole to a former gang member who was convicted of fatally shooting a San Diego police officer in 1978. Jesus Salvador Cecena, 54, was only 17 when he was convicted of first-degree murder for shooting Officer Archie Buggs four…
Local Company Owners Indicted in $7M Hotel-Worker Fraud Case
The owners of Good Neighbor Services, an Orange County based janitorial company that provides cleaning services to luxury hotels across Southern California, have been indicted in a $7 million insurance fraud and tax evasion scheme that has allegedly lasted over 10 years. Hyok “Steven” Kwon and Woo “Stephanie” Kwon, from…
Russell Taylor, Jared Fogle’s Accomplice, Sentenced to 27 Years
Russell Taylor, the man who was accused of being Jared Fogle’s accomplice in a child pornography ring, was sentenced to 27 years in federal prison by Judge Tanya Walton Pratt, on December 10, 2015. Mr. Taylor is convicted of producing and distributing child pornography, specifically to Jared Fogle, the former…
Hung Jury in the First of the Freddie Gray Trials
Last April, the U.S. Department of Justice opened up a civil rights investigation over the death of Freddie Gray while he was in the custody of the Baltimore police. His neck was somehow broken and spinal cord severed whilst in transport to the police station. Now, the trial of one…
Citrus Heights Holiday Package Thief Arrested
In a case of “bah humbug,” a female suspect was arrested on December 18th for allegedly committing a string of package and mail thefts off of people’s porches in Citrus Heights, California. According to the Citrus Heights Police Department, Donna Marie Sieverin, 39, was arrested at her home in Sacramento…