In a 6-5 opinion (United States v. Sanchez-Gomez), the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals just found the San Diego District Court’s 2013 shackling policy for pretrial defendants unconstitutional- “likening the court’s policy to treating inmates “like a bear on a chain.” While it is a significant ruling, the opinion…
According to California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, the over four million traffic tickets handed out to the state’s drivers each year should no longer be criminal charges. If other lawmakers agree with her, California drivers would spend less time in court and would no longer face fines of…
In a tragic turn of events, seven adults were shot at a University City apartment complex pool party earlier this month. One woman named Monique Clark was killed. Witnesses say that 49-year-old Peter Selis, a resident at the upscale La Jolla Crossroads complex, never even left his pool chair when…
Earlier this year, San Diego police arrested dozens of people believed to be amongst North County San Diego’s biggest criminal gun and drug dealers in a massive takedown. In total, 55 men and women were charged in 10 federal indictments that allege heroin and methamphetamine trafficking, along with illegal gun…
It is reported that legislation will be introduced that will update California’s laws criminalizing HIV. It would make it so that a person could not be prosecuted for intentionally transmitting the virus if his or her sex partner tested negative for HIV. This comes at a time in which health…
This past summer, the Los Angeles Police Department’s elite Metropolitan Division flooded high-crime, predominantly African American and Latino communities in unmarked police cars, stopping drivers with paper license plates, tinted windows, or broken tail lights as a pretext to search for illegal guns and find dangerous criminals. The operation was…
Every new year, California Governor Jerry Brown sifts through hundreds of bills sent to his desk and signs into law a slew of legislative changes in the criminal law sector for the state. In 2016, Brown saw 1,059 bills come forward, 898 of which he signed into law. He also…
Bill Cosby’s criminal defense team filed a motion for a change of venue out of Montgomery County for his criminal trial stemming from a sexual assault charge. Cosby was charged with a 2004 drugging and sexual assault of a Temple University employee. His attorneys are claiming that the extensive media…
A new law that prohibits employers in the state of California from asking about a job applicant’s juvenile criminal records is set to take effect January 1of the new year. Assembly Bill (A.B.) No. 1843 amends Section 432.7 of the California Labor Code to prohibit employers from asking about or…
Ryan Bundy, the eldest son of Cliven Bundy and member of the clan involved in the armed occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon has asked for a hearing to challenge his detention status in a Nevada jail. He claims that he poses no risk for flight and poses…