Articles Tagged with California criminal defense attorney

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When prosecutors demanded that a California man who faced illegal gun possession charges be held without bail, the man’s defense team argued that the charges simply did not warrant such a harsh response. Prosecutors had pages and pages of explanations to support their argument. Unfortunately, for them, their extensive documentation was riddled with errors.  

AI Issues

As it happens, the prosecutor’s office was using AI to beef up paperwork in several cases, and in each situation, there were serious misinterpretations of law, as well as quotations that did not exist in the cited text. Ultimately, there were clear indications that AI was the culprit behind the mistakes. It led defense attorneys to take the case to the California Supreme Court, in hopes that they would find a pattern of erroneous legal interpretations and case citations. That led to some interesting revelations. 

Problems

Defense attorneys had 22 technology researchers and legal scholars alongside them in court. These professionals advised that the unchecked use of artificial intelligence in the legal field could lead to wrongful sentencing and convictions. Legal documents have been notably peppered with errors as a result of the use of Gemini and ChatGPT, which have been commonly used to prepare anything from essays and emails to legal briefs. When the use of AI goes unimpeded, the pitfalls can be disastrous, since these tools have been proven to contrive fictional answers to legal questions.

Arizona State University law professor Gary Marchant conceded that inaccuracies in court papers that are the result of AI are more likely an indication of negligence than deliberate deception. Nonetheless, because sycophancy is a known characteristic of AI, the truth is often stretched in an effort to divulge an answer that supports a specific argument. Commonly referred to as hallucinated content, roughly 600 cases have been detected worldwide, more than 60% of which occurred in U.S. courts. That leads to some gripping questions: 

  • Since studies indicate that as many as 82% of legal queries on chatbots result in hallucinations, prompting extreme caution from Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts in 2023, can court documents created with AI be trusted?
  • With 75% of lawyers planning to use AI in their work, how will legal outcomes be affected?
  • Should there be restrictions on the use of AI in legal work, since even AI tools that claim to reduce hallucination issues produce errors in 17% to 34% of uses?

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Turn on the news and you will find all kinds of sports betting fiascos, driven by a number of high-profile scandals that have recently hit the headlines:

  • ESPN reports that the Lucchese crime family was the mastermind in a network of bookmakers nationwide who facilitated roughly $2 million in illegal betting over time. The family is facing charges of money conspiracy, money laundering, and related gambling offenses involving at least two college athletes and scores of others.
  • Rigged poker games and illegal sports betting have been uncovered involving a number of NBA teams, including the LA Lakers, Miami Heat, and Portland Trail Blazers.
  • MLB is dealing with an enormous scandal involving two pitchers who threw prearranged or bad pitches in order to earn thousands of dollars for bettors. Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz face 65 years in prison, and several others have received lifetime bans from baseball. 
  • A 41-game suspension was the punishment for the NHL’s Shane Pinto as a result of sports betting by proxy betters, even though none of those bets involved hockey.

Federal Law

The FBI Corruption in Sport and Gaming (CCSG) task force works to combat illegal sports and gaming, which includes:

  • Illegal entities and activities involving sports and gaming;
  • Game manipulation;
  • Doping charges and athletes;
  • Bribery from individuals and/or institutions;
  • Threats and/or extortion of officials, athletes, or sports staff.

Illegal Sportsbooks

The FBI looks into illegal sportsbooks, which frequently operate illegally with no betting limits or reporting requirements. The concern is that, in addition to risks to bettors, organized crime frequently uses the profits made from such illegal gambling sites for their other illegal operations, including the trafficking of weapons, drugs, and humans. When unsuspecting individuals get involved with illegal sportsbooks, it can lead to threats and extortion as a means of debt collection.

Game Manipulation

Athletes, officials, and staff may be contacted by criminal entities demanding game manipulations that impact the outcome of particular plays or games, financially benefiting bettors.

Sports Betting in California

There is no legal sports betting in California, and experts predict it will be a few years before it gets on the ballot again. In fact, a constitutional amendment will be necessary in order to allow a legislative change unless voters go to the polls to make a change, and any gaming expansion down the road will likely require a tribal coalition as well. As far as sportsbooks are concerned, only about 20% of voters want it, so it could be a lengthy wait.

Penalties

Illegal sports betting can lead to fines, misdemeanor charges, and jail time, with repeat offenders looking at felony charges, three years in prison, and fines of up to $10,000. Illegal operators could be charged with a felony and face asset forfeiture. Continue reading

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Let’s say you were alarmed when police approached you unexpectedly. As they attempted to arrest you, in your confusion, you reacted based on your instinct to try to get away. In hindsight, you recognize that you made some decisions that were less than perfect, but that awareness is not going to help you with the charges you are now facing. In addition to resisting arrest, you have been charged with battery. A strong local criminal defense attorney is what you need at this point. 

What is Battery?

Battery is any willful, illegal physical contact with someone else that is harmful or offensive. It is not just a couple of teenagers horsing around and winding up injured, or athletes getting roughed up on the basketball court. It is intentionally shoving someone to the ground, punching someone in the nose, or otherwise purposefully hurting them. 

A “Wobbler”

The charge of battery of a protected person, which includes health care workers, school employees, sports officials, transit operators, taxi drivers, utility workers, and, of course, peace officers, can be harsher than when battery occurs against, say, a neighbor. The term ‘peace officers’ is a large umbrella, including people who work in corrections, firefighting, the judiciary, and police. Depending on the outcome of the event, charges of battery against any peace officer–police officer, in this case– may have different penalties than when a protected person is not harmed. That is because it is a “wobbler,” meaning prosecutors have the ability to up the charges in these circumstances.

While battery is a misdemeanor and penalties do not usually exceed six months behind bars and a $2,000 fine, when a protected person, such as a police office,r is the victim, the charge can be bumped up to a felony, which could mean a full year in jail on top of the $2,000 fine—and that is if no injuries occurred.  If the officer suffers great bodily harm, a conviction could result in years behind bars and $10,000 in fines.

To be clear, an assault of an officer does not necessarily have to be a forceful event like a slap, kick, or punch. Throwing something at an officer, spitting on them, touching them angrily or rudely could all be charged as battery against a protected person. 

Defending Charges

A suitable defense examines the situation in question and explores the following issues:

  • Were the defendant’s actions intentional?
  • Was the defendant acting in self-defense?
  • Was the officer on duty at the time of the incident in question?
  • Did physical contact truly occur, or was it merely a verbal altercation?
  • Were any injuries sustained by the officer the result of an actual battery, or did they occur in some other context?
  • Would lesser charges, or no charges at all, be more suitable?

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If you have been indicted for a federal crime, or with any capital crime or felony at the state level– you likely have questions about the grand jury process. It is a procedure that is cloaked in secrecy, making it something of a mystery to the public. While we hear terms like “grand jury” and “indictment” in relation to high-profile cases, making sense of the terms when they directly affect you can be seriously troubling. 

Understanding the Role of the Grand Jury

A cross-section of adults living in the area where a purported crime occurred will comprise any grand jury. Randomly identified individuals are notified by mail that they’ve been called to serve. Police and/or other investigative bodies have already delivered evidence to a prosecutor, who will then present that evidence—including documents, witness testimony, and more– to the grand jury. At the conclusion of this presentation, the jury will weigh the evidence and decide whether the prosecutor has demonstrated that the crime occurred at the hands of the accused. To put it more succinctly, they will decide if there is probable cause to justify bringing the case to trial. 

The Indictment 

If the grand jury finds that there is probable cause to charge a suspect on one or more counts, they will indicate so by providing an indictment – a formal finding–to the prosecutor. At that point, the prosecutor must either elect to pursue the case in a trial, use the indictment(s) to pressure a suspect into cooperating in a deal that provides immunity in exchange for testimony against someone else, or drop the case altogether.

Grand Juries Differ from Other Juries

Grand juries are made up of everyday citizens who are arbitrarily selected, just like other juries. Still, they differ from other juries in many important ways:

  • Grand juries are undisclosed until after an indictment is delivered, with the public—and the suspect– typically unaware they are meeting.
  • Anywhere from 16 to 23 people typically serve on grand juries, higher than in criminal cases.
  • Grand juries are tasked with deciding whether there is enough evidence to support bringing the case to trial, as opposed to criminal juries, which are charged with determining innocence or guilt.
  • There is no defense presentation for a grand jury, as it is not a trial.
  • Criminal juries must unanimously find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, while only half plus one is required to move the case to trial in a grand jury (a much easier standard to meet).
  • A defendant attends a criminal trial but is never present for a grand jury proceeding, as he or she is not even aware that a grand jury is looking into them until after there is an indictment. 
  • Unlike typical juries, the grand jury can call witnesses with the help of the prosecutor,
  • Because a grand jury proceeding is not a trial, double jeopardy does not apply; therefore, if there is no indictment, the prosecutor can always gather more evidence and try again with a new grand jury in the future.

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If you have been accused of violating a protective order, you are not alone. Studies indicate that half of all survivors of domestic violence who have obtained protective orders in the country report their abusers violate those orders, with a result of escalating violence. When those orders are violated, survivors say nothing happens to abusers when the violation is reported to authorities. While that may be the case in some states, in California, the legal consequences for violating a protective order are significant. 

Protective Orders

A protective order can be issued in a civil court in an attempt to protect applicants from harassment and harm from another person. An Emergency Order may be granted if the alleged victim of a crime calls 911 and requests help, and typically lasts no longer than one week. If the defendant is ultimately arrested and charged with a crime, a judge can issue a Criminal Protective Order, which is designed to protect alleged victims of domestic violence and witnesses. A restraining order might also be issued, which orders the accused to stay away from the victim while continuing requirements to pay child/spousal support. 

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When someone is accused of acquaintance rape, or date rape, the charge is exactly the same as for any other rape. The fact that the parties knew one another is beside the point. A guilty verdict could result in prison time and having to register as a sex offender. The reputational damage, along with the emotional toll these charges take on a person, cannot be overstated. These are consequences no one wants to live with. If you are facing such charges, you need a no-nonsense criminal defense attorney fighting for your rights. 

First Things First

It is a good idea to hire an attorney the minute you realize there could be a legal issue—even before charges are filed. That way, you will have someone by your side who understands the law and who can guide you when it comes to answering questions, submitting evidence, and more. Additionally, it will be necessary to take some additional steps: 

  • Get off all dating sites. Do not communicate with anyone through such a site, the accuser in particular. The problem with these kinds of “blind” communications is that you cannot ever know if the person inquiring about you is an innocent individual who happened to like your profile, or if it is a friend of your accuser who is trying to get some dirt on you.
  • Do not discuss the case with anyone. The only person who is protected by the attorney-client privilege is you. Friends and family could be compelled to elaborate on anything you say to them in a courtroom.
  • Assuming both parties stipulate that there was a sexual encounter, DNA evidence will likely not be a major factor in the case. The issue at hand will be whether the sex was consensual. If the victim had an examination, often referred to as a rape kit, we will carefully examine the results, looking for any physiological evidence that might be consistent with your accuser’s claims.
  • If there was no physical examination, the case will rely more heavily on witness statements and circumstantial evidence. Typically, there are strong protections for alleged rape victims, and it can be difficult to bring up previous actions or relationships. 
  • We will analyze the circumstances and try to determine if there was a misunderstanding of some kind or if your accuser is overtly lying. We will look for omissions and inconsistencies in the accuser’s story and highlight those issues in our defense.

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It is tough to imagine a more sinister crime. In a criminal case alleging child sexual abuse, public sentiment is essentially guaranteed to be against the defendant, which is just one of the reasons that these kinds of cases are innately difficult to fight. For the person on trial, the unqualified trepidation associated with the charges and trial is logical. A defendant’s life will never be the same—the verdict notwithstanding. Being accused of child sexual abuse or exploitation— whether it’s viewing or filming pornography, lewd acts, incest, or actual assault of a child— will have grim consequences delivered by society, regardless of whether a legal penalty is deemed appropriate. 

The Challenges of These Cases

The cases themselves contain vile details that elicit a strong reaction from the public, who simply cannot conceive of a child fabricating such a tale. Most of the time these cases are based primarily on what a child reports, and, because a huge portion of such cases are reported long after the alleged abuse occurred (the law allows plaintiffs to initiate a case up to the age of 40 for childhood incidents, or within five years of suffering psychological injuries), there is often literally no forensic evidence available to imply guilt or innocence. Additionally, there is generally no eyewitness testimony to support claims of criminal acts. Even though these cases rely heavily on personal recollections and circumstantial evidence, defending someone facing these charges is extremely difficult due to the nature of the charges and the reasonable obligation to shield innocent children. This leaves defense with three key points to examine: 

1- Whether Plaintiff’s Claims are Plausible

The defense must attempt to create reasonable doubt as to the likelihood that the events occurred as reported. That will entail reconstructing the timeline of events down to the last detail and attempting to provide autonomously-verifiable facts to support the defendant’s version of events. It will require a search for records to confirm that the defendant was in a different location when the alleged crime occurred or other evidence to create doubt in the jurors’ minds. Phone records, receipts, credit card statements, and events around the time of the accusations should be examined to see if they can implicate innocence. 

2- Whether the Witness is Credible 

The defense must examine any inconsistencies in the plaintiff’s statement by communicating with anyone possible to get an image of the child’s personality. Friends, neighbors, teachers, and others may be able to shed some light on the conditions of a child’s life at the time of the purported crime. The defense may be able to utilize facts about the child’s home life, including aspects related to conflict, the need for attention, and so on. They will also conduct an investigation to discover whether the child was ever involved in any episodes of dishonesty about serious matters, and to see what, if anything, an examination of social media reveals.  Does the plaintiff discuss the accusations? Is there a tendency to seek attention or exaggerate? All of these issues will be examined. 

3- Whether an Event was Misunderstood or Misinterpreted

Although a person may honestly and credibly believe that something inappropriate occurred at the hands of the defendant, is it possible that the plaintiff’s view was contaminated by someone else who has leaned into the idea that the defendant committed a crime? While the complaint itself may be delivered truthfully, is there a possibility that what occurred has been misinterpreted, exaggerated, or otherwise shaded by the impulses of someone else who was not present for the event in question? Is there a possibility that the memory of events could have been influenced by others? A nasty divorce, for example, could feasibly be a factor in such accusations made by a child. Memories from long ago could be muddled with other facts. Did the plaintiff receive counseling in advance of the accusations? After the allegations? What could that mean for the veracity of the claims? Continue reading

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As a way of expressing discontent, some people may choose to engage in malicious mischief, which generally refers to things like graffiti, vandalism, or other forms of damaging or defacing property. But anyone who’s tempted to take this route could face some unpleasant consequences for their actions. 

Defining Malicious Mischief

Malicious mischief includes a range of activities, all of which must be performed with malice. In other words, it must occur intentionally, not accidentally. It could be graffiti, damaging mailboxes, throwing rocks through windows, or any other form of damaging public or private property. It could also include damaging or tampering with a vehicle,  signs, or other property belonging to someone else.

What Constitutes Graffiti?

Most have seen examples of graffiti as spray paintings across bridges, walls, and so forth. While these are, indeed, graffiti, the legal definition of graffiti is much more expansive, and includes:

  • Markings of any kind that are made on someone else’s property without their permission;
  • Markings made with a variety of materials, including paint, markers, chalk, etchings, carvings, and even stickers;
  • The damage does not have to be permanent in order to be considered graffiti.

Penalties

Violating state law related to malicious mischief could result in up to $1,000 in fines and six months behind bars if the damage done amounts to less than $400. (The penalty for a second offense doubles the time in jail and bumps the fine up to $5,000).  If the damage exceeds $400, it could land the offender in jail for a year, along with up to $10,000 in fines. Finally, if the damage amounts to over $10,000, the offender’s fine could jump to $50,000. 

The judge could also tack on some additional punishments, including:

  • Requiring an offender to clean up the graffiti;
  • Requiring an offender to keep a particular area in the community graffiti-free for up to one year;
  • Suspending the driver’s license of the offender for a full year for each offense (or delaying the issuance of the license for younger individuals).
  • Up to 80 hours of community service for minors.

Parents Will Feel the Pain, as Well

In addition to the hassle and expense associated with getting a youth offender into court to address the charges, parents can be held civilly liable for the cost of clean-up and fines, to the tune of $25,000– if the court finds that the minor child engaged in willful, malicious misconduct. Continue reading

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If you are facing charges of domestic violence (DV), you are looking at a case involving high emotion and the possibility of serious changes to life as you know it. That is why now, more than ever, you need a dedicated criminal defense attorney to protect your rights. 

Who are the victims of Domestic Violence?

In years past, domestic violence, or domestic battery, was considered to be only violent crimes against someone with whom a perpetrator formerly or currently shared an intimate relationship. But we now know that DV is a crime centered on intimidation and power—often in the form of violence—used to control another person. In general, DV abusers tend to escalate control over time using threats, deprivation, force, manipulation, and violence. Victims may be intimate partners, children, or even grandparents.

Types of Domestic Violence

  • Spousal abuse: Violence between intimate couples, whether or not they are married, heterosexual or otherwise, occurring when one partner wields dominance through verbal, financial, or physical abuse. It may include threats related to immigration status, homophobia, or to injure property, pets, or loved ones.
  • Sexual assault:  Pressure or coercion to engage in unwanted sexual activity may occur between couples as a form of control.
  • Stalking and criminal threats: Stalkers who pursue someone physically or online and harass and/or threaten their victims.
  • Child abuse: Parents, step-parents, grandparents, or the partners of a parent may abuse children verbally, emotionally, or physically.
  • Elder abuse: Children or grandchildren who live with or care for grandparents and who attempt to control them using financial, verbal, emotional, or physical abuse.

Penalties

Misdemeanor domestic battery charges in the state of California could land you in jail for up to a full year, set you back $2,000 in fines, and stick you with up to three years of probation, during which you may be ordered to engage in a batterer’s treatment program.

All of these legal penalties are in addition to having to deal with the potential of a restraining order, being kicked out of your house, and even the possibility of losing contact with your children. Continue reading

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Confidential informants (CIs) and jailhouse snitches are used by law enforcement to gather information and tips so suspects can be put behind bars. The practice of using these informants is not uncommon in the least. Unfortunately, there are some real problems with the custom: 

  • There are no reliable mechanisms in place to figure out if an informant (or a police officer) is telling the truth;
  • When informants are used, they are offered tempting incentives to produce information.
  • Police raids based on informant tips can be hyper-aggressive.
  • Innocent people can get caught up in serious legal issues when named by an informant.

Regulation is Non-existent for CIs

Basically, the police have no rules when it comes to using informants. In fact, there have been many court cases that have concluded that law enforcement’s dependence on testimony from informants is not a Constitutional violation. Thus, the use of informants is a prime way to get the information officers are seeking. However, informants generally have pretty good incentives to provide false testimony, especially if providing the right tips could mean receiving a lesser sentence for their own crimes. On top of that, since many law enforcement organizations lack suitable control systems to address the issues associated with confidential informants, it is not far-fetched to imagine that an officer could manufacture a fictional CI to create the evidence needed to obtain a warrant or make an arrest. Sadly, innocent people have been killed in various police raids that were based on nonexistent confidential informants. That led to calls for better controls on the use of CI’s in a Congressional hearing on the matter, but no definitive changes in the law made it into practice.

Jailhouse Informants 

Testimony from jailhouse snitches is unregulated as well, and therefore, the information gleaned from them is not necessarily unreliable. Even so, it has been used in myriad situations to put others behind bars. These informants generally get some sort of benefit in exchange for helping law enforcement, including:

  • Having their own charges reduced or eliminated;
  • Getting monetary compensation;
  • Getting special privileges while they are incarcerated.

Unreliable Information

Informants may claim that a confession or details of a crime were shared by a defendant, or that they got second-hand information from other people. This is often true with cases that are high-profile or gang-involved, and police are under extreme pressure to solve the crime. But testimony from jailhouse informants often leads to wrongful convictions. In fact, estimates have the number of convictions that relied heavily on jailhouse snitches was later overturned with DNA evidence at nearly 20%. Unfortunately, this testimony frequently occurs without the defense team or the jury ever hearing about precisely what incentives were offered in exchange for damaging testimony. Since national standards relating to such testimony do not exist and there are no rules relating to the tracking and management of it, innocent people have lost their freedom time and again due to inaccurate and downright dishonest testimony. Continue reading

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