wrongful conviction

April 16, 2021

Can You be Convicted of a Crime in California if You are Innocent?

The criminal justice system is set up to make the truth known, and in doing so, prosecute those who have violated the law while keeping innocent individuals safe from harm. Even though the system works for most cases, it is not perfect. Sometimes an innocent person is convicted of a crime they did not commit. Jailing an innocent person is an incredible tragedy and deplorable misfortune.

The importance of having effective and experienced legal representation is crucial to defending your rights and freedoms when you are charged with a crime. David M. Boertje is a San Diego criminal defense attorney who has a proven track record of successfully helping defendants see their best possible outcome in court. Whether it be negotiating the most beneficial plea deal, having charges reduced, or having charges completely dropped, David M. Boertje has handled thousands of criminal cases and knows how to best serve individuals facing criminal charges. The Law Offices of David M. Boertje is committed to helping you fight your charges and overcome them so you can move on with the rest of your life.

How Often are Innocent People Convicted of Crimes?

March 10, 2020

San Diego Awards Two Men Convicted of Gang Activity $1.475 Million

by David M. Boertje

Rapper Brandon “Tiny Doo” Duncan and Aaron Harvey are being compensated at the expense of the city of San Diego. According to the L.A. Times, the two men will be paid close to $1.5 million for the emotional damages they suffered during their seven-month jail sentence. This payout comes six years after the two were released from jail and in response to a civil-rights lawsuit they filed.

Three years ago, the two men took their case to federal court saying their incarceration was improper. Penal Code 182.5 is a gang law that states gang members who know about any crimes that their gang committed will be prosecuted if they benefited from the crime, furthered it, or promoted or assisted it. The law was approved in 2000 and was responsible for sentencing many dozens of alleged gang members in the San Diego region to jail.

Duncan and Harvey claim that their sentencing was due to PC 182.5 and the police had violated their First Amendment free-speech rights. They won their case and on December 10, 2019, it was approved that each man would receive $737,500 as a result.

Supporters of the law believe that it is necessary to tackle the gang problem in the city. Opponents believe it unfairly punishes mostly young men of color whose only crime is being guilty by association.

Duncan and Harvey were implicated along with 15 other alleged gang members for nine shootings between 2013 and 2014. Material evidence was not produced proving that either of the men committed the crimes. Rap lyrics and social media were used to argue that the men were harming the community with gang violence. Both men deny being a part of a gang and have only admitted to being friendly with some gang members.

When the men were arrested in 2014, Harvey’s bond was $1.1 million while Duncan’s was $500,000. It took seven months for a judge to lower both men’s bonds and during the time leading up to these changes, the men sat in jail.

Mistakes can Happen in Criminal Justice

Imprisonment under false charges or misuse of the law does happen. There are victims who have been wrongly punished for crimes they did not commit. There are also instances in which arrests have been made incorrectly. This is why it is so critically important that when you are arrested for a crime you immediately get in contact with a California criminal defense attorney. David M. Boertje has extensive knowledge of criminal law in California and knows when an injustice has been done. Individuals who are accused of crimes have rights that deserve to be protected. Continue reading

August 17, 2018

DNA Profiling in California: Overturning Wrongful Convictions

by David M. Boertje

Since 1989, 200 people have had their convictions overturned in California because they were wrong. In a major study conducted by UC Berkeley School of Law, researchers found that:

California leads the nation in exonerations as defined by the National Registry of Exonerations with 120, surpassing Illinois (110), Texas (100), and New York (100);

Since 1989, courts have exonerated or dismissed convictions against 214 Californians. Reasons include official misconduct, insufficient evidence, findings of innocence, ineffective defense, and legal error;

The vast majority of these wrongfully convicted individuals served time in state or federal prison before their convictions were thrown out, collectively losing 1,313 years of their freedom;

40% of individuals in the dataset were initially sentenced to 20 years or more in prison, including many who received life, life without parole, or death sentences before their convictions were overturned;

African Americans have been wrongfully convicted at a much higher rate than people of other races and that the majority of wrongful convictions occur in just a few counties.

Rampart Police Scandal

In late 1990 the Los Angeles Police Department was involved in widespread police corruption scandal in the Communities Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) anti-gang unit. More than 70 police officers were charged with misconduct. The misconduct included unprovoked shootings and beatings, planting of false evidence, stealing and dealing narcotics, perjury, and obstruction of justice, among other crimes. The UC Berkeley School of Law study also found that:

Individuals framed in the Los Angeles Rampart police scandal of the late 1990s account for 25% of the wrongful convictions in the dataset (53 people thus far; news reports estimate the total number of exonerated individuals at greater than 100;)

Excluding the Rampart cases, all of which were due to official misconduct, major factors contributing to these wrongful convictions include:
- perjury or false accusation (42% of the cases);
- official misconduct by police or prosecutors (39% of cases);
- mistaken eyewitness ID (26% of cases);
- inadequate or ineffective defense counsel (19% of cases); and
- DNA evidence (fewer than 6% of the cases).

This was the final installment of the series DNA Profiling by Law Enforcement in California.

Have You Been Arrested in San Diego, California?

There is no greater injustice than being convicted of a crime you did not commit. If you or someone you know was wrongfully convicted, contact San Diego Criminal Defense Lawyer David Boertje to understand your legal rights. Continue reading

August 3, 2016

Exonerated Man Thanks San Diego Lawyers, Law Students

by David M. Boertje

In 1993, California man William Richards was convicted and sentenced to 25 years for killing his wife Pamela. During the 23 years he spent behind bars, Mr. Richards has always maintained his innocence. For years San Diego-based California Innocence Project lawyers and California Western School of Law students worked to exonerate him. Back in 1993, Pamela was found dead by her husband when he arrived home from work. Her head had been crushed by a cinder block. The police who investigated the case did not find any footprints other than their own, and no defensive wounds on Richards, even though Pamela was missing a fingernail from scratching someone. The bloodstains on Richard’s clothing and shoes corroborate his statements that he had found his wife dead and held her in grief.

Justin Brooks, director of the California Innocence Project, took on Richard’s case because he felt there were too many unsolved questions of the crime if Richards had to withstand three trials in order to be convicted. Richard’s conviction had come in his third trial, based on the expert testimony of a dental expert.

It is reported that at least 16 law students from San Diego have worked on his case. Now age 66, penniless, homeless and without relatives, Richards is staying at the Riverside County home of a former student who worked on his case to try to get his life back on track. He was greeted and hugged by a law student who worked on his case when he was released from prison.