The Prosecutor Must Prove Driving In Your DUI Case. In California, the “D” in Driving Under the Influence stands for driving. Some states allow conviction for DUI if you are operating or in control of the vehicle. In California, a DUI requires some ‘volitional movement of the vehicle’. Do the cops need to see you driving […]
Read MoreLawyers are often scared of character evidence. They fear that even bringing in vague good character evidence will open the door for bad character evidence in rebuttal. When Is Character Evidence Admissible? California law says character evidence is admissible “if offered by the defendant to prove his conduct in conformity with such character or trait […]
Read MoreWhat do surprise balance tests performed for the first time at the side of the road have to with sobriety? Nothing. Field Sobriety tests have numerous problems. First, there is no baseline of your ability to do the FSEs when you have zero alcohol in your system. Second, the tests are supposed to be standardized, […]
Read MoreIn the recently decided case of People v. Lee, the Appellate Court of San Diego County ruled that possession by a driver of a legal amount of marijuana doesn’t give the police the right to search the car for evidence of other crimes. Mr. Lee was pulled over when the cops noticed that his car […]
Read MoreIf you are convicted after a trial or plead guilty to a crime, in addition whatever other punishments are imposed the trial court has to impose certain fees. It is not a probation violation not to pay these fees. However, if they aren’t paid at the end of probation then a civil judgment is entered […]
Read MoreNBC News recently reported that CHP officers make game of stealing racy photos. CHP Officer Harrington of the Dublin area CHP was arrested recently for stealing photos from the cell phones of women he arrested. He would search an arrestee’s phone and then text the pictures to his friends – also members of the California Highway […]
Read MoreNo. You cannot drop Domestic Violence charges once you’ve made a verbal or written complaint. The reason lies in the nature of criminal cases in that, unlike civil cases, it’s simply not your case. Your part is solely as a witness. The criminal case belongs to the prosecutor and only s/he can drop charges. And […]
Read MoreThe California Legislature has ordered the DMV to provide licenses to people who reside in California, even if you don’t have proof of citizenship. The big picture is if you are a non-citizen, you can now get a driver’s license and avoid fees and convictions for driving without a license. Let’s take a closer look […]
Read MoreI Only Had One Or Two Beers Is Usually the Wrong Answer. You invariably tell the arresting officer that you had “one or two beers” when asked. This is a mistake for two reasons. First, if you are pulled over you are under no obligation to assist the police officer in building a case against […]
Read MoreA Federal Court Massachusetts has ruled that the government can’t search your cellphone, laptop or other electronic devices at the airport without reasonable suspicion that evidence of a crime is stored on the device. Up until now, ICE has been routinely searching peoples phones and laptops at the airport without probable cause. The Fourth Amendment […]
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