If 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 […]
Read MoreBrenner and the DMV DUI Hearing I often refer to the DMV DUI hearing (Department of Morons and Villains h/t Ed Kuwatch) as a “Kangaroo Court” because the DMV Hearings Officer, often a person with no legal training, acts as the prosecutor, judge and jury. The defense bar recently got a little help keeping client’s licenses […]
Read MoreThe San Francisco Appellate Department recently decided a case entitled People v. Alvaredo. The police stopped Alvarado at a DUI checkpoint. The police arrested him for DUI. His Attorney moved to suppress the evidence , including the breath test. Alvarado’s attorney argued the cops did not follow the procedures established by the California Supreme Court […]
Read MoreI have been saying this for years, as has anyone who works in the system. Now the NY Times has written an expose on the intrinsic problems, software and hardware, with breath testing machines. The full article is here. The study was done in conjunction with the FX show The Weekly and was broadcast 11/3 […]
Read MoreProblems With the CA DUI Blood Test: Fermentation and Contamination. Fermentation The first problem with blood testing for alcohol is that it’s impossible to tell how much alcohol was created by later fermentation of the sugars in blood by microorganisms. In other words, the microorganisms naturally present in the blood begin to produce alcohol in […]
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