Law enforcement Archives

California Gang Laws

Written by Robbi Cook, October 7, 2019, Arrest, Attorney-client Relationship, Bail, California Three Strikes Law, Constitutional Rights, Criminal Attorney Oakland, Criminal defense, Criminal Lawyer Oakland, Gang laws, Gang laws, Gun Crimes, Illegal Search and Seizure, Juvenile law, Law enforcement, Oakland criminal attorney, Oakland criminal lawyer, Plea Bargain, Search and Seizure, Sentencing, Serious Felonies, Violent Felonies

A recent article in “The Appeal” describes California Gang Laws as “normalized racism.” Sadly, this is not hyperbole. The methodology that allows law enforcement to label someone a gang member – often documenting someone as a gang member based on neighborhoods, friendships and families – is notoriously flawed. As described in the article, police use

Can Anyone Obtain a Police Officer’s Personnel Record?

Written by Robbi Cook, December 2, 2018, Arrest, Criminal Attorney Oakland, Criminal defense, Criminal Lawyer Oakland, Excessive Force, Illegal Search and Seizure, Law enforcement, Oakland criminal attorney, Oakland criminal lawyer, Police misconduct, Search and Seizure, Uncategorized

Suppose you have a run-in with a police officer who you suspect is a “dirty cop?” Someone who has a history of using excessive force or lying or planting evidence. Can you obtain the police officer’s personnel record from his law enforcement agency? In California, the answer used to be a resounding “No” in most

Prop 57 – What is it and can it help me?

Written by Robbi Cook, February 4, 2017, Criminal Attorney Oakland, Criminal defense, Criminal Lawyer Oakland, Law enforcement, Oakland criminal attorney, Oakland criminal lawyer, Plea Bargain, Prop 57, Sentencing, Uncategorized, Violent Felonies

Proposition 57, passed by California voters in November of 2016, will have important implications for both the adult and juvenile criminal justice systems. Here is a brief summary of the law. For Juveniles Prop 57 requires a judge, not a prosecutor, to decide whether juveniles should be tried in adult court. Previously, prosecutors could “direct

New sentencing law

Written by Robbi Cook, May 12, 2016, California Three Strikes Law, Constitutional Rights, Criminal Attorney Oakland, Criminal defense, Criminal Lawyer Oakland, Law enforcement, Oakland criminal attorney, Oakland criminal lawyer, Plea Bargain, Sentencing, Serious Felonies, Uncategorized

Jerry Brown is proposing a voter initiative to reintroduce parole hearings and early release. If this new sentencing law is passed, non violent felons will come up for parole once they complete the basic term for their crime. This is a major shift from the “determinate sentencing” law which was put in place (and signed

Police brutality and Excessive Force

Written by Robbi Cook, January 5, 2016, Arrest, Criminal Attorney Oakland, Criminal defense, Criminal Lawyer Oakland, Excessive Force, Law enforcement, Oakland criminal attorney, Oakland criminal lawyer, Uncategorized

Reports of police brutality and excessive force have become a fixture of the news cycle over the past several years. In July of 2014, Eric Garner died in Staten Island, New York City, after a New York City Police Department officer put him in what has been described as a choke hold for about 15 to 19

New Digital Privacy Law-Warrant Required

Written by Robbi Cook, October 31, 2015, Constitutional Rights, Criminal Attorney Oakland, Criminal defense, Criminal Lawyer Oakland, Fourth Amendment Law, Illegal Search and Seizure, Law enforcement, Oakland criminal attorney, Oakland criminal lawyer, Right of Privacy, Search and Seizure, Uncategorized

On October 8, 2015, California Governor Jerry Brown signed the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (CalECPA/State Bill 178), which the American Civil Liberties Union described as a “landmark victory” for digital privacy. The new law goes into effect on January 1, 2016, and is probably the most comprehensive digital privacy law in the nation

Can I Be Arrested If I Have A Medical Marijuana Card?

Written by Robbi Cook, June 4, 2015, Arrest, Criminal Attorney Oakland, Criminal defense, Criminal Lawyer Oakland, Drug Crimes, Fourth Amendment Law, Illegal Search and Seizure, Law enforcement, Oakland criminal attorney, Oakland criminal lawyer, Search and Seizure, Uncategorized

A doctor’s recommendation allowing you to lawfully possess and grow marijuana in California will not always protect you from being arrested and criminally charged for a marijuana related crime. Two laws define the parameters of legal possession and cultivation of medically indicated marijuana in California: the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (“CUA”) and the 2003

Should I Talk To The Police?

Written by Robbi Cook, March 3, 2015, Arrest, Constitutional Rights, Criminal defense, Law enforcement, Oakland criminal attorney, Oakland criminal lawyer, Search and Seizure

” [A]ny lawyer worth his salt will tell the suspect in no uncertain terms to make no statement to the police under any circumstances.” Justice Robert Jackson, Chief United States prosecutor at Nuremberg trials and Supreme Court justice, in Watts v. Indiana, 338 U.S. 49 (1949) (emphasis supplied) Should I talk to the police? I

Reasonable Suspicion for a Police Stop?

Written by Robbi Cook, December 27, 2014, Arrest, Constitutional Rights, Criminal defense, Fourth Amendment Law, Illegal Search and Seizure, Law enforcement, Right of Privacy, Search and Seizure

Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Unless you’re a police officer. Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in favor of the police in a Fourth Amendment case in which the arresting officer’s “mistake of law” led him to conduct an erroneous traffic stop based on a non-existent legal offense. In the

Are My Private Conversations with My Lawyer Confidential?

Written by Robbi Cook, August 9, 2014, Attorney-client Relationship, Constitutional Rights, Criminal defense, Law enforcement

Are our private conversations confidential? This is one of the most common questions I receive from potential clients seeking a consultation with me about a case. Most people know that there is an “attorney-client privilege” that protects their private communications with a lawyer. But are there exceptions to the privilege? Can it always be relied

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