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?
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
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
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
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?
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?
” [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?
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?
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
Domestic Violence Pendulum
Recently, while many around the world were following news of the 2014 World Cup tournament in Brazil, an Olympic gold-medal winning soccer star in the United States made headlines for her “off the field” conduct. Last weekend, Seattle Reign FC goalkeeper Hope Solo was arrested and charged with domestic violence in Kirkland, Washington, for allegedly
