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Many fights can lead to California battery charges. However, if you face such charges after getting into a fight with an off-duty cop who was acting as a security guard, or with many other kinds of public workers or employees, the consequences of a conviction can be more severe. Most battery charges filed under California Penal …
An example of a wallet gun California Penal Code 17330 PC holds that a “wallet gun” is any firearm mounted or enclosed in a case. Penal Code 24710 is the specific code section that makes these devices illegal. The case for these guns typically resembles a wallet, thus the name. A person can fire a wallet …
There are 3 common strategies for how to beat a solicitation charge. These include asserting that the police engaged in illegal entrapment, showing the evidence to be insufficient to support a conviction, and attacking the arresting officers’ credibility. Each of these strategies can undermine the prosecutor’s case. It can prevent them from proving the charge beyond a …
The statute of limitations for statutory rape in California is either 1 year or 3 years. If the charge is a misdemeanor, it has to be filed within 1 year. If it is a felony, it has to be filed within 3 years. If it is not filed within this timeframe, the charge can be …
Aiding and abetting are similar legal concepts but have slightly different meanings. Aiding a crime means helping someone else commit a crime. Abetting means to encourage or incite a criminal act, but does not necessarily entail helping or facilitating its execution. Both aiding and abetting are crimes and forms of accomplice liability. A conviction usually comes with the same …
Battery can be a crime of moral turpitude (CIMT) if it causes significant injuries. This can trigger extra collateral consequences of a conviction. If you are not a U.S. citizen, you may be deported. However, many batteries do not cause any injuries. Even if committed against a spouse, simple batteries generally not involve moral turpitude. A CIMT can …
People arrested by CHP are taken to local county jails, city jails, police department jails or holding facilities. Aside from the CHP Lockup facility in Sacramento, the CHP does not operate its own system of jails. If arrestees are not released on bail or their own recognizance, they are held in these facilities until their arraignment. They can …
Five common examples of aiding and abetting a crime are: encouraging someone else to commit a crime, providing information or equipment, knowing that it would be used in the commission of a crime, assisting with the commission of the crime, acting as a “lookout,” and acting as the “get-away” driver. Note that aiding and abetting a …
Lewd and lascivious conduct is defined as a sexual act that is offensive to community standards of decency. It often involves a child. Physical penetration is not necessary. It is a type of sex crime. It is often charged as a felony offense. One example of lewd and lascivious conduct is intentionally groping a minor. The …
Yes, so long as the relationship is not sexual. If they have sexual intercourse, the 21-year-old can face criminal charges for statutory rape if they are not married. The penalties for statutory rape carry up to 3 years in jail. They can also land in deeper legal trouble if they drink or do drugs together. The …
Missing a jury duty date will usually lead to a second summons for jury duty. However, ignoring a summons may be penalized. It can be treated as contempt of court. Jurors can prevent this from happening by showing they were excused from jury service. California courts have a great deal of discretion as to how to …
If a witness in a criminal case refuses to testify, he or she could be found in contempt of court (Penal Code 166 PC). Being found in contempt of court can result in jail time and/or a fine. A victim in a domestic violence or sexual assault case, however, cannot be jailed for refusing to …
A rock may be considered a deadly weapon. Criminal laws generally say that an object is a deadly weapon if it can be used in a manner that makes it capable of producing death or great bodily injury. Given this definition, a “deadly weapon” may include such things as: rocks, bottles, and BB guns. Penal …
“Prowling” is a crime in California per California Penal Code 647i PC, the State’s “peeking while loitering law.” A person commits this offense when he: peeks into an inhabited building, and does so while loitering on private property. PC 647i is technically known as California’s law against “peeking while loitering” or “unlawful peeking.” A violation …
Extradition is the process of arresting and returning a fugitive from one state to another state (or country). At an extradition hearing, a judge first determines whether the right person was arrested. Second, the transfer paperwork is reviewed for correctness. If the demand is proper, the fugitive from justice will be held for pickup by …
The time between an arrest and trial in California depends on whether the defendant committed a misdemeanor or a felony. An accused has a right to a “speedy trial” in his criminal case under both the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article I, Section 15, of the California Constitution. California has provided further …
No, California does not have a Romeo and Juliet law. In California, it is illegal for anyone to engage in sexual intercourse with a minor. Even another minor. A Romeo and Juliet law says it is not always a crime to have consensual sex with a minor. But the guidelines are very specific. Texas, for …
Some people think corpus delicti refers to a corpse, or a dead body. Not true. Corpus delicti is a Latin phrase that means body of the crime. In a theft case, stolen property is a key part of the corpus delicti. In an assault case, a broken nose might be part of the body of …
An arraignment is a formal hearing where a person accused of committing a crime is told what the charges are. The accused is also advised that he or she has certain legal and constitutional rights. Finally, the judge asks the accused how he or she would like to plead. If an attorney is in court …
There is a statute of limitations for a probation violation in California. The statute of limitations expires the moment when a party’s probation period ends. This means that a probation violation cannot be charged if it gets discovered after a person’s probation period is no longer active. Note that a probation violation occurs once a …
The criminal justice system is confusing and complex, and just like any profession you will find good lawyers and bad. Here are at least 5 signs that you may be dealing with a bad criminal defense attorney. 1. RESPONSIVENESS One good way to gauge how responsive an attorney might be is to observe how responsive …
It is illegal to record a confidential conversation, including a private conversation or telephone call, without consent in California. A violation of this rule is the crime of eavesdropping, per Penal Code 632 PC. Note that while PC 632 makes it a crime to record a private conversation, a party can legally record a communication …
Reckless endangerment is not a distinct crime in California. However, a person who acts recklessly and endangers others can be charged with a number of other crimes, including child endangerment, reckless driving, elder abuse, or enhanced DUI penalties for having a child in the vehicle. “Reckless endangerment” refers to an act that creates a substantial …
If your probation ends and you still owe restitution the debt does not go away. Under California Penal Code 1214, any victim restitution that remains unpaid when probation ends, is enforceable against the defendant as if it were a civil money judgment. Restitution still owing when probation ends is enforceable as a civil money judgment …
The maximum sentence for child molestation in California ranges from probation to life in prison, depending on a number of factors: The age of the child, if under 14 years of age, if 14 or 15 years old. Whether there is an accusation that force, violence, duress, or threats were used, The number or pattern …