In California, you can be convicted of aiding and abetting anytime you encourage, facilitate or aid another person in the commission of a crime regardless of how insignificant your role. But aiding and abetting is not a crime unto itself. When the prosecutor believes that you are guilty of aiding and abetting a crime, he/she …
Most cases of driving under the influence in California are prosecuted as misdemeanors. However, if you suffer your fourth or subsequent DUI within a ten-year period or injure another person as the result of driving under the influence, then the prosecutor has the discretion to charge the offense as either a misdemeanor or a felony. …
In most cases, merely owning a counterfeit law enforcement badge – or other counterfeit law enforcement identification, such as certificates and insignias – is not a crime. But be careful. Using a fake police badge in certain ways could lead to charges of impersonating a police officer under California Penal Code 538d. This misdemeanor crime …
If you are charged with and convicted of rape in Sacramento County, you could be looking at a lifetime of serious consequences that go far beyond just prison time. Rape, as one would expect, is treated as one of the most serious crimes under California law and crimes involving rape and sexual assault are vigorously …
Child pornography in California law is, understandably, treated harshly by prosecutors. The sexual abuse and exploitation of children in pornographic pictures or videos is tragic and those who make or distribute such materials will be subject to severe punishment. But what about videos and materials such as drawings, cartoons, or animation (such as manga or …
Can a low carb diet "trick" DUI breath tests?Watch this video on YouTube Some medical and physiological conditions can cause DUI breath tests to produce falsely high results. Such conditions include: diabetes (a common DUI defense) ketosis hypoglycemia, fasting, and high-protein / low-carbohydrate diets (such as the Atkins and Paleo diets). These conditions involve insufficient carbohydrate intake for energy, …
When people plead guilty to a California DUI charge, they usually get placed on probation. The court imposes certain “terms and conditions of probation.” Violating these terms and conditions may result in a bench warrant for one’s arrest, a probation violation, and possible jail time. The terms of probation consist of affirmative duties and prohibitions. …
Police informants in California provide the authorities with information that leads to search warrants, wiretaps, surveillance and the solving of crimes. The types of informants can range from random citizens who are aware of criminal activity…to agents of the police who infiltrate criminal organizations and report on their activities. No doubt informants are a very …
California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Government Code 12940, prohibits employment discrimination or harassment based on gender, gender identity, or gender expression. Some cities have passed their own regulations protecting gender identity and expression in the workplace. The city and county of San Francisco, for instance, has issued guidelines that include: Employers have the right …
Penal Code 236 PC California’s false imprisonment law and Penal Code 207 PC California’s kidnapping law are frequently confused and commonly misunderstood. Many people believe that Penal Code 236 PC California’s false imprisonment law necessarily involves incarceration in a jail or prison. Although false imprisonment may involve such circumstances, it generally doesn’t. Simply put, false …
There may be a link between hernia mesh implants and heart problems. Doctors have found that some people suffer heart conditions after an implant. While they seem to be rare, these heart conditions can be life-threatening. Worse, they can be difficult for doctors to diagnose. There may be a link between hernia mesh implants and …
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 …
Loss of earning capacity covers future economic loss, while loss of wages covers what has been lost already. Lost income is easier to calculate because it looks backwards. Loss of earning capacity can be more difficult because it requires a an estimate of what the person would have earned if not for the defendant’s wrongdoing. Both, …
A DUI can only preclude you from getting federal student loans if drugs were found or if you are currently incarcerated. This could also cause a person to lose existing loans already granted. You may be ineligible to apply for federal aid for up to 2 years. In addition to federal funding, a DUI conviction can …
There is no such thing as a hopeless California driving under the influence (DUI) case. No matter what the allegations against you are, there will always be a promising DUI defense strategy that you can try. The prosecution may allege that you drove with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.20% (well over the legal …
DUI charges can stem from any drug that impairs the ability to operate a vehicle safely. There are five prescription drugs in particular that commonly lead to DUI charges: Adderall, Xanax, Ambien, Vicodin, and Clarinex. Each of these can cause a motorist to be under the influence. None of these drugs cause any alcohol to enter the bloodstream. …
Senate Bill 1129 was signed into law by Gov. Brown in September 2018. The bill applies to divorce proceedings and it has two main impacts on California’s divorce laws. These are: it prohibits spousal support to those spouses convicted of a violent sexual felony or a domestic violence felony, when the acts were committed against …
Shoplifting is often a crime of moral turpitude (CIMT). If it is, it can increase the consequences of a conviction. It can impact a non-citizen’s immigration status. In some contexts, however, shoplifting is not serious enough to count as a CIMT. Such petty offenses are exempted from crimes of moral turpitude. Serious shoplifting cases can affect …
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 …
Domestic violence can be a crime of moral turpitude. In many states, this is the case if the alleged victim is a spouse. If it is a crime of moral turpitude, the collateral consequences of the conviction will be worse. It can prevent someone from getting a professional certification or license. Those who have a …
Retrograde extrapolation is a way to estimate a DUI suspect’s blood alcohol content (BAC). Police use the method to calculate what someone’s BAC was, hours before they were tested. Retrograde extrapolation is significant because it is often inaccurate. Suspects accused of driving under the influence can challenge the process and defend against a DUI charge. …
Hit and run can be charged as either a California misdemeanor or a felony depending on: the facts of the case, and what Vehicle Code section the offense is charged under. Vehicle Code 20002 VC is the California statute that defines the crime of misdemeanor hit and run. This section makes it a crime for …
Some short-term costs of a violation of a DUI law include: three to five years of summary probation, six months to several years in county jail (depending on the specific DUI offense charged), fines and penalty assessments that can total up towards $5,000, and completion of DUI school ranging from three to nine months. Some …
There are at least 10 types of E-scooter malfunctions. Each one of these can cause serious injuries that lead to an E-scooter lawsuit. E-scooter sharing companies Bird and Lime are aware of these design defects. However, they have been slow to correct them. The delay has put thousands of E-scooter riders at unnecessary risk. 1. …
If a college applicant has a DUI record, the school or university may do one of three things. These are: deny the applicant, may or may not deny the applicant while using the DUI as a factor in the decision, or ignore the DUI and accept the applicant. The determination as to which one of these …
