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Penal Code 29.4 is the California statute that sets forth the legal defense of voluntary intoxication. This defense is asserted in criminal cases that involve a specific intent crime. It allows a defendant to introduce evidence of voluntary intoxication in order to show that the accused did not have the specific intent to commit a …
Under Penal Code 198.5 PC, California law follows the legal maxim known as Castle doctrine. This means there is no duty to retreat if a resident confronts an intruder inside his or her own home. Residents are permitted to use force against intruders who break into their homes, or who try to force their way in. …
Under California Penal Code 33215 PC, it is illegal if a person does any of the following acts with a short-barreled rifle or a short-barreled shotgun: Manufactures them, Imports them into the State, Keeps them for sale, Offers them for sale, Gives or lends them, and/or Possesses them. California Penal Code 17170 PC defines a …
Penal Code 647j PC is the California statute that makes “invasion of privacy” a crime. This code section defines “invasion of privacy” as any of three distinct, yet related, crimes: Penal Code 647j1 – using a device to look through a hole or opening, Penal Code 647j2 – using a concealed camera to look under …
The elements of a conspiracy under California criminal law are: the defendant agreed with another person, or persons, to commit a crime, one of the parties to the agreement took an overt act to further or advance that agreement, and the overt act was committed in California. The “elements of a crime” refer to the …
It is a crime in California for a person to view the inside of a bathroom via a camera. California Penal Code 647(j) PC is California’s criminal “invasion of privacy” law. This law states that it is illegal for a person to view the inside of a room or area in which a person has …
“Expungement” of a California criminal record “erases” a conviction for most purposes. One of the most important benefits is that an expunged conviction does not need to be disclosed to most potential employers. Nor can it be used as a basis for denying someone a job or promotion. But up until recently, people who served time …
If you call 9-1-1 in San Diego falsely describing an emergency or a crime in progress in order to get the police or other first responders to go to the scene, you can face serious criminal penalties. “Swatting,” as it sometimes called, is defined by the FBI as: “making a hoax call to 9-1-1 to …
If your passions get the best of you and an intimate partner while out and about in Ventura County, California and you have sex in public, you could be charged and convicted for violations of California law. Disorderly Conduct California law makes it a form of disorderly conduct to engage “in lewd or dissolute conduct …
You can find yourself charged with disorderly conduct in Oakland for a wide range of acts and activities. Police officers often use disorderly conduct charges as an excuse to arrest people who have annoyed or angered them, such as individuals who may have been rude or yelled at them (which are not crimes). California Penal …
When people think of “criminal activity,” weddings rarely come to mind. But in fact, there are several California crimes that you can commit by getting married. These include: Bigamy. You commit Penal Code 281 PC bigamy when you marry someone while you are still married to someone else. Despite the recent popular interest in polygamy, …
Oftentimes a child’s parents who are not married either share custody of their child(ren) or one parent gains custody and the other is granted a right to scheduled visits. If you are the parent who has custody the majority of the time…and you interfere with the other parent’s visitation rights…you not only jeopardize your custody …
California Penal Code 666 PC — more commonly known as “petty theft with a prior” — allows prosecutors to file a petty theft charge as a felony rather than a misdemeanor if the offender has three or more prior theft-related convictions. Historically, only one prior was required to elevate a subsequent petty theft to a …
Unlike some other states, California gun law requires that all private party gun transfers be brokered through a licensed California gun dealer. If you don’t participate in this type of required exchange, the circumstances of the offense will dictate which California gun law(s) prosecutors will accuse you of violating. Penal Code 12070 PC California’s law …
Staged accidents are just that — “accidents” that are staged. Often times orchestrated by sophisticated crime rings, these intentional collisions are planned to make it look like an insured driver is at fault when, in reality, the insured driver was “set up” by the seemingly victimized party/parties. Staged accidents are extremely dangerous and subject the …
Nevada law as to lewd conduct offenses is generally modeled upon California law. But Nevada’s statutes cast a wider net and impose harsher punishments. California’s Penal Code 647a PC Lewd Conduct in Public prohibits touching oneself sexually in public, when third parties are present who might be offended. Nevada’s NRS 201.210 Open or Gross Lewdness …