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Recent Blog Posts
The New Year also brings a new wave of California laws
Many Santa Cruz area residents ventured out to ring in the New Year last weekend. For many, the New Year is a time for a new beginning. New Year's Day is also often the beginning day for new laws in California, and Santa Cruz DUI defense lawyers understand that several new provisions went into effect Jan. 1 that relate to driving under the influence in California.
A significant new provision has been sitting dormant for roughly 15 months. In Sept. 2010, then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law a measure that will now allow California judges to revoke a person's driver's license for 10-years if the driver has at least three DUI convictions on his or her record.
The new DUI license revocation provision includes a process for drivers to apply for potential reinstatement of their licenses after five years if certain conditions are met. One significant condition requires the driver to install an ignition interlock device on his or her car, which can be an expensive prospect after paying installation and monthly service fees.
US Supreme Court asked to rule in warrantless dog-sniff search issue
The case did not originally arise in California. However, if the Supreme Court accepts the case for review, the court's decision will certainly affect whether or not law enforcement agencies in California, including along the Central Coast, can use drug-sniffing dogs outside a personal residence without a warrant.
The issue arose out of a Florida investigation into an alleged urban marijuana growing operation. Police say they received a tip of a possible marijuana cultivation operation inside a Miami home.
Law enforcement apparently put the home under surveillance and without obtaining a search warrant brought in a drug-sniffing dog. Law enforcement says the canine smelled along the base of the closed front door of the home, and sat down, indicating to law enforcement that the dog detected the scent of drugs.
Later police used that information to obtain a search warrant, and subsequently charged a man with drug crimes. The trial court threw out the evidence as the fruit of an illegal, warrantless search of the home. An appellate court reversed that ruling and the Florida Supreme Court ultimately ruled the dog-sniff as an unconstitutional search, agreeing with the trial court judge. Prosecutors now seek to have the U.S Supreme Court decide the issue.
Sacramento man misses court hearing in robbery case
Police and prosecutors claim the man committed two California robberies and attempted a third within a four-day period beginning Dec. 5. Law enforcement says the man robbed a check cashing store in San Mateo around 11:00 a.m. Dec. 5.
The next day, police claim the same man attempted to rob a second check cashing store at the same time of day. However, police claim the clerk, who was behind bulletproof glass at the store, tripped an alarm and fled to a safe room in defeating the alleged robbery attempt.
Law enforcement says the Sacramento man turned to a pawn shop in his alleged robbery spree, stealing a laptop and getting an undisclosed amount of cash during the pawn shop robbery. Law enforcement says the Sacramento man used a handgun in each of the alleged crimes.
Prosecutors say that law enforcement viewed a surveillance video from one of the stores and observed a brown minivan. Police claim to have located the vehicle and during a search, seized a semiautomatic handgun with extra clips, $1,200 cash and a laptop that police claim was stolen.
Deputies claim iPad app led them to California burglary suspect
Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies claim a Vista man stole an iPad on Christmas morning from a Westlake Village home. The resident of the home says he awoke Christmas morning and thought he saw someone near his bed. The resident claims he chased the man down the stairs, but the alleged burglary suspect got away.
Deputies claim that they pinged an iPad that the Westlake Village man says was stolen from his home. The iPad device apparently had a location-based app that deputies say led them to a nearby home. In addition to the iPad, deputies claim that Lakers season tickets, a play station and an autographed NBA jersey were taken in the burglary.
Authorities descended on the home where they believed the stolen iPad was located. Deputies arrested a 20-year-old man at that residence on suspicion of burglary. Law enforcement claims they found two flat-screen television sets, a laptop and more than 40 presents deputies say are linked to an alleged burglary in Vista on Dec. 22.
Soquel man pleads no contest to felony DUI charge
California law allows prosecutors to elevate charges for driving under the influence based upon prior convictions in the past ten years. That is, prior convictions within that 10-year period can elevate new DUI charges to a higher level offense and increase potential exposure to jail or prison time. A recent case involving a Soquel man looked directly at the issue.
The 21-year-old Soquel man was accused drunk driving after a solo-vehicle car accident in November 2010. The accused suffered injuries in the crash. Police claim he had been speeding before losing control of his car. Authorities say the driver had a blood alcohol level of 0.15 percent after the crash. The man was originally charged with misdemeanor DUI after the crash. However, prosecutors sought to elevate the charge to a felony DUI based upon the Soquel man's juvenile record.
Roughly four years ago, police accused the Soquel man of crashing his car on Laurel Glen Road while traveling more than 80 miles per hour. Law enforcement claims the man lost control, and the vehicle rolled over, leaving the young man's two cousins dead.
Prosecutors seek murder charge in Monterey overdose death
Typically, allegations involving drugs in news stories revolve around drug crimes. Drug possession charges and possession with intent to sell can bring serious consequences if a person is convicted of a California drug crime.
This blog recently discussed the unusual charges brought against a Northern California mother involving "implied malice" to support a second-degree murder charge against her, which involved allegations that her breast milk contained sufficient methamphetamine to cause her son's death. This blog has also previously recounted stories in DUI cases where prosecutors seek murder charges based upon implied malice. Those cases are typically referred to in California as "Watson murders" based upon prior California case-law.
Now prosecutors on the Central Coast are seeking a murder charge against a Paradise man based upon the implied malice theory. The case involves allegations that the defendant supplied methadone to an allegedly inebriated woman who later died. The Supreme Court rule some time ago that providing drugs to someone is not inherently dangerous enough to support a murder charge under the legal theory known as the "felony murder" rule.
California man charged with domestic violence, may face three strikes
The 50-year-old man appeared in court last week for a preliminary hearing, where the judge found probable cause to hold the man over for trial on felony domestic violence and other charges. The man now remains in custody on a parole hold. Reports indicate the man has three strikes on his record, which could expose him to the strict sentencing provisions under California's three strikes law.
Reports indicate that the man's wife initially did not him want to stay with her, but then agreed to allow him to stay for two days. Then, according to police, the phone rang. Law enforcement claims the man's wife took the call in the bathroom, which upset the defendant. Police claim the man grew angry because the call was from another man.
Authorities accuse the man of forcing his way into the bathroom and attempting to grab her phone. Police say the woman then tried to leave and accuse the man of preventing her from doing so. Law enforcement claims the man grabbed the woman and threw her to the ground during the alleged altercation. Authorities also accuse the man of choking the woman for roughly 15 seconds.
California Supreme Court reverses two death-row convictions
The Constitution guarantees that a criminal defendant receives a fair trial. One of the most important foundations of our justice system is the right to a trial by a fair and impartial jury. The California Supreme Court ruled last week that two men, who have been sitting on death row for nearly 15 years, were denied their right to a fair trial, and the state high court reversed those convictions.
The two men were accused of being involved in a gang. Prosecutors accused one of the men of ordering the second man to murder two men who prosecutors had claimed were members of a rival gang. Gang-related charges in California can carry significant penalties upon conviction, and after a jury trial the two men were convicted of the murder charges and sentenced to death row.
During deliberations, one of the jurors reportedly had misgivings about the credibility of one of the prosecution's witnesses in the trial. It is an important function of the jury to weigh the credibility of witnesses in a criminal trial. However, two jurors apparently complained to the judge during deliberations about the juror who found the witness lacked credibility. The judge dismissed the juror, finding that the panelist acted improperly by allegedly considering evidence not presented during the trial.
LA Dodger arrested on California DUI charge
Speculation that Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman James Loney may have been driving under the influence is making its rounds in the media. The California Highway Patrol says the baseball player was involved in a series of accidents on the 101 freeway in Sherman Oaks Nov. 14.
Three drivers say that Loney sideswiped their cars in his Maserati and then came to an abrupt stop in the fast lane. The drivers say "he appeared to be unconscious" in his vehicle. The witnesses claim that Loney then woke up and "attempted to flee the scene," according to the Los Angeles Times. News reports say Loney crossed over all the lanes of traffic before hitting another car and eventually ran into the sound wall along the right shoulder.
A CHP officer claims that Loney displayed "objective symptoms of being intoxicated or being under the influence of something," after being involved in the freeway accident. The CHP officer reportedly arrested Loney on suspicion of DUI. However, law enforcement did not transport the ball player to the police station. Emergency medical personnel reportedly were concerned about the baseball player's behavior after the accident. Loney was released to a hospital to undergo testing to determine whether he was suffering from a severe medical condition.
Four arrested on suspicion of running California burglary ring
Police claim four people, who were arrested recently on suspicion of operating a burglary ring, used the Internet and police scanners as part of their operation. Law enforcement believes the group can be linked to 20 or more residential burglaries spanning across three Southern California communities.
Law enforcement claims that one of the accused was inside a Covina home while the residents were away on vacation. A relative of the residents stopped by to feed the pets and saw an unfamiliar vehicle in the driveway and believed the door had been forced open. That relative reportedly called 911 to report a suspected burglary.
The relative reportedly headed toward the police station and saw two Sheriff's deputies while en route. The relative spoke to the deputies who reportedly arrested a 32-year-old Pomona man after allegedly leaving the Covina residence. Officers from the Covina Police were called in and reportedly took custody of the Pomona man.
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