California Criminal Defense Blog

California law draws a sharp distinction between marijuana for personal use versus cultivating marijuana or selling marijuana. The former triggers only a small fine and no jail time. The latter can land a person in state prison for years.

Under health & safety code 11357, a person possessing less than an ounce of pot can be punished by no more than a $100 fine. But if he tries to sell the weed or is found to possess the marijuana for sale, he can be charged with a felony and sent to prison for up to 3 years.

The policy aims of the legislature are clear: give casual users no more than a slap on the wrist, but go after growers and sellers with a fierce sword. In fact, the penalties for selling or possessing for sale marijuana nearly match those pertaining to illicit drugs such as cocaine or heroin.

Not only are these laws inconsistent, but police, prosecutors and courts spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year enforcing marijuana "crimes." This occurs in spite of ample evidence that marijuana is a benign substance that actually relieves stress and provides medical benefits.

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Posted In: Criminal Defense , Drug Crimes , Law & Information , Marijuana Charges

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California Penal Code 148 (a)(1) defines the offense commonly known as "resisting arrest." This crime most frequently gets charged in a situation where a police officer goes to arrest someone, and the person struggles physically to avoid being taken into custody. Police then have to apply greater force to subdue the suspect.

But California Penal Code 148 reads broader than just the traditional notion of "resisting arrest." It applies to situations where a suspect is "resisting, delaying or otherwise obstructing" a peace officer or emergency medical technician in performing his/her duties. Basically this means anything that thwarts a peace officer in conducting an investigation and facilitating arrest qualifies as “resisting arrest.” Other examples would include providing a false identity to an arresting officer or filing a false police report.

Penal Code 148 is a California misdemeanor that could land a person in jail for up to one year. Many of these cases involve a police officer's word against a suspect's word. In that situation, defense attorneys will want to conduct a "Pitchess Motion" to see the entire personnel and complaint history of the officer. It may turn out the cop has been accused in the past of excessive force and making false accusations against suspects. If so, the defense can use this to impeach the officer's credibility, and often get the resisting arrest case reduced or dismissed.

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Posted In: Criminal Defense , Law & Information , News & Information

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Doctors pronounced pop star Michael Jackson dead Thursday, just four years after a Santa Maria jury acquitted him of child molestation charges.

In that case, the prosecution charged Jackson with seven counts of Penal Code 288 -- Lewd Acts with a Child Under 14. The judge also allowed prosecutors to bring in evidence of other uncharged allegations of Jackson's inappropriate sexual activity with children.

Early on in the case, legal experts felt that the evidence against Jackson was compelling, and he faced very likely conviction. But after one of the most celebrated and closely-watched criminal trials, a jury acquitted Jackson of all charges on June 13, 2005--almost exactly four years before his death.

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Posted In: Celebrity Arrests , Criminal Defense , News & Information , Sex Crimes

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California has two primary criminal laws that punish people for driving a motor vehicle when they are not properly licensed. California Vehicle Code 12500 makes it a misdemeanor to drive without a valid driver’s license. California Vehicle Code 14601 makes it a misdemeanor to drive on a suspended license.

California Vehicle Code 12500 is a relatively straightforward statute. It makes it a crime to drive without a validly issued license. This most often applies to people who never obtained a drivers license in the first place, or who failed to renew their license upon expiration, or people who moved to California and failed to switch from a license issued in the previous state to a California drivers license.

Vehicle Code 14601, on the other hand, applies to someone who had a valid driver’s license but whose license got suspended. The reasons for the suspension could include a California DUI conviction, failure to pay traffic fines and DMV fees, or becoming a "negligent operator" accumulating too many points on one's driving record.

Vehicle Code 14601 cases can be more difficult for the prosecutor to prove. To be guilty of the crime, the driver must have knowledge that his license was suspended at the time of driving. Unless a judge, police officer or DMV official specifically advised him/her of the suspension, this "knowledge" element can be difficult to prove (beyond a reasonable doubt, anyhow). But though VC 14601 is a tougher crime for the state to substantiate, the penalties for California Vehicle Code 14601 are substantially greater.

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Posted In: Criminal Defense , Driving Crimes , News & Information , Vehicle Codes

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The Twin Towers Correctional Facility is known to be the world’s largest jail at approximately 1.5 million square feet complex. It is built on 10 acres of land consisting of two towers, hence the idea for the name evolved from that concept. The Twin Towers Jail in Los Angeles has an impressive jail system operated by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department for the last 11 years. The security system is derived from the “panoptic” unique design of the building which allows the monitoring officer to have an all around view of the facility in one place.

This huge jail facility houses inmates that are on maximum security as well as inmates that have medical conditions. Inmates that require a variety of serious medical and mental health needs are also accommodated at the Twin Towers Jail in Los Angeles because they have a full-service medical response unit to provide treatment for the inmates both at the Medical Services Building and the Medical Center Jail Ward. All other inmates requiring comprehensive medical attention are transported to the Los Angeles Medical Center.

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Posted In: Detention Center/Jail Information

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On April 23, two deputies from the L.A. County Sheriff’s Office plead guilty to beating a San Dimas firefighter. All three men were off-duty at the time of the attack. One of the deputies plead guilty to California misdemeanor assault under Penal Code 240, the other to California misdemeanor battery under Penal Code 242. The firefighter underwent several weeks of medical treatment for his injuries that were sustained when he was beaten and kicked by his assailants.

The details of the attack weren’t reported, although it can be assumed that the firefighter wasn’t fighting a fire or otherwise engaged in the “performance of his duties” based on the fact that the Sherriff deputies were only charged with misdemeanors. Even though he was “off-duty”, if he had been in the act of trying to either save someone/something or fight a fire, the deputies would have most likely faced felony counts of assault and battery.

This is because firefighters, peace officers, doctors, nurses and a host of others receive special protection under California Penal Code sections 243 (b) and (c) when they are (1) engaged in the performance of their duties…whether on or off-duty, and (2) their assailant(s) knew or should have known that they were engaged in the performance of those duties.

If the fireman fit into that category, the deputies would have faced up to four years in the California State Prison and a possible “strike” on their records under Three Strikes Law, depending on how severely the firefighter was injured. As it was, both men were assigned community service and one of the deputies was additionally ordered to attend a year’s worth of AA meetings. Both deputies were relieved of duty without pay and are pending investigations to determine their final status within the department.

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Posted In: Assault & Battery

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There are three ways someone can be prosecuted for battery under California’s domestic violence laws. “Simple domestic battery”, “willful infliction of corporal injury” and “aggravated battery” each has a slightly different angle on when and how it would be filed. Below is a brief description of these differences.

California Penal Code 242 battery is "any willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon another person." This offense is usually charged when the person committing the battery has no domestic-type relation to the alleged victim.

California Penal Code section 243 (e) (1) “simple domestic battery” is the misdemeanor charge and, therefore, the least serious of these three domestic violence offenses. To be convicted here, all you have to do is intentionally “touch” your “intimate partner” in an offensive or angry manner…that’s it…he/she doesn’t even need to be injured, only offended. 243 (e) (1) also has a broad definition of “intimate partners”. Here, your “intimate partner” includes your fiancé or fiancée, your current or former spouse, someone with whom you live or lived, anyone you are or were dating, or the parent of your child.

California Penal Code section 273.5 “willful infliction of corporal injury” is a bit more serious, in that it requires the accuser to at least suffer some type of injury. The accuser must sustain a “traumatic condition” which can actually be as insignificant as a red-mark or scratch. Here, your “fiancé/fiancée” and “people you are or were dating” do not qualify as “intimate partners”. Although this section could be filed as either a misdemeanor or a felony, it would typically only be filed over the 243(e)(1) above if prosecutors were pursuing the felony allegation.

California Penal Code section 243 (d) “aggravated battery” is the felony “catchall” for domestic battery purposes. This section, too, can be filed as either a misdemeanor or a felony, but would typically only be used in a spousal abuse situation if there was a “serious bodily injury” -- rising to felony level -- and the accuser didn’t meet the definition of “intimate partner” in 273.5 above.

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Posted In: Domestic Violence

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Sexual battery, sexual assault, and rape are often used to describe a variety of sex crimes. Because these are “legal” terms, their actual definitions are frequently misinterpreted. Unfortunately, celebrity tabloids, news sources and other media just add to the confusion. Below is a brief description of these commonly used terms.

Sexual battery (Penal Code 243.4), in California, takes place when someone touches another’s “intimate part” (a female’s breast or anyone’s buttocks, anus, groin, or sexual organ) without consent and for a sexual purpose. Depending on the circumstances, the crime may be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony.

California looks at “sexual assault” as sort of a catchall phrase that includes any type of offensive sexual contact. It can refer to sexual battery, rape, sodomy, penetration with a foreign object, or other sexual acts that are done against one’s will or without one’s consent. Sexual assault is not a crime in-and-of itself, but rather is a term used to describe a wide variety of California sex offenses.

Rape is always a felony offense in California and is defined under California Penal Code section 261 as nonconsensual sexual intercourse. This California sex crime may be charged any time there is an act of intercourse, no matter how slight the penetration is. A California rape conviction will result in a three, six or eight year sentence in the California State Prison.

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Posted In: Sex Offenses

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The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office charged singer Chris Brown with felony aggravated assault last month for the high-profile alleged attack on his girlfriend Rihanna that took place in February. News sources reported that he was being hit with a Los Angeles assault with a deadly weapon (otherwise known as AWD) and all went on to say how bizarre that was, given the fact that no one disclosed what type of weapon was used.

Although ADW is typically thought of as requiring a weapon, the law actually reads much broader than that. California’s Penal Code section 245(a)(1) not only addresses assault with a deadly weapon but also refers to any instrument or force that is likely to cause a substantial injury. That is how the felony complaint against the entertainer read – that he used “force likely to produce great bodily injury”.

This is precisely the type of case that leaves people wondering - what qualifies as a deadly weapon? Deadly weapons are defined as weapons, instruments or other objects that are able and likely to cause death or serious injury.

Los Angeles courts have typically held that people’s body parts are not “deadly weapons." Yet they can be used as a basis for this type of aggravated assault charge if they are used in a way that is likely to severely injure another. ADW is simply the “catchall” phrase that is commonly associated with aggravated assault, but it’s only one way to invite the charge.

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Posted In: Celebrity Arrests

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Although California marijuana Law and Nevada marijuana Law differ in many respects, both states take a relatively lax approach to citizens convicted of possessing marijuana as long as the amount weighs in at one ounce or less (California specifically says 28.5 grams or less, which is the metric equivalent of an ounce.) For a first-time offender in both California and Nevada, possession of an ounce or less of marijuana is a misdemeanor, calling for the citizen to pay fines ($600 in NV, $100 in CA) and requiring no jail time.

Once citizens start racking up more then one possession offense, however, marijuana law in Las Vegas get stricter more quickly than the law in L.A. In California, the $100 fine still holds even for repeat-offenders (though after the third offense, the court might require rehab). In Nevada, a second offense of possession of an ounce or less raises the fine to $1,000. And a third defense is elevated to a gross misdemeanor, which gives the judge the discretion to sentence the citizen to up to a year in a Las Vegas jail.

Once the amount of marijuana in question exceeds an ounce, penalties for pot possession in Nevada and California become harsher. In California, it’s still a misdemeanor, but punishment tops off at $500 and six months in jail. Las Vegas marijuana law makes first-time possession of more than an ounce a felony, punishable by one to four years imprisonment with an optional $5,000 fine. In reality, though, jail can often be avoided for a first time offense in both states, especially if the citizen convicted of possession submits to some kind of rehabilitative program. This reflects a national trend in the criminal justice system to prevent drug abuse by treatment, support and education rather than by incarceration.

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Posted In: Marijuana Charges

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Attorney Darrell York Joins the Shouse Law Group

Darrell York , a former 24-year veteran law enforcement officer with the Glendale Police Department , has joined the Los Angeles-based Shouse Law Group.

During his police career, Darrell York undertook a wide range of assignments...from patrol to narcotics to internal affairs to sergeant and watch commander. He made literally thousands of arrests, investigated nearly every type of crime, and trained new police recruits.

Now as a criminal defense attorney, Darrell York uses this extensive police background to aid him in investigating and defending criminal cases for his clients. Mr. York works on all kinds of criminal cases, from Penal Code 187 murder to fraud to Penal Code 273.5 domestic violence . But he maintains a particular focus on California DUI and drunk driving law.

The Shouse Law Group is a firm of California criminal defense lawyers comprised largely of former police and former prosecutors. The firm has offices in Los Angeles, Ventura County, Orange county, San Bernardino and Riverside.

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Posted In: News & Information

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Four years ago, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Johnson v. California that California may no longer segregate prisoners based on race except in the most extraordinary of circumstances. California argued that separating the races was sometimes the surest way to ensure prisoner safety. The Clark County Detention Center, the largest jail in Las Vegas, Nevada, continues to prove California wrong.

The Clark County Detention Center boasts a superlative safety record without having resorted to segregationist policies. Although the Las Vegas jail abounds with gang members, they are safer and more secure behind bars than on the streets. Fights between inmates do break out, but the watchful jail officials manage to intervene before anyone can get seriously hurt or worse.

The Clark County Detention Center does separate out its inmates, but it’s based on non-discriminatory factors, such as the severity of their crimes and their criminal records. Las Vegas Police Lt. Rich Forbus demands strict supervision and weapons checking from his staff, and he has jail officials continuously monitoring any and all gang activity. Jail officials don’t even carry guns, which in itself makes the Las Vegas jail safer--that way, inmates can’t grab them. “All we carry here is pepper spray and keys,” Lt. Forbus said.

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Posted In: Detention Center/Jail Information

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