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There is a good reason that drinking and driving is a criminal offense in the United States. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), someone is killed from a drunk driving accident every 53 minutes in the US—adding up to about 27 people dead every day due to something that is entirely preventable. Someone is injured from a drunk driving accident every 90 seconds. Many people think about drunk driving conceptually and frown on those who have been caught. We like to think of people who have gotten a DUI or who have been in a drunk driving accident as… Read More
The worse thing that could happen during birth is having an infant suffer an injury and even death. Giving birth to a child is supposed to be a great experience that changes a person’s life for the better. When an infant is injured during birth by the medical professional’s negligence, the family of the infant can seek legal action against the physician that caused the harm. No one deserves to be hurt by another person’s reckless or negligent acts, especially not an infant who just started living their life. Every year, there are about four million infants born in the… Read More
Thrown in jail for life over a pair of stolen socks — or a pilfered slice of pizza? That’s what happened to at least two men in California, thanks to the state’s tough 3 Strikes Law. According to the Stanford Law Review, California’s Three Strikes Law came about partly in response to the horrific murders of young Polly Klass and Kimberly Reynolds in the early nineties. While well intentioned, the law has had devastating circumstances for those whose third strike was a petty crime – in some cases imprisoning people over a minor theft of a $5.00 item. This one… Read More
Early discharge has been occurring in many cases; people are being discharged ahead of time. The main reason early discharge occurs is due to the financial benefit that it has for insurance companies and hospitals. While they are benefiting, it could be catastrophic for a patient, especially if they were not fully ready to be discharged in the first place. A patient could end up in the emergency room by getting more sick from the early discharge. Is early discharge ever justified? The majority of people do not like to stay in the hospital. Patients want to be discharged as… Read More
A female driver is in police custody after she smashed into a police cruiser in the early morning hours of Saturday, March 7. The accident occurred in Compton. The unidentified woman is being accused of driving under the influence. The LA County Sheriff’s deputy reports that the woman’s vehicular crash left several individuals with injuries. The accident occurred at the intersection of South Main Street and West Rosecrans at 3 in the morning. The driver’s sedan was carrying four people at the time that it crashed into the marked patrol unit. Firefighters quickly arrived on the scene to help the… Read More
In a recent LA Times article, police chief Charlie Beck stated that existing levels of violent crime are statistically on par with 2012 numbers, which represents a huge step backward in terms of law enforcement. Gang Activity Still Problematic At this time, police feel that the primary reason for the boost is attributable to an increase in gang-related activity. To that end, one measure to control violent crime is to magnify police involved gang intervention programs, in an effort to deter youngsters from getting involved with gangs in the first place. Classification Errors Partially to Blame Citing reclassification processes, Beck… Read More
New legislation introduced recently in the California State Assembly aims to improve boating safety by keeping drunk drivers out of the captain’s seat. Assembly member Marc Levine of San Rafaelintroduced a bill that would allow law-enforcement officers to seek search warrants for checking blood-alcohol levels of anyone suspected of operating a boat while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Levine commented that the state already has some of the nation’s strictest DUI laws on the books but that tough laws against drinking while boating are needed as well. He added that boating under the influence has become a grave… Read More
California attorneys recently gathered together for a round table series on white-collar defense. The roundtable was moderated by California Lawyer and reported by Cherree P. Peterson of Barkley Court Reporters. Thanks to the February 2015 publication source, California Lawyer, below are a few of the highlights from this very informative discussion on criminal law in Los Angeles. Highlights from the California Lawyer 2015 Round Table Series In 2014 there was a much-publicized white-collar incident, where two hedge fund managers had their insider trading convictions overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in U.S. v. Newman, No.… Read More
Under California’s new Proposition 47 law, offenses that once were major felonies have been downgraded to misdemeanors. Offenders who once would have gone to jail for drug possession and theft, are now facing mere warnings and possible fines. Proposition 47 Proposition 47 was signed into law on November 5, 2014. It has resulted in major changes to the California criminal justice system, some of which have been quite unexpected. The original concept behind the law was to reduce the amount of time nonviolent offenders spent behind bars, and steer penalties for minor offenses towards rehabilitation rather than punishment. This would… Read More
If the old adage ‘as California goes, so goes the nation’ has any truth to it, then 2014 was cause for hopeful optimism for drug law reform advocates across the U.S. It was a year that saw several major victories for those working for changes in drug law in Los Angeles. Many criminal lawyers and drug attorneys in California and Los Angeles are praising the defeat of regressive bills and changes in existing laws in 2014 that they say will bring major improvements, including lessening criminal charges for minor drug possession and use, cutting down on prison and jail overcrowding,… Read More
