California Criminal Defense Lawyers

A law that was rejected twice by former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was passed this week by California lawmakers. Despite the continued opposition from the California District Attorneys Association, the bill requires prosecutors to corroborate any testimony from jailhouse informants. The law will go into effect next year. [Read More...]

Early this week the head justice of the state Supreme Court said if lawmakers passed the budget, including the additional $150 million cut to the courts, it would be “devastating and crippling to the judicial branch.” Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye’s fears came to fruition on Wednesday when legislators passed the budget and sent it to the office of Governor Jerry Brown. [Read More...]

Newly elected Governor Jerry Brown has voiced plans to reduce state corrections spending, something that must be done to accommodate the huge costs of running the California prison system on such a strapped state budget. He intends to send state inmates to serve their sentences at county jails. And while many people are applauding the idea, there are several issues with it—namely that the counties are similarly stretched thin. [Read More...]

We’ve all seen the court shows on television. Two parties in a case go head to head while a over the top charismatic judge sits at the bench offering snide remarks and ultimately a ruling. Anyone who has been in a real courtroom knows that those you see on television are all about ratings and have very little to do with the law. [Read More...]

Two new courts will be launched soon within San Francisco thanks to a $2 million in grants from federal stimulus funds. These courts won’t be more of the same, however. Instead they will be designed solely to handle parolees and probationers. [Read More...]

According to the LA Times, an internal memo was sent out to all officers warning them that they may face disciplinary action if they request a judge dismiss a citation because they cannot remember specifics of the case at hand. Critics are rightfully saying the directive is unrealistic. [Read More...]