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Aggravating Factors Of Embezzlement

Embezzlement is not a straight forward matter, and if there's an aggravating factor involved then it can become even more complicated. Factors like the White Collar Crime Enhancement and Elder Fraud increase the severity of the charges. Click here to read more.  


Embezzlement

Embezzlement is a complicated issue. It's the fraudulent appropriation of property by a person to whom it has been entrusted. As such, the prosecutor needs to prove several facts, and there may be mitigating factors or aggravating factors. Click here to read more


Child Pornography Defense

With the advancement of the internet and digital cameras, criminal lawyers have seen a significant increase in child pornography offenses. When the internet is involved, child porn cases can be charged as a federal offense which can result in federal prosecution and harsh sentencing for imprisonment, including lifetime sex offender registration. Click here to read more.


Federal Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations is the time limit for filing charges against the defendant. The general federal statute of limitations for felonies stand for the proposition that the government can no longer file criminal charges for an offense once 5 years has passed. Click here to read more.


White Collar Crimes

White collar crimes are criminal offenses typically committed against an employer or business by a professional, employee, businessperson or public official. Click here to read more.


Wrongful Convictions

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, since 1989, more than 200 people in California have been wrongfully convicted of murder, rape, or other serious offenses. Click here to read more.


Sex Offender Registration

In October 2010, the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District struck down a trial judge's order directing a defendant to register as a sex offender. Click here to read more.


Pardons

Obtaining a pardon requires legal expertise and can take a lot of time and effort. Seth P. Chazin has over 20 years of experience and has obtained many Certificates of Rehabilitation for his clients. Click here to read more about pardons.


What To Know If You Are Stopped For Driving Under The Influence

You may respectfully refuse to answer questions of the police. Know that any incriminating statements you make to the police may be used against you.

If an officer asks you to get out of the car, you must do so. Click here to read more.


New Court Ruling Attempts to Limit Defense to Possession of Child Pornography

Is child pornography in your computer cache or temporary files considered possession under PC 311.11?

A violation of California Penal Code Section 311.11 is the misdemeanor of knowingly possessing or controlling child pornography in California. Click here to read more.


Medical Marijuana

Medical Marijuana - The Basics

The Medical Marijuana Program (MMP) was established to provide a voluntary medical marijuana identification card issuance and registry program for qualified patients and their caregivers. The system allows for the cultivation and transportation of marijuana in California for medicinal purposes. Click here to read more.


Retro (In)spection: The Government's Renewed Spying on Political Activists

I have often lamented having been just a bit too young to have truly experienced the 60's. Woodstock was not an option for me at eleven. Though I wore an "MIA" bracelet for some tragically missing American soldier in Vietnam for years, I was too young to really participate in the political dialogue that grew out of that conflict. Thanks to our government, there is at least one thing I can experience just as my older brothers and sisters experienced it in the 60's: a heavy handed, mean-spirited approach to law enforcement. Click here to read more.


Federal Expungements and Pardons

An expungement is generally not available in federal cases. There is one narrow exception to this principal. Minor federal drug offenses can be expunged under 18 U.S.C. 3607(c). If a person is found guilty of an offense under section 404 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 844) or an offense described in that section, he may be able to have his record expunged. Click here to read more.


Death Penalty Rejected Once More

Recently, the state of New Jersey outlawed the death penalty, making life in prison the state's most severe punishment. However, New Jersey is not the first state to ban the death penalty, and many other states use it rarely. Click here to read more.


Early Release of Non-Violent Offenders From Prison Provides Hope For Some

California state governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is contemplating a plan to reduce the number if inmates presently in California jails as a cost-cutting measure. The state currently has over 172,000 inmates occupying its prisons, the second-largest prison system in the country, costing over $8 billion annually. Click here to read more.


Federal Sentencing Guidelines

The Federal Sentencing Guidelines are a set of rules federal courts use in determining the appropriate sentence for defendants convicted of criminal offenses. Originally, the Federal Sentencing Guidelines were mandatory. However, the Supreme Court recently ruled that courts were not obligated to follow the guidelines. Click here to read more.


Miranda Rights

When taking a suspect into custody, the police must advise the suspect of his Miranda Rights. These rights, which are guaranteed by the United States Constitution, include: Click here to read more.


Overview of the Adam Walsh Act

The Adam Walsh Child Protection Safety Act of 2006 ("ADAM WALSH ACT"), enacted on July 27, 2006, made significant changes to Federal sexual abuse, exploitation, and transportation crimes. The ADAM WALSH ACT created new substantive crimes, and increased sentences for existing crimes in Federal court. In addition, under the new ADAM WALSH ACT, many sex crimes no longer have a statute of limitations. Click here to read more.


Light Terms for Child Porn Blasted

Advisory guidelines spark changes.

Los Angeles-Prosecutors in several states are criticizing judges for issuing lenient sentences in child pornography cases at a time when legislators are seeking to raise penalties. Click here to read more.


Theft Offenses: Larceny, Embezzlement and Theft by False Pretenses

Larceny, also commonly known as theft, embezzlement and false pretenses are often viewed as one unified offense because they all involve taking a victim's property in a criminal manner. Some state statutes consolidate these crimes into one theft offense. Click here to read more.


Assault and Battery

In criminal law, Assault and Battery are often viewed as a unified offense. Historically, laws treated the threat of physical injury as "assault", and the completed act of physical contact or offensive touching as "battery," but many states no longer differentiate between the two. Click here to read more.


Search and Seizure

The 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prevents the government from conducting unreasonable searches. This means that the police cannot stop and search you, your car, or your house unless certain circumstances exist. Click here to read more.


Finding a Child - Care Center

Denying Kids Constitutional Protections Won't Reduce Violent Crime

"Johnny, I know you are only 13 years old, but since you have been tried as an adult and the jury has found you are guilty of murder and that the special circumstances alleged are true, I have no choice but to sentence you to death by lethal injection." Click here to read more.


Verdicts in Need of Repair

A School for Jurors Could Diminish the Increasing Acts of Misconduct

Whether it is in the name of public protection, or simply not to have to return deliberations the following Monday, jurors in California and perhaps nationally, are engaging in misconduct at an alarming rate, flouting judges instructions and tainting the judicial system. Click here to read more.


Proposition 83 - An Initiative with Unintended Consequences

California Supreme Court Blocks California's Efforts to Enforce Proposition 83 and Considers Validity of Proposition 83's Residency Restrictions

In November of 2006, voters passed Proposition 83, which prohibits registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a public or private school or a park where children regularly gather. Federal judges ruled that the law only applies to offenders paroled since the November 7, 2006 election. Click here to read more.


Castle Under Siege

The U.S Supreme Court Should Reject Wisconsin's Attempt to Strangle the 'Knock and Announce' Rule in Drug Cases

Imagine that your son, a junior at Stanford with a 3.9 grade point average, has a roommate who the police have observed dealing drugs out of their apartment. Based on these observations, the police obtain a search warrant. In serving the warrant, the police make no effort to identify themselves, request entry, or state the reason for the request. Click here to read more.

ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY

“The death penalty is a lie, a misguided mistake born of anger and frustration. Capital punishment has become a perverse monument to inequality, to how some lives matter and others do not. It is a violent example of how we protect and value the rich and abandon and devalue the poor. The death penalty is a grim, disturbing shadow formed by the legacy of racial apartheid and bias against the poor that condemns the disfavored among us, but corrupts us all. It’s the perverse symbol elected officials use to strengthen their ‘tough on crime’ reputations and distract us from confronting the causes of violence. It is finally the enemy of grace, redemption and all of us who recognize that each person is more than their worse act.”
- Bryan Stevenson

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