High-profile sex crime cases, including the case of former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner, have spurred a number of bills now before California Governor, Jerry Brown. Some bills would provide tougher penalties and repercussions against defendants in sex crimes cases, including a bill that would remove the statute of limitations on certain sex crimes.
We condemn President Trump's recent executive order related to immigration issues, especially...
The Oakland City Council is being hesitant to extend court-appointed contracts with the Monitor and Compliance Director, who oversees Oakland’s troubled police department..
The maxim “knowledge is power” is indeed accurate when it comes to securing your rights. The Law Offices of Seth P. Chazin would like to help you understand your rights when under threat.
Santa Clara County Judge, Aaron Persky, was cleared of misconduct for sentencing former Stanford University student to six months in jail for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman on campus...
Alameda County has started using a new digital case management system called Odessey. The system has been extremely flawed and has resulted in over a dozen false arrest warrants for people who have already had their charges dismissed by a judge...
Attorney General Kamala Harris is stepping to defend the California law requiring criminal defendants to post bail to be released while awaiting trial. The case was initiated in San Francisco, through a lawsuit to prove the unconstitutionality of the bail system...
On November 8, 2016 California voters legalized marijuana for recreational use and at the same time diminished several marijuana usage crimes and reduced the penalties for growing, selling, and transporting the substance...
Over the last 30 years, the amount of people who have plead guilty to crimes for which they have later been exonerated has increased significantly. Many times, risking the chance of going to trial may result in more time in prison if convicted than pleading guilty.
Proposition 57 was approved by California voters on November 8, 2016. The new law that will go into effect, also known as California’s Early Parole for Non-Violent Offenders, changes California adult sentencing law, as well as how juvenile court procedures are conducted.
Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that gets rid of the 10-year statute of limitations on rape (CA Penal Code 261) . The new law applies to rape and sexual assaults that take effect after the law is implemented on January 1, 2017.
Oakland Police officer, Ryan Walterhouse, 26, was charged with engaging in prostitution and obstruction of justice. Officer Walterhouse purportedly had sex with a prostitute in a Castro Valley motel and paid her in cash. He warned her twice in one week about an undercover prostitution operation.
Those convicted of driving under the influence for the first time in California will face driving restrictions for a year—unless they agree to install breathalyzers in their vehicles to ensure sobriety.
Four years ago, California voters decided to keep the death penalty. On the 2016 ballot California voters once again are faced with deciding whether to abolish the executions or to speed them up by setting time limits for state court rulings and limiting the opportunity to appeal.
The Justice Department has decided to put an end to the use of private prisons as officials agreed that the facilities are both less safe and less effective at providing ample correctional services...
According to the latest report, Oakland police are still showing signs of racial prejudice in enforcement after more than ten years of federal monitoring...
Police have a hard time detecting who is driving under the influence of marijuana, as there are no equivalents to the blood-alcohol content tests...
San Francisco is looking into using a new tool that employs a computer algorithm to determine what amount is most appropriate when setting bail...
here are way too many encounters between police officers and civilians where the police lie about what occurred. For instance in 2014, it was reported that Chicago police officers responded to a report of a man vandalizing cars...
After a jury trial, defendant Edgardo Sanchez was convicted of two counts of first degree murder, attempted murder, and twenty-six counts of robbery, two counts of attempted robbery, five counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and two counts of assault with a stun gun. He was sentenced to death.
An appeals court rejected the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s attempt to overturn a federal judge’s decision to give the lowest possible sentence to a man that downloaded and shared child pornography...
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a defendant, specifically in a child pornography case, cannot be forced to answer questions asked during a compliance polygraph as part of their supervised release, where the questions are designed to self-incriminate the defendant...
Apple has sent a message to law enforcement officials refusing to hack into and unlock the iPhone 5c of the San Bernardino Shooter Syed Rizwan Farook. The public declaration came after a federal judge in Riverside issued a court order to Apple to create special software that would unlock the phone...
Following the sudden death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, 79, a new justice must be appointed and confirmed by the U.S Senate. Over the weekend, President Obama announced that he plans to pick a nominee to take Justice Scalia’s place on the Supreme Court ...
Lawmakers and law enforcement groups in New York and California are pushing bills to enable investigators to unscramble data to obtain evidence...
“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.”
