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Criminal Law

LA Criminal Defense Blog

Commentary, News, and Tips About Criminal Law
By Steven Rodriguez

Post Frequency: 1.5/day

Last Entry: October 05, 2009 at 07:26:31

Child Abuse - False Reports Do Happen, What You Should Do If Accused

Posted on October 05, 2009
Today?s high profile cases of crimes against children have resulted in a hyper vigilance in the community against child abuse. Although this is a positive step in our society, it can create a state of heightened anxiety with resulting false accusations...

Megan’s Law - Protecting Children from Sexual Predators

Posted on September 25, 2009
In California, Megan’s Law “requires convicted sex offenders to register with their local law enforcement agency,” explains Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Stephen Rodriguez. Megan’s Law also “makes it possible for people to get information about the identity and address of registered sex offenders,” the experienced lawyer noted...

Rape and Sex Crimes - Dugard Kidnapping Shocks Nation

Posted on September 23, 2009
The discovery of Jaycee Lee Dugard living in makeshift tents behind a home in Antioch, California 18 years after her abduction shocked the country. Snatched from a school bus stop near her South Lake Tahoe, CA home in 1991 when she was 11, Dugard had been held in isolation by a convicted sex offender who [...

Shoplifting - California Couple Confesses on Dr. Phil

Posted on September 21, 2009
In what sounds like one of David Letterman’s Stupid Human Tricks, a California couple confessed on Dr. Phil that for the last 7 years they had been shoplifting toys and selling them on eBay. The couple, Matthew Eaton, 34, and his 26-year-old wife Laura, told a national TV audience they had made more than $1 [...

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Murder - Swimsuit Model’s Murderer Found Dead

Posted on September 11, 2009
The suspected murderer of swimsuit model Jasmine Fiore has been found dead, an apparent suicide. Charged with murdering his ex-wife, reality TV contestant Ryan Jenkins had fled to his native Canada. His ex-wife was found stuffed into a suitcase in a trash bin south of Los Angeles...

Probation Violations - What Happens If You Break the Rules?

Posted on September 09, 2009
R&B heavyweight Chris Brown could have pulled a jail sentence for battering girlfriend Rihanna (see Monday’s post), but his criminal defense attorney convinced the L.A. judge to gave him a second chance. Essentially, that’s what probation is; the court is giving you a�chance to change your behavior and live within the law...

Domestic Violence - Chris Brown Gets Probation, Physical Labor

Posted on September 07, 2009
R&B singer Chris Brown was sentenced to five years of probation and six months of physical labor for the domestic violence beating of then girlfriend Rihanna last February. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg sternly warned the singer that he could do jail time if he violates the terms of his sentence...

Bench Warrant - Forget Your Court Date; Go to Jail

Posted on August 21, 2009
Fail to appear for your court date or pay a fine and you could find yourself tracked down, handcuffed and carted off to jail. It could jeopardize your job if it happens in front of your boss and co-workers. It could embarrass you if it happens in front of your neighbors...

Rape - So You Think You Can Dance Star Charged with Rape

Posted on August 19, 2009
Choreographer Alex Da Silva had better brush up on his fancy footwork, though that’s what seems to have gotten the So You Think You Can Dance tango king into trouble. Da Silva was arrested at his North Hollywood home yesterday on charges of rape and other sex crimes...

Fraud - Investor Cons Increasing

Posted on August 17, 2009
Bernie Madoff isn’t the only con artist stealing millions from gullible investors.�Investment scams�have increased since the economy tanked. Investors are looking for a quick way to recoup losses and con artists are only too happy to relieve them of their cash...

Prostitution - Sex Trade Workers May be Victims of Human Trafficking

Posted on August 07, 2009
The U.S. breathed a sigh of relief when journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling were reunited with their families on a California runway after 5 months�of imprisonment in North Korea. The women were arrested while pursing a story on human trafficking; but you do not have to travel halfway around the world to find young [...

Expungement - Clearing Record Improves Job Opportunities

Posted on August 05, 2009
With California’s unemployment rate approaching 12%, jobs are hard to find these days. A criminal record drastically reduces your chances of being hired and limits your employment opportunities. Many employers will not hire people with a criminal record...

DUI - Supreme Court Demands Lab Techs Testify

Posted on August 03, 2009
A new ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to impact the prosecution of DUI (driving under the influence) and DWI (driving while intoxicated) cases in California and across the U.S. The Supreme Court ruled that when crime lab or breathalyzer reports are used to establish that a defendant was under the influence of [...

Manslaughter - Was Michael Jackson’s Death Manslaughter?

Posted on July 24, 2009
Los Angeles police are investigating possible manslaughter charges against Michael Jackson’s personal physician. Investigators in Houston,�Texas�obtained search warrants and raided a medical clinic and storage unit used by Dr. Conrad Murray, searching for evidence to support manslaughter charges against the doctor...

Restraining Order - What to Do If You’re Served

Posted on July 22, 2009
In cases of domestic violence and disagreement, one party can obtain a restraining order against the other. Restraining orders prevent contact between the parties, whether in person, by phone, via the internet or through a third party. Not only can a restraining order prevent you from seeing or speaking to your spouse, it can prevent [...

Restraining Order - When You Need to Feel Safe

Posted on July 20, 2009
Restraining orders are court orders signed by a judge that prohibit one person from contacting, annoying or harassing another. There are two legal sides to restraining orders: people who�need restraining orders to protect themselves or their families from threat and abuse, and people who are served with restraining orders and must defend themselves...

Stalking - Fear Mongers Among Us

Posted on July 10, 2009
Stalkers deal in fear. Their obsessive harassment of celebrities regularly makes the news.�Earlier this year, Georgia resident Brady Green was convicted of stalking, harassment, criminal trespass and attempted aggravated harassment for hounding supermodel Tyra Banks...

Hit and Run - Killer of Serviceman’s Family Finally Arraigned

Posted on July 08, 2009
Nearly a year ago a serviceman, his wife and their young son were tragically killed in a hit and run accident in Riverside County, California, east of Los Angeles. Witnesses told police a speeding truck weaving in and out of traffic lost control on a curve and plowed headfirst into the Chevy Malibu driven by [...

DUI - BAT Mobiles Help Cops Combat Drunk Driving

Posted on July 06, 2009
With the arrival of the summer holiday season, police started rolling out the BAT mobiles in May, preparing to combat drunk drivers and get them off the roads. BAT (Breath Alcohol Testing) mobiles are special mobile vans equipped with multiple intoxilizers, breath alcohol testing equipment, and technicians trained in their use...

Robbery - Los Angeles Pot Store Robbed

Posted on June 19, 2009
A Los Angeles medical marijuana store was robbed late last night. Robbers wearing ski masks and waving guns barged into the Gourmet Green Room around 11 p.m. Thursday, June 18, demanding cash and pot. The three armed men made off with $15,000 in cash and an undisclosed amount of marijuana, escaping in a silver Cadillac [...

Rape - Man Uses Craigslist to Arrange Wife’s Rape

Posted on June 17, 2009
Craigslist is under attack again. A North Carolina husband used the popular classified advertising website to find a rapist to act out his sexual fantasies on his unsuspecting wife.�The husband arranged for a man he found on craigslist to rape his wife at knifepoint while he watched...

Vandalism - What Your Kids Need to Know About Graffiti

Posted on June 15, 2009
School is out and with jobs in short supply this summer, more children and teens are hanging out with friends, milling around, looking for something to do. As they say, “Idle hands are the devil’s playground,” and the combination of peer pressure, long summer days and boredom�are a perfect combination for decorating the neighborhood with [...

Theft - Economic Woes Lure Unlikely Crooks

Posted on June 05, 2009
A respectable family man, father of four, church deacon, soccer coach and community volunteer put on a wig and mask, took his gun out of the nightstand and tried to rob a bank before surrendering to police. A music minister used a handgun to force tellers to clean out their cash drawers then led police [...

Internet Crime - Are Your Children at Risk?

Posted on June 03, 2009
1 in 5 tweens, children aged 8 to 12, have posted personal information about themselves on the Internet. 1 in 4 pre-teens have been contacted online by a stranger. 1 in 10 tweens have responded and chatted online with someone they didn’t know. Those are some of the disturbing findings of the Tween Internet Safety Survey sponsored by [...

Drug Offenses - Actor Sizemore Arrested on Drug Warrant

Posted on June 01, 2009
Actor Tom Sizemore was arrested in Los Angeles late last week on an outstanding warrant related to a 2007 drug�offense.�The actor was apprehended with another man when L.A. police answered a domestic violence call. According to an unverified report on TMZ...

Rape - LAPD Clearing Rape Kit Backlog

Posted on May 20, 2009
The Los Angeles Police Department reports that it has cleared nearly two-thirds of the backlogged rape test kits found in a 2008 city audit and expects to clear the remaining 4,500 by the summer of 2010. In a scandal that made the national news, a 2008 city audit of the LAPD discovered a backlog of [...

Murder - DNA Exposes Serial Killer

Posted on May 18, 2009
Los Angeles police recently charged a 72-year-old insurance claims adjuster with the murder of two women in the 1970s and say he may have committed at least�30 rape/murders since the 1970s. Los Angeles’ most prolific serial killer, Floyd Thomas, a twice-convicted sexual offender, was exposed when a sample of his DNA was�taken as part of [...

Kidnapping - Reward Offered for Abducted Boy

Posted on May 08, 2009
Home invasion, robbery, kidnapping — the horrific story playing out in San Bernardino, California, 60 miles east of Los Angeles,�has authorities asking the public for help. Between San Bernardino County and the FBI, a $50,000 reward is now being offered for information in the violent kidnapping of 3-year-old Briant Rodriguez...

Identity Theft - Criminal Defense Against ID Theft in California

Posted on May 06, 2009
Identity theft is California’s fastest growing crime. Stealing another person’s identity or personal information and using it to commit fraud or access another person’s finances is a serious crime in California. A national wave of high-profile identity theft cases has prompted the Federal Trade Commission to tighten federal regulations governing the storage of online documents [...

Identity Theft - Feds Tighten Online Information Rules

Posted on May 04, 2009
The Federal Trade Commission this month started enforcing new rules geared to fight identity theft, the fastest growing crime in the U.S.�Tightening regulations that govern how online documents are stored and requiring verification of identification, both online and off,�is expected to trim the number of identity-theft complaints...