San Diego Criminal Lawyers BlogIn a 4-3 decision by the California Supreme Court, it has been held that California judges have broad authority to refuse to shorten the sentences of “three strike” inmates, despite the revisions to the “Three Strikes Law” with Proposition 36. Proposition 36 was first passed in 2012 to allow three-strike offenders to receive sentence reductions […]
Search Results for: three strikes
Supreme Court Strikes Down Law That Would Keep Violent Offenders in Prison Longer
As a practitioner in the criminal law field, it is part of my job to keep updated on new case law that will affect my clients. This blog will seek to explain to you the latest development in criminal case law—coming from our highest court—the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has had no shortage of […]
The Infamous California “3 Strikes Law”- Which Crimes Count?
The State of Washington was the first state in the nation to pass the ‘no-nonsense’ 3 strikes policy to address repeat, criminal offenders in 1993. California enacted its 3 strikes law shortly after Washington in 1994. These “habitual offender laws” are statutes adopted by individual state legislatures to impose harsher sentences on those who have […]
The Bar is Raised for Stalking Convictions by U.S. Supreme Court
Billy Raymond Counterman sent hundreds of thousands of Facebook messages years to local country singer Coles Whalen over the course of about five years. Whalen was finally unnerved enough to file stalking charges against Counterman. The mountains of comments left Whalen feeling frightened enough that she ultimately felt she had to leave her Colorado home […]
Felony Arrest in California: What to Expect (Part VI)
This is the final installment of a six-part series on what to expect in California if you face felony criminal charges. Take a look at our past posts in the series and get to know the other steps of the felony arrest in California process. The prior posts are: Step One: Pre-Arrest Investigation Step Two: […]
Felony Arrest in California: What to Expect (Part I)
A felony is the most serious classification of crime with which a person can be charged under California’s Penal Code. Generally, a felony conviction carries with it a sentence of more than a year in jail or prison. Even if a person avoids a long jail sentence following a first felony conviction, any subsequent felony […]
Gov. Brown Pardons, Commutes Sentences for 150 Criminals
At the end of 2017, Governor Jerry Brown announced pardons or sentence reductions for about 150 convicted criminals, including eight cases whose crimes were committed in San Diego County. In total, the governor pardoned 132 people and commuted the sentences of 19 people. This included pardons for about 60 people convicted of making, selling, or […]
Numbers Show Increase in Assaults Against San Diego Police Officers
While the nation is on edge from the high profile killings of unarmed citizens and police in Dallas and Baton Rouge earlier this year, the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) is currently trying to investigate whether a shooting death of Officer Jonathon DeGuzman, 43, was a deliberate act. It is reported that DeGuzman and a […]
California Violent Crime and Property Crime Jump Increase in 2015
It has already been reported several times that Prop 47 may be affecting crime rates in the state, but the state’s most damning evidence was just recently released. According to the state’s attorney general’s most recent report, the number of violent crimes jumped 10% across California last year, reversing several years of declines. According to […]
Police Search Ensues After Viral Facebook ‘Toddler Pot’ Video
The holiday month kicked off with a not-so-festive video that was uploaded on Facebook by an unknown man, pressuring a toddler, who is wearing diapers, to smoke what appears to be a marijuana blunt. The video was uploaded in the Chicago, Illinois area and drew such a national public outrage, that the Chicago Police Department […]