A three judge panel in the 4th District (Riverside) Court of Appeal of the State of California just ruled that cities and counties are free to ban medical marijuana dispensaries in their jursidictions. This case followed another case in Long Beach where the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that Long Beach could not make laws specifically authorizing medical marijuana dispensaries because the drug still remains illegal under federal law. Taken together the new ruling are very damaging for the medical marijuana community. At least in so far as it pertains to dispensaries. While these new laws will have little effect on …

The Lancaster City Counsel just approved a spy plane to conduct aerial surveillance over Lancaster ten hours per day and seven days per week. The images captured by the occupied plane will supposedly be transferred directly to the Sheriff’s Department and viewed by assigned deputies in the station. Comments regarding the surveillance plane are mixed at best. Some residents, including the City Mayor, R. Rex Parris are happy about the crime fighting potential the plane may have. The ACLU has other concerns. Why should honest people who are not breaking the law be subjected to surveillance by the cops and …

How do you know that the lawyer you are hiring is an expert at criminal defense? There are a lot of highly competent lawyers in our community. How do we know that the lawyer we pay is the right lawyer for the job? We can start by checking his references on certain legal web sites. For example, Avvo or Justia list attorney profiles and attorney complaint as well as reviews by clients and by fellow lawyers. Read the reviews. If most of them aren’t good, you should probably be looking in another direction. Has your lawyer ever been quoted by the media …

Ventura County law enforcement busted seven people and confiscated an estimated 130 pounds of marijuana in a farm-like setup near Pyramid Lake in the Los Padres national forest. Sheriff’s officials described a temporary camp-like setting where workers were using public land and water to cultivate there marijuana. Upon inspecting the area deputies found camping gear and food which apparently belonged to the marijuana growers. Police then discovered the drying marijuana plants and seized them. Shortly thereafter police located seven men a short distance from the camp. Unable to elude sheriff’s deputies the suspects found themselves at the edge of a …

In the wake of the Conrad Murray trial, there has been a lot of talk in the media about the strategy of the defense in a criminal trial. To many people’s surprise, Dr. Murray elected (it’s ultimately his choice) not to testify in his own defense. Many people question why he did not testify. In Dr. Murray’s case, he is represented by two highly skilled criminal defense attorneys. I met Michael Flanagan some 15 years ago when I took his multiple week DUI defense program offered through The University of Southern California’s Law School. Mr. Flanagan and his partner, Charles …

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kelvin Filer overturned the murder conviction of Obie Anthony and ordered that he be immediately released from jail. Anthony, age 37, spend 17 years in custody after his conviction for killing a man outside a South Los Angeles brother. The judge was very critical towards prosecutors in the case because they failed to disclose to the jury that they made a deal with their main witness. The witness, John Jones agreed to testify in order to get a lighter sentence on his charges of pimping and pandering. Jones also testified against a co-defendant, Reggie Cole, …

I am constantly asked how a potential client can find a good criminal defense attorney. My answer is often the same: Meet with the lawyer whenever possible; Do you feel comfortable with the lawyer? Be worried about any lawyer who promises the world or any lawyer who tries to scare you to death. Make sure you meet with the actual lawyer who will be handling the case. Make sure you are not meeting with a salesman or paralegal or any other such person who is not going to be your lawyer. Remember, if the lawyer does not have time to …

I currently have a client charged with evading arrest and DUI in the San Fernando Courthouse of Los Angeles County. He also has a 20 year old strike prior from a previous alcohol-related driving incident. In fact, is entire criminal history involves alcohol use or abuse. According to my client, he has been abusing alcohol since he was 18 years old. This was the time he enlisted in the Navy. He served in a combat zone in Viet Nam and was honorably discharged shortly after the war ended. While in the Navy he was trained in aviation electronics and has …

As a criminal defense attorney I am constantly trying to stay up to date on new criminal case law and legislation as well as the state of the justice system in California and the United States. One of the ways I do this is by getting emails from organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Anti-Defamation League and even the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action. As anyone who reads my blog likely knows, I have fairly conservative views and I rarely jump on any liberal bandwagons. I recently got …

Post Traumatic stress disorder is a popular defense these days. With the establishment of veterans courts around the country, courts are seeing more and more defenses to crimes based upon combat service in the military. Here in Los Angeles there is a Veteran’s Court in Downtown LA run by a fantastic superior court judge. Judge Michael Tynan will cut your the brakes you deserve. However, just as quickly, he will send you to prison for not following the rules. Judge Tynan is running LA County’s veteran’s court and he is doing a bang up job. If a criminal defendant is …