One of the first questions that a prospective client asks me is always about cost: How much will it cost to hire a criminal defense attorney like you? My answer is always the same: I have an office policy minimum and I don’t get on any case for less than $2,500. The fees go up from there depending upon severity of the case, prior criminal history, court location and other factors. Like all things in life there are exceptions to the rule. Driving on a suspended license cases or traffic tickets would likely cost less money. Likewise, there are reasons …

The California Highway Patrol reported that DUI arrests were up significantly from last Labor Day Weekend. Not only were DUI arrests up, but fatal accidents were up as well, says the CHP. Last year only one fatal accident was reported during the first two days of Labor Day Weekend, but this year there were six reported fatal accidents. In addition DUI arrests were up to 1,008 from 990 last year. The CHP reported that there had been a downward trend in DUI arrests and fatal traffic collisions over the last few years. Sadly, this year has shown an increase in …

A Riverside County man was tragically sentenced to 29 to life in prison for shoplifting less than $21 worth of merchandise from a Home Depot Store in the Lake Elsinore area. Yes, he had an extensive criminal history. Yes, he was on parole for at least one prior felony conviction. Yes, he has had strikes “stricken” before. And yes, it should have happened again. According to the local media, Scott Hove, 45, of Riverside County, was previously charged with a third strike offense in Riverside County. In that case, he was charged with drug possession. The District Attorney argued to …

In a landmark case, the Federal Court just ruled that immigrants are entitled to a hearing and potential bail before any prolonged detention. The Court said that failure to do so is unconstitutional The ruling which came down in the Third Federal Circuit effects immigration detainees in NewJersey and Pennsylvania. The case was brought by a detainee from the country of Senegal who was detained for nearly three years in immigration custody without the opportunity for a bail hearing. Cheikh Diop was not given a hearing to determine whether or not his detention was necessary for this three year period. …

Judge Charles Campbell declared a mistrial in the high profile murder trial of Brandon McInerney. A mistrial is declared for many different reasons, but in this case it was declared because the jury was hopelessly deadlocked and was unable to reach an unanimous decision on either the murder charge or the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter. The twelve member jury is reported to have deliberated for over 17 hours and was ultimately unable to reach a decision. In criminal cases in California, 12 jurors must reach an unanimous decision in order to find a criminal defendant either not guilty or …

Due to the State budget crises, California plans to start moving low-level, nonviolent offenders from over-crowded prisons to the over-crowded jails run by the State’s 58 Counties. Recently, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca submitted a plan to begin the prisoner transition from State Prison to LA County Jail. Clearly this is a plan that is destined for failure. LA County’s jail system is already amongst the largest municipal jail system in the world. It is already overcrowded, understaffed and the conditioners there are, in a word, disgusting. How then does Sheriff Baca expect to accommodate more inmates from the …

Orange County Judge David Chaffee just ruled that Anaheim is within the law when it bans all medical marijuana dispensaries in it’s city. In a hotly contested ruling, a Superior Court judge in Orange County just sent the dispensaries packing – or at least moving – outside the city of Anaheim. Attorney Anthony Curiale, who represents the Qualified Patients Association, says his client, who runs a marijuana dispensary is going to appeal. Curiale goes on to state the the city ordinance is unconstitutional and conflicts with state law. Paul Chabot of the Coalition for a Drug Free California indicated that …

A staff member at a West Hollywood plastic surgery clinic was caught in the act of practicing medicine without a license. After getting complaints from the State Medical Board, investigators fromthe agency starting watching a clinic at Sunset medical Tower on Sunset Boulevard very closely. When the Board inspectors went to the facility what they found was scary. As staff member at the doctor’s office was not only diagnosing patients’ medical conditions but was administering laser treatment to patients. According the the local media, the owners of the clinic are manny and Pie Calayan, neither of whom are medical doctors …

10 Los Angeles Police Department Officers from the West Traffic Division sued the City of Los Angeles alleging that the LAPD has a traffic ticket quota that the officers must meet. The officers alleged, among other things, that they were being punished for refusing to obey quota requirements set by their superiors. Other allegations included denial of overtime and other benefits for not going along with the quota’s. The suit also alleges that traffic officers were given negative performance reviews based upon their failure to issue enough tickets and meet their superiors quotas. Setting quotas for issuance of traffic tickets …

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Harvey Silberman was found not guilty yesterday. The judge was indicted in 2008 for allegedly violating a State Election Code. He was accused of bribing another candidate in an effort to get her to step out of the race. In trial, two witnesses testified against Silberman. They were working on his judicial campaign at the time the alleged crime occurred. Silberman’s attorney argued that the witnesses lied about their stories in an effort to get better “deals” from the prosecutor. The two had pled guilty to misdemeanor in order to avoid trial on felony …