The Los Angeles City Attorney charged Ralphs grocery stores with multiple counts of overcharging their customers.  The Los Angeles County Department of Weights and Measures recently conducted an undercover investigation of Ralphs Grocery Stores and Ralphs failed miserably.  As a result, Los Angeles City Attorney Don Cocek filed multiple charges against Ralphs for overcharging their customers. By the way, this is not the first time this has happened. Here is how it works:  The store gets caught overcharging and criminal charges get filed.  Nobody goes to jail, but the store agrees to plead guilty and pay a fine for the violations.  In the last …

Another “Bling Ring” defendant plead no contest to the residential burglary of actor Orlando Bloom’s home.  Alexis Neiers, who the media describe as a reality star, had previously denied knowledge of the burglary indicating she was present but too intoxicated to know what was going on.  I’m glad her defense attorney didn’t try to sell that to a jury. She appears to have pled no contest to residential burglary, which is a strike under California’s Three Strikes Law.  Her sentence appears to be as follows:  Two years state prison, imposed and suspended,  three years of formal probation, 180 days in county jail, …

In an article that could hardly be characterized as “news” a local newspaper reported that according to a report by the American Civil Liberties Union, there is abuse at Los Angeles County’s Men’s Central Jail. Frankly, I thought this was common knowledge. Seriously though, the ACLU wrote a report covering a twelve month period of time from 2008 to 2009 based on weekly visits to the jail and reviewing numerous inmate complaints. Complaints ranged from assaults by to deputies to more complicated schemes involving other inmates taking direction from deputies. As a criminal defense attorney I understand what a difficult …

Earlier today a Federal Judge dismissed a lawsuit by three Orange County, California residents who contended that a total ban on marijuana dispensaries in certain cities in Orange County violated the American’s With Disabilities Act. Federal District Court Judge Andrew Guilford indicated that marijuana cannot be prescribed under the ADA, thus, the Act did not apply to marijuana. As such, the parties bringing the action were not likely to win at trial and the case was dismissed. It seems to me that an argument under the Equal Protection Clause might have been more successful. For example, it would likely be found …

Actor Randy Quaid and his wife Evi were booked Monday on felony charges of defrauding an inkeeper in Santa Barbara County. They were each released after posting $100,000 bail. My first thought after reading about Mr. Quaid is that times must be tough for him too. However, if he and his wife both posted $100,000 bail, that means they likely payed a bail bondsman 10 percent of that amount or put up the whole amount themselves. It seems to me that they might have been better off paying the hotel bill to begin with. That is, assuming they really owed it. Defrauding …

Do you need or do you know someone who needs to find an attorney in their area? One of the best ways to find an attorney is by referral. If you are looking for a lawyer in a field other than criminal defense, or if you are looking for a lawyer outside of Southern California, feel free to call me or send me an email and I will do my best to help you. Because I have been practicing law in Southern California for over 15 years, I have a lot of resources and contacts to find quality lawyers and other …

July 1, 2010 is the beginning of a pilot project in Los Angeles County where every person convicted of DUI will be required to install an ignition interlock device in their vehicle. For those of you who don’t know what an ignition interlock device is, it is a machine, installed into your car that you have to blow into in order to start and keep driving your car down the road. If the machine reads blood alcohol you will not be able to start or keep driving your car. No problem you say, I can just not drink before I drive. The …

Convicted murderer Ronnie Lee Gardner is facing the death penalty in an Utah state prison. He is asking that his death sentence be by way of a firing squad. I had a few questions after hearing this story. What country are we in anyway? And what type of person makes up the firing squad? In 2010, even in Utah, what sick individual signs up for the job of firing squad member? Personally, I have never seen that entry on a job description: Member of firing squad. I have never been asked in a job interview: Would you be willing to be …

Nerses Galstyan, the suspected April 3rd shooter at the Hot Spot Restaurant in Valley Village was arrested yesterday without incident.  He was apprehended by a federal fugitive task force in the State of Washington.  Galstyan is suspected of shooting 6 men, 4 of whom were mortally wounded. After the shooting, Galstyan was indicted by a federal grand jury on weapons charges including dealing firearms without a license.  He is alleged to have participated in the sale of firearms to an informant working for the Federal Alcohol, Tobacco,  Firearms and Explosives Agency.

Four men were arrested yesterday after they broke into a marijuana dispensary located in Laguna Hills. I suppose the high costs of medication caused them to become desperate. In their desperation they broke into a neighboring business and tunneled under ground and into the dispensary. They were said to have been in the process of burglarizing the business when they accidentally set off a recently added alarm system. Sheriff’s officials arrested the four men shortly after the alarm was set off. The business was burglarized a couple weeks ago and suffered a significant financial loss. This prompted the recent installation …