California Legal Blog – A Deep Dive Into Issues That Affect Your Life

What is the punishment for furnishing alcohol to a minor in California?

Posted on June 6, 2015 | Category: Laws

If you’re convicted in California of selling or furnishing alcohol to a minor, it’s a misdemeanor. The punishment includes up to six months in jail. And moreover, if you’re an establishment that sells alcohol, then you could lose your liquor license and face other penalties from the alcohol board of control. Here at Shouse Law Group, …

Are Jail Phones Tapped?

Posted on June 2, 2015 | Category: Laws

The courts have said time and time again that inside jails and prisons and custody facilities, that there is a very reduced expectation in privacy, sometimes no expectation of privacy at all. And what that means is that when inmates call you, if you have a loved one in jail and they call you on …

What can cause someone to get a “Probation Violation”?

Posted on May 31, 2015 | Category: Criminal Defense

I want to talk today about probation violation hearings, or what are sometimes called probation revocation hearings. As a former deputy district attorney, I prosecuted literally hundreds of probation violation hearings. And now, as a criminal defense attorney, I defend people in probation violation hearings. Now, when you’re placed on probation, the judge will impose …

Proposition 47 passes, reduces sentences for theft and drug crimes

Posted on November 5, 2014 | Category: Drug Crimes

Yesterday a clear majority of California voters passed Proposition 47, the “Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act.” In a nutshell, here is what Prop 47 does to criminal law in California: Prop 47 changes some California crimes from potential felonies to misdemeanors. These crimes include: Grand theft auto and grand theft firearm IF the car or gun …

Are police lineups a reliable form of evidence?

Posted on October 18, 2014 | Category: Criminal Defense

The public thinks of police lineups as a reliable way to catch criminals. TV shows and movies help give them that impression. But that impression is just wrong. Mistaken eyewitness identification is the number one cause of wrongful convictions in America. Many pretrial lineups are structured in a way that may prod the witness to …

Think you have the “right to remain silent” if you are a criminal suspect? Think again…

Posted on August 20, 2014 | Category: Criminal Defense

Anyone who has ever watched a cop show in America is familiar with the sentence, “You have the right to remain silent.” This warning, part of the famous “Miranda rights,” is usually taken to mean that your choice to remain silent will not be held against you if you are charged with a crime. Unfortunately, …

“Reckless biking” is now a crime in California

Posted on July 28, 2014 | Category: Distracted Driving

A California appeals court recently ruled that you can be charged with reckless driving under California law if you ride your bicycle recklessly. In 2013, after drinking heavily at a Dodgers game, Jorge Velasquez, Jr., rode away on his bicycle. While going downhill on the wrong side of the road, he struck a pedestrian. The …

The Supreme Court says police need a warrant to search your cellphone

Posted on June 25, 2014 | Category: Warrant

Today the Supreme Court of the United States ruled–unanimously!–that police cannot search a person’s cell phone without a search warrant. The case was Riley v. California. David Riley was pulled over in San Diego for having an expired registration on his car. The police found loaded guns in his car, and then examined his smartphone. …

Prop 35 and enhanced penalties for California human trafficking

Posted on April 7, 2014 | Category: Laws

In November of 2012, over 80% of California voters voted for Proposition 35–an initiative that greatly increased fines and prison sentences for California human trafficking under Penal Code 236.1 PC. Among other things, Prop 35 introduced a possible life sentence for defendants convicted of sex trafficking of a minor through force or fraud (the previous …

Does California have an “affluenza” legal defense?

Posted on February 1, 2014 | Category: Criminal Defense

Strictly speaking, yes. As of now, California criminal defendants could–in theory–use the so-called “affluenza” legal defense to reduce their criminal sentences, or even avoid criminal liability altogether In 2013, a wealthy 16-year-old in Texas named Ethan Crouch drove drunk and plowed his father’s pickup truck into a group of Good Samaritans helping a disabled vehicle. …

Past Juvenile Adjudication for Vehicular Manslaughter Elevates Misdemeanor DUI to a Felony

Posted on November 11, 2013 | Category: DUI

If you have a past juvenile adjudication for felony vehicular manslaughter, a later DUI could land you in prison.This was the holding in People v. Barclay, in which a California appeals court upheld a felony DUI sentence for Donavon Hicks Barclay III. Barclay was convicted of violating: • Penal Code 23152(a), California’s driving under the …

Former Officer Acquitted of All charges in Pahrump Sexual Assault Case

Posted on December 12, 2011 | Category: Sexual Assault

The firm of Las Vegas Defense Group recently won a resounding victory in a high-profile sexual assault case involving a former Nye County Sheriff’s deputy. Charges for the Nevada crime of sexual assault and the Nevada crime of kidnapping were dismissed before trial, and a jury thereafter fully acquitted the defendant on charges of sexual …

Posing as a Kidnapper for Ransom vs. Kidnapping for Ransom

Posted on July 11, 2011 | Category: Kidnapping

California has a variety of laws that pertain to kidnapping, two of which relate to kidnapping for ransom. The first is prohibited by Penal Code 209 PC and deals with actually kidnapping a victim for ransom. The second is prohibited by Penal Code 210 PC California’s law against extortion by posing as a kidnapper. If …

Attention Parents: California Police May Interrogate Your Child In Your Absence Following a DUI Arrest

Posted on June 26, 2011 | Category: DUI

With the end of school, the fourth of July and summer parties comes underage drinking and driving. Being arrested is a scary experience for anyone. And if it’s scary for an adult, imagine how much more so it must be for a child. Obviously, no one wants to receive a call that his/her child has …

Amendments to Penal Code 666 to Apply Retroactively

Posted on March 29, 2011 | Category: Penal Code

California Penal Code 666 PC — more commonly known as “petty theft with a prior” — allows prosecutors to file a petty theft charge as a felony rather than a misdemeanor if the offender has three or more prior theft-related convictions. Historically, only one prior was required to elevate a subsequent petty theft to a …

Who reports seizures DMV? Do licenses get suspended?

Posted on December 12, 2023 | Category: Useful information

Epilepsy — Can the DMV revoke my license because of it?Watch this video on YouTube The California DMV may revoke or suspend your driver’s license if you have epilepsy, seizures, or other consciousness disorders that negatively affect your ability to drive safely. Here are four main points to know if you have epilepsy and drive …

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John Murray won my DMV hearing over a DUI charge I had pending and just recently won motion for military diversion against my charge. I highly recommend John, he is highly professional,motivated and competent. I walked into the courthouse with peace of mind only because I knew I had John in my corner. Thanks for all the help.

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