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Necessity Defense: Los Angeles DUI
California Law Permits Necessity Defense in Criminal Cases. The Necessity Defense can be found in CALCRIM 3403, a jury instruction that can be used in DUI cases. To establish the necessity defense, the defendant must prove: he or she acted in an emergency to prevent significant bodily harm or evil to himself, herself, or someone else he or she had no adequate legal alternatives his or her acts did not create a greater danger than one avoided when the defendant acted, he or she actually believed that the act was necessary to prevent the threatened harm or evil A reasonable person would also have believed that the act was necessary under the circumstances The defendant did not contribute to the […]
How to Clean Criminal Record in Los Angeles: Plea Withdrawal
Here, Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney discusses how to remove criminal convictions or arrests or or otherwise modify the criminal record from your permanent criminal record. Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney practices in Southern California and can help you with cases in any nearby county. DOJ: LIVESCAN Department of Justice in California (or Federal DOJ) compiles records of all arrests and convictions. This record can be requested by submitting fingerprints using “livescan”, which is a digital fingerprint system updating the fingerprints directly into the computer. Once the digital fingerprint is submitted to the DOJ, AFIS (automated fingerprint identification system) will match it to any record in California or Federal DOJ. To verify or compare your criminal record, please submit your […]
Speeding in DUI Arrests – Los Angeles
Most Los Angeles DUI investigations start when a police officer sees some bad driving or another Vehicle Code violation (such as equipment violation). For example, Los Angeles Police can see you speeding on the freeway and pull you over. After the police pull you over, if the police officer believes you have been drinking, they will suspect Los Angeles DUI violation and do a Los Angeles DUI investigation. Problems in DUI Stops If you were pulled over in Los Angeles and police suspect DUI, you are in trouble. Los Angeles DUI attorneys believe that most Los Angeles DUI investigations result in DUI arrests because the police are biased against the drivers and will arrest them for DUI even when they […]
Prior Criminal Acts: Criminal Trials Los Angeles
During a police investigation in Los Angeles, LAPD and other police will run a “rap sheet” for the person they are investigating. A “rap sheet” is short for “records of arrest and prosecution”. If you have been arrested before, the police will factor the rap information into any new investigations. If you have a previous criminal record, the police will often count it against you. For example, if you have a DUI arrest in Los Angeles before being arrested again, the police will be more suspicious that you are drinking and driving in Los Angeles again when compared to a person who does not have a previous record. Similarly, If you are being investigated for domestic violence in Los Angeles, […]
DUI Diversion in California
In January of 2021, a misdemeanor judicial diversion statute was passed. It allowed judges to offer a “diversion” of misdemeanor cases, which means that a defendant would be offered to continue his case and as long as he complies with the court orders, the case will get dismissed. This statute can be found in PC 1001.95. With this, the judges suddenly got a lot of power over criminal cases, because no longer a prosecutor has the ultimate control over a misdemeanor case. Penal Code 1001.95 allowed a judge to dismiss a criminal case over the prosecutor’s objection. Only 4 types of cases were ineligible for this judicial diversion: CAN DUI BE DIVERTED? Because DUIs were not one of the 4 […]
Newly Enacted California Penal Code section 1385 allows a judge to dismiss all enhancements including prior DUIs.
Under California Bill SB 81, passed in 2022, the judges have a lot more power over the outcome of a criminal case. If you are arrested for a crime in Los Angeles, the prosecutor has complete discretion in filing a criminal case. Yet, once the case is filed, the prosecutor has no discretion to “unilaterally” dismiss the case. Because nolle prosequi is abolished in California, the prosecutor may not unilaterally abandon a prosecution (Pen. Code, § 1386); only the court may dismiss a criminal charge (id., § 1385, subd. (a)).”(Steen v. Appellate Division of Superior Court (2014) This means that the court can refuse to dismiss a case even if the prosecutor asks. A “‘district attorney can only recommend dismissal […]
Dismiss Your Case: Mental Health Diversion For Criminal Cases Los Angeles
California Law Allows Dismissal of Pending Criminal Cases in Several Situations. One of these situations is reserved for someone with mental health issues. That is, a person who has mental health issues can get his case dismissed. This is done through Mental Health Diversion which is found in California Penal Code 1001.36 Under California PC 1001.36 the court can divert many crimes as long as the defendant can establish the following criteria found in PC 1001.36(b)(1)): There are exceptions to mental health diversion. For example, California Vehicle Code 23640 specifically does not allow DUI diversions. The California Court of Appeals held that because of VC 23640, DUI can be not diverted even if all conditions of PC 1001.36 are met. […]
Do I Have To Go To Court for my DUI case in Los Angeles?
Rule of Thumb: Most of the time, in Los Angeles misdemeanor criminal cases, you do not have to go to court. However, usually, in California felony cases, you will be required to go to court. There are, however, some exceptions to these “rules of thumb” Fighting a criminal case in Los Angeles can be very time-consuming and some criminal cases last months or even years. It also may be best to delay your Los Angeles criminal case to investigate or get a better deal from the prosecutor or a judge. This delay can result in multiple court hearings that many defendants cannot attend because of health, work, or don’t want to attend just because they are not comfortable going to […]
Bad Police Conduct: Win Your Los Angeles Criminal Case
If you were arrested for a crime in Los Angeles, you may want to examine the personnel records of the police officer who arrested you based on California Evidence Code section 1043. To do so, you have to establish a “good cause”. Good cause can be established when the personnel records are “material” to your criminal case in Los Angeles and are based on “reasonable belief” that the personnel record will contain helpful information to the defense of your criminal case in Los Angeles. This request is done through a motion, which is a request for a judge to make an order. This motion is called, a “Pitchess Motion”, after a 1969 California criminal case, Pitchess v. Superior Court. When […]
Bails and Bonds – Criminal Cases Los Angeles
Overview Of The Bail System If you are arrested in Los Angeles, the police usually will set bail. Bail is an amount of money that an arrested person can give to the police to be released. If the arrested person does not have the money to post the bond, he will stay in jail until court, request to be released on a promise to appear or hire a bail bondsman. If you cannot post bail after you are arrested, you must be taken to see a judge within 48 hours. If you can afford to post a bond, the bond is posted and you are released with a notice to go to court in a few weeks. Once the criminal […]