In United States v. Edwards, 2014 WL 3747130 (9th Cir. July 31, 2014) the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit addressed two issues: the first one was whether the stop of Edwards was only an investigatory stop or a de facto arrest and the second was...
criminal law
“Straw purchasers” of firearms must identify themselves as such
The Supreme Court of the United States in Abramski v. U.S., 134 S.Ct. 2259 (2014) held that misrepresenting oneself as an actual firearms purchaser versus a “straw purchaser” was a material misrepresentation. Abramski was convicted of making a false statement that was...
Did You Get the Memo? Eric Holder’s New Policies and Initiatives on Federal Drug Sentencing & Federal Charges
Federal drug sentencing has been given a long-awaited makeover by the issuance of Eric Holder’s Memorandum and Guidelines to Federal Prosecutors in August of this year. The new policy should help certain drug offenders avoid mandatory minimum sentences in federal drug...
Petitions for Factual Innocence (Penal Code section 851.8)
An arrest, even where there is no conviction, can have devastating effects on a person's life. For non-citizens, it can result in random detentions at immigration outposts and obstacles to obtaining citizenship. For those seeking employment, an arrest can be...
Deliberately running red light can result in conviction for assault with deadly weapon
This week the California Court of Appeal concluded that a driver who deliberately races through a red light at a busy intersection and collides with another vehicle, causing injury to another, can be convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. “Assault with a deadly...
Is possession with intent to distribute a “substantial step” towards committing a crime, thereby establishing federal venue?
On July 16, 2012, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in United States v. Pariseau that possession with intent to distribute qualifies as a substantial step towards the commission of a crime; therefore, it established federal venue in the district where the...
US Superme Court case update
The United States Supreme Court, led by Judge Scalia, ruled that a federal district court had the discretion to order that defendant's federal sentence run concurrently to the anticipated, but not yet imposed, state court sentence. This was Sester v. United States,...
State Court Plea Used in Federal Court Proceedings
Federal Court proceedings indicted Richard Aguirre for racketeering and conspiracy to distribute narcotics after he pleaded guilty in state court to one count of maintaining a residence for purposes of selling cocaine in People v. Aguirre. Unaware that his guilty plea...
Tip from Informant Helps Police Arrest Wanted Ninja
In People v. Scott, an anonymous informant called the Riverside Police Department to notify them about David Scott, who was strongly suspected to have been involved in the murder of Brenda Kenny. The informant was Scott’s coworker at the movie theatre and told the...
Traffic Violation Citations Counted as Arrests to Calculate Criminal History Points
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court judgment which included traffic violation citations as “arrests” when calculating the defendant’s criminal history under U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2(a)(2). The Court agreed with the Seventh Circuit in its application of United States...