The Fourth Appellate District Court affirmed in part and reversed in part a judgment and remanded. The court held that a firearm sentence enhancement was improperly imposed on a defendant who could not have been vicariously liable for the shooting death of a fellow...
criminal law
U.S. v. Comprehensive Drug Testing, Inc.: Ninth Circuit Holds that the Government only has a Right to Specific Names in Search Warrant
The Ninth Circuit Court affirmed in part and dismissed in part a ruling by the district court on Monday, September 13th. The Ninth Circuit held that the government had no right to retain seized drug-test results of professional athletes other than those specified in a...
United States v. Ali: Unauthorized Sales of Software deemed Deprivation of “Money or Property” and Grounds for Wire and Mail Fraud Convictions
A district court judgment was affirmed in part and reversed in part by the 9th Circuit court. The 9th Circuit held that mail and wire fraud defendants took "money or property" from a software manufacturer by obtaining discounted software packages under false pretenses...
The 9th Circuit Court finds Enhancements of Sentences Warranted
The 9th Circuit affirmed a judgment that enhanced Miguel Rosas's sentences after he voluntarily fled to allegedly deny responsibility for the sentencing of charges, effectively obstructing justice. Rosas was found guilty by the district court of conspiracy to possess...
United States v. Thomas: Obstruction of Justice and Perjury
The court of appeals affirmed a judgment that Tammy Thomas, a former professional cyclist, could be prosecuted for obstruction of justice where she allegedly gave intentionally evasive and false testimony before a federal grand jury though she was under a grant of...
Criminal Liability of Stock Brokers: Full Disclosure of Material Information
The 9th circuit court of appeals ruled on June 16th that securities brokers must disclose material information regarding a stock purchase if the broker has a fiduciary relationship with a client. Hampton Porter Investment Bankers, LLC, became involved in a “pump and...
California Supreme Court Grants Review on Penal Code Section 4019 (custody credits) and the Issue of Retroactivity
Yesterday, the California Supreme Court granted review on two cases involving the retroactivity of revised Penal Code section 4019. The lead case on the issue is People v. Brown (2010) 182 Cal.App.4th 1354 (S181963), in which the Third District had held that the...
Sentencing juvenile offender to life in prison without parole for nonhomicide crime violated the Cruel & Unusual Punishments Clause
Petitioner Graham was sixteen when he committed armed burglary and another crime. As a result of a plea agreement, the trial court placed Graham on probation. Subsequently, the court found that Graham had violated the terms of his probation and revoked his probation,...
Admission of lab report: People v. Bowman
In this case, the California Court of Appeal held that the case Melendez-Diaz did not alter the California rule that an in-court witness may rely on laboratory notes and reports, even if prepared by a different individual, to support the witness's expert opinion....
Ninth Circuit: Unreasonable Delay in Execution of Search Warrant
In United States v. Song Ja Cha, the Ninth Circuit held that a 26-hour seizure of a home before a search warrant was executed was unreasonable. As a result, the suppression of evidence was warranted. The case is: United States v. Song Ja Cha, __ F.3d __, 2010 WL...