In United States v. Norwood, Mr. Norwood was tried in 2009 for possession of crack cocaine for distribution. At trial, the government introduced an affidavit by a state employee claiming there were no wage records for Norwood (as a large amount of cash was found in...
A federal appeals court last week threw out the 22-year prison sentence imposed in 2005 on Ahmed Ressam, known as the Millennium Bomber, who plotted to set off explosives at Los Angeles International Airport on New Year’s Eve in 1999. The court said the sentence was...
On February 1, 2010, the California Supreme Court allowed four registered sex offenders to challenge a state law prohibiting them from residing within 2000 feet of schools, parks, and other places children gather such as churches and playgrounds. The state law, known...
The California Supreme Court has authorized arrest warrants that contain only a DNA profile of the suspect (known as "John Doe" arrest warrants). The Court last week upheld the rape conviction of Paul Robinson, who was arrested a month after the six-year statute of...
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that jury voire dire proceedings should be open to defendants and the public. The high court also said that a trial judge has a duty to seek alternatives that will preserve openness even when, for example, it appears that there...
Following a conviction for federal tax fraud, the Ninth Circuit held that the district court properly included defendant's unpaid state taxes in the tax loss computation on which his term of imprisonment and his restitution order were based. Moreover, the defendant...
In this case, a trial court's condition of probation prohibiting the use of marijuana (pursuant to a medical marijuana card) was held to be valid if it is reasonably related to future criminality and defendant has been found to consent to it. Appellant pled no contest...
Case Name: Polanski v. Superior Court, Opinion Date: 12/21/2009 , DAR #: 17703 A California Appeals court held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in applying the fugitive disentitlement doctrine and dismissing without prejudice Mr. Polanski's motion to...
This case held that: If the trial court fails to advise a defendant of immigration consequences, the defendant may seek to withdraw his plea pursuant to Penal Code section 1016.5, subdivision (b). In 1988, appellant, a non-citizen, was convicted of felony drug...
Broadcom Corp's former chief executive and financial officers won dismissal of criminal charges over stock-option backdating after a federal judge found that prosecutors had intimidated three critical witnesses. U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney, at a hearing in...