In People v. Rios, the California Court of Appeals held that where a defendant impliedly waived his rights to silence and counsel, subsequent admissions were admissible. In that case, Defendant Rios was arrested and placed in the back of a patrol car. He was advised...
In United States v. Ruckes, the Ninth Circuit court of Appeals upheld the admissibility of drug and firearm evidence in a case where law enforcement conducted an illegal search of a vehicle under the doctrine of inevitable discovery. The Court followed the recent...
Last Thursday, the California Supreme Court ruled that positioning a uniformed deputy next to a testifying criminal defendant isn't inherently prejudicial. Justice Carol Corrigan wrote that "jurors may view the sight of an officer accompanying the defendant to the...
Taking effect on November 1, 2009, the U.S. Sentencing Commission has made several changes to the federal Sentencing Guidelines in a number of ways relating to sex crimes. The amendments address an enhancement for undue influence of a minor as well as changes to the...
In the highly-publicized trial of former BART police officer accused of murdering Oakland resident Oscar Grant, the defense's motion to have the trial moved out of Alameda County has been granted. Superior Court Judge Morris Jacobson ruled that the defense had shown...
The dismissal of terrorist threat and stalking charges against a Southern California pharmacist did not warrant a finding of factual innocence, the Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled Friday. The Court rejected Ida Bleich’s request for the finding, concluding that...
Alameda County's new DA is now Nancy O'Malley, who has replaced Tom Orloff. She was his chosen successor to serve out the rest of his term, which expires in 9 months. Then, it will be up to the voters to elect a new DA.
Smith v. Lockyer, 9th Circuit, Case #: 07-16876, Opinion dated 9/9/09: Case Holding: A supplemental instruction to the deadlocked jury, addressing concerns of a hold-out juror (concerns which are known to the judge) is considered a denial of defendant's Sixth...
An En Banc Decision by Chief Judge Kozinski on August 31, 2009 will prove to be an influential decision on Fourth Amendment searches of computers. United States v. Comprehensive Drug Testing, 2009 WL 2605378 (9th Cir. Aug. 26, 2009). “This case is about . . . the...
With Judge Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings set to begin on July 13, there have been many speculations as to which way the Supreme Court nominee will lean on criminal justice issues. A brief look at her experience as a former prosecutor and at some of her decisions...