Category Archives: Featured

Commercial Burglary (459) and shoplifting - Who can be charged?

November 12, 2010

I was asked a question the other day about what could happen to their son if he got wrapped up in his friends’ “beer run” shoplifting case and they now are facing burglary charges.  What happens to a guy who is waiting in the car when his buddies come running out, shouting “go, go, go!”
First [...]

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How to check to see if you have an arrest warrant in Orange County

November 3, 2010

Everything is online these days.
You can search online for arrest warrants through the Orange County Sheriff’s Department “eServices” website.
Arrest warrant check in Orange County
Note that this may not be 100% accurate, since it may not include all bench warrants that were recently issued or ones that have not yet hit the computer database.
And of course [...]

Criminal Procedure, Featured Tags: , , , Comments (0) Trackbacks (0)

Not read your rights by the police? What are the rules?

October 26, 2010

The police didn’t read my rights!
The thing people ask me about most often seems to be about being questioned by the police without their Miranda rights.  Things like “Were the police required to give them?”  “I told them I didn’t want to answer, but they kept going.” and “Can I get my case thrown out [...]

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Challenging sex offender registration - what can be done?

October 25, 2010

The punishment for sex offenses can be quite harsh.  The biggest consequence is the lifetime requirement to register as a sex offender under Penal Code section 290.  Recent case law has made some changes to that requirement, however.
Recently, I was asked whether an online police sting operation that didn’t involve a true “victim” would fall [...]

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What does it mean when the DA “rejects” a case?

October 12, 2010

Orange County Criminal Law - “Rejected” case?
When the police get done with their investigation, they package up their reports and submit them to the Orange County DA’s office.  From there, it gets assigned to one of the prosecutors for review.  Essentially, they have three choices:

They decide there’s enough evidence to file charges.
They decide there isn’t [...]

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