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Posted in Domestic Violence FAQ'S on April 30, 2014
In California, there are several different types of domestic violence charges. Some, such as inflicting injury on a spouse, cohabitant, or fellow parent resulting in traumatic condition, require that there be SOME form of injury. Others, such as simple Battery against spouse, cohabitant, or fellow parent, do not require any type of injury of any…
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Posted in Domestic Violence FAQ'S on April 30, 2014
One of the most common misconceptions about criminal law is that a victim can “drop the charges.” Once a police report has been prepared, the decision as to whether or not formal charges are filed, and whether or not to drop them, lies in the hands of the prosecutor. Although the prosecutor is required by…
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Posted in General FAQ'S on April 30, 2014
No. A jury never hears about that anyway, if it comes down to it. But more important, is the fact that often times the police officer has already made up his mind about what happened and is just trying to get you to provide incriminating information. This could be an admission to the crime itself,…
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Posted in Domestic Violence FAQ'S on March 25, 2014
First and foremost, be polite. It is almost never in your interest to speak with law enforcement without talking to an attorney first, so politely inform them that you’re exercising your 5th amendment rights, and that you would like to speak with an attorney first. If you have questions regarding domestic violence, contact Attorney Graham…
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Posted in Domestic Violence FAQ'S on March 25, 2014
In California, prosecutors have the general attitude that their job is to intervene and provide help for people they believe are victims, even if those individuals don’t want to help themselves. Therefore, it is extremely common for prosecutors to issue subpoenas to a witness or victim and have them ordered to court to come testify…
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Posted in Domestic Violence FAQ'S on March 25, 2014
There are a number of different defenses to a domestic violence allegation. For instance, false allegations are very common in domestic situations where hot tempers intersect with intense emotions. False allegations can come out of anger, or jealousy, or can be used to gain an advantage in a pending divorce or custody battle. Sometimes they…
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Posted in Domestic Violence FAQ'S on March 25, 2014
What is the penalty for Domestic Violence in California? The potential penalty depends on a number of different factors. These variables include: the type of domestic violence charge, the seriousness of the facts and circumstances, prior criminal history, the existence/absence and severity of injuries, factors in mitigation, and, most importantly, how good of a job your…
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Posted in 3 STRIKES FAQ'S on February 10, 2013
California law defines a strike as either a “Serious” or “Violent” felony. Two laws specifically list all the offenses that would qualify as either “Serious” or “Violent”: Penal Code § 1192.7 and Penal Code § 667.5(c), respectively. As well, if, as a Juvenile, a person had a petition sustained (this is the juvenile term for…
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Posted in Preliminary Hearings FAQ'S on January 20, 2013
Generally speaking, preliminary hearing is not used to put on evidence for your defense even though you do have the right to present evidence. This is because typically the Judge will still hold you to answer to the charges, but now you’ve exposed your defense to the prosecutor and the police, who will then immediately…
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Posted in Preliminary Hearings FAQ'S on January 14, 2013
Unfortunately, no. In 1990, California voters passed Proposition 115, which created a number of massive changes in California criminal law and procedure. One of those changes allowed for pre-qualified officers to testify to hearsay at preliminary hearing. As a result, nowadays almost all preliminary hearings are done by having officers testify about what other witnesses…
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