Reputation.Resources.Results

According to an article published in the New York Times on September 30th, rampant misconduct on the part of the Orange County district attorney’s office has come under scrutiny by California judge, Thomas Goethals.

The cost of prisoner phone calls is not just high, but in some cases, outrageous. the Federal Communications Commission is finally poised to set a ceiling on inmate phone call charges.

In a notable recent decision on prosecutorial misconduct, United States v. Citali-Flores, 14-50027, 2015 WL 5569098 (9th Cir. Sept. 23, 2015), the Ninth Circuit held error, albeit harmless, where the prosecutor, in closing argument, misstated evidence.

In 1996, as part of America’s “War on Drugs,” Congress enacted a now-controversial measure, which strips both food stamps and welfare cash assistance (known as “Temporary Assistance to Needy Families” or “TANF”) from anyone convicted of any state or federal drug-related felony. See 21 U.S.C. § 862a (a).

In an important ruling, a unanimous Ninth Circuit panel in United States v. Rodriguez-Vega, No. 13-56415 (8-14-15), held that where deportation of an immigrant is a “virtual certainty” as a consequence of a guilty plea, the defense attorney has an affirmative duty to properly advise. It is not enough to say it is a “possibility” under those circumstances.

California’s Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill into law Tuesday that prohibits secretive grand juries from determining cases where law enforcement uses “excessive” or “deadly force.”

In a notable unanimous opinion Arizona Court of Appeals vacated a voter fraud conviction. State v Hannah. There, a Mohave County Arizona Grand Jury indicted Hannah for one count of illegal voting in violation of A.R.S. § 16-1061V(2) alleging that she “voted in the November 2, 2010 general election in both Mohave County Arizona and Adams County Colorado”.

Introduction Phoenix, the beating heart of the desert– integral to its anatomy is a special closed circulatory system of arterial freeways: the antecubital 101 connecting the fingers of North Scottsdale with the armpit of South Mesa; the femoral 202 linking the valley foot at Queen Creek with its crown at Cave Creek; the 303, pavement […]

In the last few months the United States Court of Appeals in San Fransisco has issued several decisions that are particularly helpful to us down here in Arizona. Today I want to talk about two of my favorites, which provide us with some fresh ammo in jury trials. Both involve specific issues which come up over and over in our DUI, domestic violence, and other criminal jury trials down here.

2014 was a year punctuated by populist and somewhat incendiary citizen outrage, justified or not, over police wielding of (what some see as unbridled) power, ignited by at least three nationally publicized deaths of unarmed young men of color, and their subsequent and expedient legal exonerations by Staten Island and St. Louis County Grand Juries. In short, in 2014, the police seemed to act with impunity and immunity. And the legal system seemed to protect them.