Drug Crimes

If you have been charged with a drug crime you will need a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible.

Drug crimes include possession, possession with intent to distribute, possession with intent to sell, transportation, manufacturing, or cultivation.

There are many aspects to drugs crimes that an experienced attorney will be able look into, such as the search procedure that the officers conducted. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects individuals against unreasonable searches and seizures by police.

We will investigate your case to make sure that police didn’t act against the law or violate your constitutional rights. If we do find an illegal search and seizure was committed we will do everything we can to have your case thrown out.

If convicted of a drug crime and individual may face prison or jail time, rehabilitation, substance abuse treatments, community service, probation, or mandatory A.A. or N.A. meetings.

California law allows for dispositions that include options other than incarceration. By providing a structure that emphasizes substance abuse treatment and on-going supervision, drug courts aim to rehabilitate and reduce repeat offenses.

Visit Fightjail.com and call our offices to have a free consultation with our lawyers.

What happens when I get arrested and what should I do?

We pride ourselves with educating and counseling our clients in their time of need. There are a few important things you need to know:

1. Do not discuss your case with anyone other than your criminal defense lawyer. Not even your friends, family, members, or cellmates. What you say can be used against you.

2. Do not call or make any contact with any law enforcement agency, District Attorney, or City Attorney without first consulting with your Criminal Defense Attorney.

3. Immediately identify and locate any potential witnesses that may have any information that will help your criminal defense lawyer.

4. If contacted by any law enforcement investigation, immediately and politely refuse to answer any questions without your criminal defense lawyer present.

5. Never consent to any search or turn over anything to law enforcement without consulting with your criminal defense lawyer first.

6. Everything you tell your criminal defense lawyer is confidential and will not be used against you. Be truthful and communicate thoroughly with your criminal defense lawyer. When you are arrested, you are taken into custody. This means that you are not free to leave the scene. Even without being arrested, you can be detained or held for questioning for a short time if a police officer or other person believes you may be involved in a crime. For example, an officer may detain you if you are carrying a large box near a burglary site. You can also be detained by storekeepers if they suspect you have stolen something. Whether you are arrested or detained, you do not have to answer any questions except to give your name and address and show some identification if requested.

WHAT RIGHTS DO I HAVE?

Whether you are an adult citizen or non-citizen, you have certain rights if you are arrested.

Before the law enforcement officer questions you, he or she should tell you that:

You have the right to remain silent.

Anything you say may be used against you.

You have the right to have a lawyer present while you are questioned.

If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you.

These are your "Miranda Rights", guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. If you are not given these warnings, and you are in custody, your criminal defense attorney can ask that any statements you made to the police not be used against you in court. However, this does not necessarily mean that your case will be dismissed and does not apply if you volunteer information without being questioned by the police.

ONCE I AM TOLD MY RIGHTS, CAN I BE QUESTIONED?

You can be questioned, without a lawyer present, only if you voluntarily give up your rights and if you understand what you are giving up. If you agree to the questioning, then change your mind, questioning must stop as soon as you say that you want a defense lawyer. If the questioning continues after you request a lawyer and you continue to talk, your answers can be used against you if you testify to something different.

You may be required to give certain physical evidence. For example, if you are suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol you may be requested to take a test to measure the amount of alcohol in your system. If you refuse to take the test, your driver's license will be suspended and the refusal will be used against you in court.

Once you are booked, meaning your arrest is written into official police records and you are fingerprinted and photographed, you have a right to make and complete three toll-free, local telephone calls.

WHEN SHOULD I SEE A CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER?

If you are arrested for a crime, particularly a serious one, you should contact a criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible. He or she has a better sense of what you should and should not say to law enforcement officers in order to avoid being misinterpreted or misunderstood. The criminal defense attorney also can advise you, your family, and/or friends on the bail process.

WHO CAN ARREST ME?

All law enforcement officers - such as police officers, county sheriff officers, investigators in a district attorney's or an attorney general's offices and highway patrol officers - can arrest you whether they are on or off duty; in most cases. A probation or parole officer also can arrest you.
You can be arrested, even if the law enforcement officers do not have an arrest warrant, so long as they maintain probably cause or good reason to believe you committed a felony, such as armed robbery. (A felony is a crime, more serious in nature than a misdemeanor, usually punishable by imprisonment for more than one year.) They do not have to see you commit a felony in order to arrest you. They do, however, have to see you commit a misdemeanor in order to arrest you.

If you commit an infraction, instead of taking you into custody, they may ask to sign a citation or notice. This is a minor offense, such as a moving violation, where the punishment usually is a fine. If you sign the citation, you are not admitting guilt; you are only promising to appear in court. If you have no identification or refuse to sign, however, an officer may take you into custody.

CAN SOMEONE OTHER THAN A POLICE OFFICER ARREST ME?

Any person, such as a private security guard, can make a citizen's arrest if they see an individual attempt to, or actually commit a misdemeanor. (A misdemeanor is a criminal offense, usually punishable with a fine or short jail term.) A person can make a legal arrest for a felony as long as it actually was committed and he/she has good reason to believe that you are involved. This person must then take you to a police officer or judge who is authorized by law to take you into custody.

WHEN IS AN ARREST WARRANT USED?

Usually a warrant is required before you can be taken into custody from your home. You can however be arrested in your home even without a warrant, if fast action is needed to prevent you from escaping, destroying evidence, endangering someone's life or seriously damaging property.

The warrant must be signed by a magistrate or judge, who must have good reason to believe that you, whom the warrant specifically names, committed a crime. If your legal name is unknown, "John Doe" can be used on the warrant in addition to your physical description.

Once an arrest warrant is issued, any law enforcement officer in the state can arrest you, even if the officer does not have a copy of the warrant. Generally, there is no time limit on using a warrant to make an arrest.

Before entering your home, a law enforcement officer must knock, identify himself or herself, and state the name of the individual who is to be arrested. If you refuse to open the door, or if there is another good reason, the officer can break into the residence through a door or window.

If the police have an arrest warrant, you should be allowed to see it. If they do not actually have the warrant with them, you should be allowed to see it as soon as it is physically possible.

The police may search the area within your reach. If you are arrested outdoors, they may not search you home or car.

Resisting an arrest or detention is a crime. If you resist arrest, not only can you be charged with a misdemeanor or felony in addition to the crime for which you are being arrested, but an officer can furthermore use force to overcome your resistance and/or prevent your escape. An officer can even use deadly force if it appears you are capable of using force that can cause great bodily injury.

WHEN CAN I BE RELEASED?

If, during the questioning and before a charge is filed, the police are convinced that you have not committed a crime, they will give you a written release. Your arrest will then will be considered a detention and not recorded as an arrest.

WHAT IS BAIL AND HOW IS IT SET?

The amount of bail, money, or other security deposited with the court to ensure that you will appear, is set by a predetermined schedule for each county. Upon the receipt of a traffic citation, you may be notified that you can forfeit or give up bail instead of appearing in court. Bail forfeiture does not apply to misdemeanors or felonies. Forfeiting bail does not mean that the charges are dropped and usually works as a conviction for a traffic offense. However, if you have any doubt, it may be best to go to court in order to prevent the issuance of a bench warrant for failing to appear.

Officers at the jail may be able to accept bail. If you are unable to post or put up the bail, you will be held in custody. Depending upon where you are arrested, you may have the opportunity to request a bail reduction through a bail commissioner.

When you are taken to court for bail setting or release, the judge will take into consideration such things as the seriousness of the offense for which you are being charged, any prior failures to appear (even for traffic tickets), any prior convictions, and your connections to the community, in order to calculate the probability that you will appear in court. The amount of bail is set according to a written schedule based upon your specific criminal charges. The law presumes you are guilty of the charges for purposes of setting bail or release.
Instead of paying bail, you might be released on your own recognizance "O.R." (or "Supervised O.R."). Under these circumstances, you do not have to pay a bail amount because the judge believes you will show up for your scheduled court appearances.

WHO MAINTAINS ARREST RECORDS AND WHAT DO THEY INCLUDE?

Local Los Angeles police departments and the California State Department of Justice keep arrest records. According to the law, these records are confidential and can only be viewed by law enforcement officers. Records of your convictions however, can be released to certain licensing agencies who have a right by California state law to investigate your criminal background.
The arrest record includes information regarding when and why you were arrested, whether the charges against you were dropped or whether you were convicted of the charges, and the subsequent sentence imposed. Both pleading guilty and being found guilty after a trial count as convictions.

If you are convicted of committing a misdemeanor, placed on probation and stay out of trouble, you are able to have the conviction removed from your record for such purposes as employment background checks. If you are convicted of certain felonies and you successfully complete probation, you can have the felony reduced to a misdemeanor on your record. You must contact the probation officer in either instance to clear your record.

WHAT HAPPENS AT AN ARRAIGNMENT?

You have a right to be arraigned without unnecessary delay; usually within two court days of being arrested. At your arraignment, you will appear before a municipal (city region e.g. Los Angeles, Woodland Hills, Van Nuys or Burbank) or a justice court judge who will officially state the criminal charges against you. During this time, an attorney may be appointed to you if you cannot afford to retain one. Also, your bail may be raised, lowered or you can request to be released on O.R.

If you are charged with a misdemeanor, you may submit a guilty or not guilty plea at the arraignment. Upon the approval of the court, you can plead nolo contendere, meaning that you will not contest to the charges. Although legally this is the equivalent of a guilty plea, it cannot be used against you in a non-criminal case unless the charge can be punished as a felony.
Before pleading guilty to a first-time offense, such as drug use or possession in small amounts for personal use, you may want to find out if your county, such as Los Angeles county, has any drug diversion programs. If you are ordered into one of these programs, the court may refrain from fining you or sending you to jail and instead will order you to complete a specific amount of counseling, which may ultimately result in the dismissal of your original criminal charge.
If misdemeanor charges are not dropped at the arraignment, a trial will be held in municipal court. If you are being charged with a felony, however, and the charges are not dropped, the next step is a preliminary hearing.

WHAT HAPPENS AT A PRELIMINARY HEARING?

During the preliminary hearing, usually held within 10 court days of the arraignment, the district attorney's office will present evidence supporting a reasonable suspicion that you were involved in the commission of a felony, in order to convince the judge that you should be brought
to trial.

You may have a second arraignment. If the felony charges are not dropped at the preliminary hearing, you will be arraigned in superior court where your trial later will be held.
If you are charged with a crime and are unable to understand English, you have The right to have an interpreter present throughout the proceedings.

WHEN CAN AN OFFICER CONDUCT A SEARCH?

An officer may only conduct a search if he/she has obtained either your consent or a search warrant. You have the right, to see the warrant prior to the beginning of a search.

WHEN CAN AN OFFICER SEARCH YOU, YOUR HOME OR YOUR CAR WITHOUT A WARRANT?

Body Searches. If you are arrested, an officer can search you, without a warrant, for weapons, evidence, illegal or stolen goods. Strip searches should not be conducted for offenses that do not involve weapons, drugs or violence unless the police have reason to suspect that you are concealing a weapon or illegal goods. An officer must obtain authorization from the supervising officer on duty prior to conducting a strip search. If you are booked and jailed, you may undergo a full body search, including body cavities.

Home Searches. In emergencies, such as when an officer may be trying to prevent someone from destroying evidence, your home can be searched without your consent and without a warrant. If you are taken into custody while in your home, an officer can search without a warrant within the limited area surrounding the place from which you are arrested. Additional rooms, and even other parts of the same room are off limits, unless the officer believes that there may be suspects hiding within your residence. While searching your home, an officer can seize evidence associated with any type of criminal activity, such as stolen property or drugs, that is clearly in plain sight.

Car Searches. Your car and trunk can be searched without your consent or a warrant if an officer has good reason to believe that they may contain illegal or stolen goods or evidence. If the police stop your car for any legal reason, such as a broken tail light, they can seize any illegal goods that stand in plain sight.

If you, your home or your car are searched illegally, a judge may rule that any evidence found during the search cannot be used against you in court. However, If you or your criminal defense lawyer do not object to the use of this evidence prior to the beginning of your trial, the court may allow the evidence to be used. Even if the judge does decide that the evidence cannot be used against you, that does not always mean that your case will be dismissed.

The purpose of this section is to provide general information on the law, which is subject to change. If you have a specific legal problem, you may want to consult a criminal defense lawyer.

Drug induced DUIs

DUI cases don't always have to involve alcohol. If you are taking a drug that causes mental or physical impairment at the time of driving, you may be prosecuted for DUI.

It doesn't matter whether the drug is legal or illegal, prescribed or not. You can be convicted of driving under the influence of anything that impairs your ability to drive with the caution that a prudent driver would use.

There is no per se statute used in this case. Rather, prosecutors will move forward under Vehicle Code Section 23152 (a), which doesn't require a specific level of "intoxication".

A defense attorney, in many instances, can pick out weaknesses in the prosecution's case and pick apart the police's methods at the time of investigation and arrest.

Misdemeanors in LA county

Misdemeanors are punishable by a fine or a term in the county jail, or both. For most misdemeanors, that means up to six months in jail and up to $1,000.00 fine. Examples are petty theft, prostitution, and driving under the influence as a first offense.

For some misdemeanors, the maximum punishment is a year in county jail and a fine of $1,000.00. Examples of these are criminal threats, forgery, and driving under the influence as a second offense. For other misdemeanors, the maximum fine is greater than $1,000.00, such as battery ($2,000), domestic violence with injuries ($6,000) and vandalism ($50,000). Some misdemeanors include aminimum jail term, such as 48 hours for driving under the influence as a second offense, 15 days for domestic violence with injuries as a second offense, 45 days for prostitution as a second offense, and 90 days for brandishing a firearm. There is also sometimes a minimum fine, such as driving under the influence ($390).

Most misdemeanants, however, consent to be placed on summary or informal probation, with monitoring directly by the court. This means that the court suspends imposition of the statutory sentence and instead conditionally releases the defendant back into the community, upon specified conditions geared to rehabilitate and reform the defendant. During the term of probation, the judge requires the defendant to report back to court periodically, such as every ninety days for a progress report.

If the defendant completes all of the conditions of probation, then at the end of probation no statutory sentence will be imposed. If defendant fails to complete the conditions, then the judge may terminate probation and impose a sentence of jail and fine, up to the maximum allowed by law. If the defendant refuses the conditions of probation, then the judge also can sentence the defendant up to the maximum allowed by law.

General DUI punishment guide

First time offenders receive between three to five years of summary probation. This means that there are no probation officers to report to, but there must be absolutely no drinking and driving during this period.

Fines, including court-imposed penalty assessments can add up to between $1400 and $1800 on a first time offense. The defendant can usually pay over time depending on the judge.

Your drivers license will be suspended for six months, unless the DMV allows you to retain a restricted license that allows driving to and from work and school. If a DMV hearing is successful, this suspension might be lifted by the DMV. But the court will also not allow you to drive if you are convicted in the court case.

Depending on your Blood Alcohol Level, DUI classes may range from 12 to 45 hours.
The court is mandated to order 48 hours of jail time on a first time DUI, but this can be converted to Caltrans graffiti removal.

Second time offenders receive the same amount of summary probation as first time offenders.

But fines range from $1800 to $2800.

Your license will be suspended by the DMV for 2 years, but your lawyer can ask for a restricted license after one year of suspension.

You may also have to install an ignition interlock device.

DUI school will be mandated for 18 months.

For a second offense, 96 hours of jail time is required.

Third offenses bring forth even harsher penalties.

Summary probation for 3 to 5 years is a possibility, but so is formal probation. The latter requires reporting to a Probation Officer on a regular schedule.

Fines, again, range from $1800 to $2800.

The DMV may suspended your license for up to 3 years. The DMV may allow a restricted license.

There is 18 months of DUI school for a third offense.

Jail time is a required 120 days on a third offense. Some judges allow for this time to be converted to electronic monitoring or a live-in rehab program.

THIS MATERIAL IS ONLY INTENDED TO SERVE AS AN EDUCATION DEVICE. IT DOES NOT IMPLY OR ESTABLISH AN ATTORNY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP NOR DOES IT SERVE AS LEGAL ADVICE.

Supreme Court ruling on death penalty for child rape. (Courtesy of Reuters)

Supreme Court strikes down death penalty for child rape
By James Vicini 1 hour, 59 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court in a major capital punishment decision struck down on Wednesday the death penalty for child rape, its first decision in more than 30 years on whether a crime other than murder can be punished by execution.

The nation's highest court ruled by a 5-4 vote that the death penalty for the crime of raping a child violated the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Writing for the court majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy said the Constitution barred a state from imposing the death penalty for the rape of a child when the crime did not result, and was not intended to result, in the victim's death.

Kennedy concluded that capital punishment, based on current evolving standards, should be reserved for crimes that take the life of the victim.

The ruling was a victory for Patrick Kennedy, 43, of Louisiana, who challenged his death sentence after being convicted for raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter in 1998.

Of the more than 3,300 inmates on death row in America, Kennedy and another man convicted of child rape in Louisiana are the only ones who did not commit murder.

The Supreme Court last ruled on the death penalty and rape in 1977, when it outlawed executions in a case in which the victim was an adult woman. It declared the death penalty an excessive penalty for a rapist who does not take a human life.

That decision left open whether the death penalty can be imposed for child rape. The Louisiana law, adopted in 1995, allows the death penalty for those convicted of rape of a child under the age of 12. It was later amended to change the age to 13.

LAST EXECUTION FOR RAPE 44 YEARS AGO

Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas have similar laws. The last execution in the United States for rape occurred 44 years ago.

Kennedy, in the court's majority opinion, declared the Louisiana law to be unconstitutional. He said a national consensus exists against capital punishment for the crime of child rape.

Kennedy, a moderate conservative who often casts the decisive vote on the closely divided court, was joined by the court's liberals -- Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.

The court's conservatives -- Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, both appointed by President George W. Bush, and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas -- dissented.

Alito criticized the court's decision.

He said it means the death penalty would be barred "no matter how young the child, no matter how many times the child is raped, no matter how many children the perpetrator rapes, no matter how sadistic the crime, no matter how much physical or psychological trauma is inflicted, and no matter how heinous the perpetrator's prior criminal record may be."

Attorneys for the Louisiana man had said the death penalty for rape was allowed in only a handful of countries around the world.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund had said a historical consensus existed against the death penalty for rape in the United States, except for Southern states willing in the past to execute blacks, especially those convicted of raping white women and children.

The ruling was the second major capital punishment decision this year.

The court in April upheld the three-drug cocktail used in most U.S. executions, rejecting the argument the commonly used lethal injection method should be struck down for inflicting needless pain and suffering. The ruling ended a temporary moratorium on executions in place since late September.

(Editing by Deborah Charles and Jackie Frank)

Article in the Daily News regrading Glendale train disaster case.

Courtesy of the Los Angeles Daily News:

Jury asked to decide if Metrolink defendant is liar bent on mass killing or suicidal addict

By Troy Anderson, Staff Writer

Was Juan Manuel Alvarez a pathological liar intent on mass murder? Or was he just "damaged goods" with a drug addiction and suicidal tendencies?

During closing arguments in his murder trial Thursday, the two sides tried to sway a jury tasked with choosing how responsible Alvarez was for the 2005 Metrolink train crash near Glendale that killed 11 people and injured 180.

"He will say whatever sounds good at the moment," John Monaghan, the case's lead prosecutor, told the Los Angeles Superior Court jury. "That's what a pathological liar does. He was threatening to kill his wife, his brother-in-law and others. He was threatening to kill people, stab people and shoot people."

Defense attorney Thomas Kielty painted a far different picture, saying his client was mentally ill, addicted to methamphetamines and sought to kill himself by driving his SUV onto the tracks while distraught over his estrangement from his wife and children.

"I think we can all agree that Mr. Alvarez is damaged goods," Kielty said. "You have a kid who was sodomized at age 4, beaten over and over again and tried to commit suicide at age 7."
The closing arguments, which will continue Monday, came after several weeks of testimony. The jury could get the case as early as Monday afternoon.

Alvarez, 29, of Compton, a traditional Aztec dancer whom prosecutors claimed might have been carrying out a ritual of Aztec human sacrifice, is charged with 11 counts of murder and one count of arson and train wrecking, along with special-circumstance allegations of multiple murder and train wrecking. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

Testimony during trial

During the trial, his attorneys have attempted to demonstrate that he wanted to commit suicide, and the deaths and injuries of train passengers were an unintended consequence.

Alvarez testified that he poured gasoline over himself, took out a lighter, but then decided not to light himself on fire. He then drove onto the tracks in hopes of getting hit by the train. Once on the tracks, he decided not to commit suicide, but couldn't get his SUV off the tracks and tried to wave at the train to stop it.

In his closing argument, Monaghan said testimony given during the trial shows that Alvarez didn't pour the gasoline on himself, but on his SUV. People who came in close contact with Alvarez after the crash did not smell gasoline on his clothing, the prosecutor added.

Monaghan suggested that Alvarez, a welder, knew a 315-ton train hitting the SUV would create sparks, lighting the gasoline on fire, derailing the train and igniting a fiery crash.
"He knew exactly what he was doing when he went out there on those tracks," Monaghan said.
He also said experts testified that the parking brake on his SUV had been applied.
"That says a lot about his state of mind," he said. "He didn't want that Jeep going anywhere. I think you'll find that's a key in this case. He said he doused himself in gasoline to get out of murder and arson charges. `Oh, I was going to kill myself."'

Monaghan also noted that testimony was given that Alvarez had last used drugs a few days before the crash and wouldn't have been coming down at the time.

And while he was in jail, Monaghan said, Alvarez would act crazy when mental-health workers were nearby, banging his head and screaming.

But when they were gone, he would clean his cell and return to normal.
"This is all a big act," Monaghan said. "Mr. Alvarez knows how to turn it on and off."
Alvarez had a wife and two children at one point and was traveling and giving lectures at colleges and universities about Aztec dancing. But he used drugs, and his wife took out a restraining order against him, putting bars on their windows.

But in his closing argument, Kielty said Alvarez had no intention of killing anyone and could not have possibly foreseen that parking his SUV on the tracks would derail the train and kill and injure so many people.

Intent to kill self?

In the past several decades, Kielty said, testimony has been given at various trials that trains have crashed into vehicles 200,000 times in the nation and the only people who died were the 11 victims of the Glendale train derailment.

"To have arson, you have to have intent," Kielty said. "His only intent was to kill himself. His expectation was he would be smashed by the train, and he didn't think anyone else would be injured."

And if Alvarez truly intended to kill and injure people on the train, Kielty asked why a witness testified that he waited until the last minute to get out of the SUV before the train hit it.

"That's more consistent with trying to get the car off the tracks," Kielty said.
He also questioned why Alvarez didn't use his lighter to light the SUV on fire, rather than relying on sparks to ignite a fire.

"It doesn't make any sense he would use the car," Kielty said. "He had a lighter in the car."