Southern California Criminal Lawyer Blog

You may take aggressive actions towards another if you are defending another person. But just because you acted in defense of someone doesn’t mean that the state won’t bring criminal charges against you. These charges often come with severe penalties and potentially lengthy jail sentences. Therefore, we encourage you to speak with one of our…

Criminal Defense Attorneys More than one million residents have suspended driver’s licenses in California. In 2016, California passed a law that prohibited criminal and traffic courts from suspending a resident’s driver’s license for failure to pay fines. Since then, more than 400,000 residents have had their licenses restored. But there continue to be a litany…

Erratic driving, reckless driving, or speeding are all grounds for a California police officer to pull you over. Often, officers will suspect that you’re driving under the influence if they observe that your vehicle isn’t following standard traffic laws. However, there are plenty of reasons why you might violate laws, and they don’t have to…

The Justice Firm’s Criminal Defense Attorneys Can Help You Determine Whether To Take A Plea Bargain People who take a plea deal do so because it comes with a bargain. For example, a plea deal can result in: A sentence reduction, A charge reduction (such as felony to misdemeanor), The state dropping some charges, or…

There are very few crimes in California that carry such a high penalty as being charged with attempted murder. Individuals who assault another person with the intent to murder will be found guilty of this offense. These criminal charges are covered under PC 664/187(A) and require an excellent criminal defense attorney with in-depth experience dealing…

The Writ of Habeas Corpus protects prison inmates from false imprisonment to ensure people are not thrown into jail unlawfully. Today, it is a highly effective post-conviction tool that can be used by inmates to challenge their sentencing conditions. It isn’t uncommon for defendants to hire new attorneys post-conviction because appellate law requires a different…

Child sexual abuse is one of the most vicious and reprehensible crimes regardless of where you are in the world. It can refer to a range of sex crimes involving children such as sexual assault, forced physical contact, statutory rape, sexual abuse, and public lewdness. Under the California Penal Code, a person will have committed…

What is the difference between manslaughter and murder? Simply put, the act of killing another person with malice is murder and carries a very serious charge. On the other hand, manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a person(s) without malice or prior planning. The prosecution thoroughly reviews the specific circumstances surrounding a murder before deciding…

On December 15, 2021, the governor of California signed SB 81 into law to dismiss sentence enhancements in the interests of justice. This bill comes at the heel of widespread activism, drawing attention to the plight of convicts spending more time than necessary in jail or prison. Studies show that sentence enhancements for long sentences…

SB 775 is a bill signed into law on October 5, 2021, and reforms SB 1437 laws about the conviction of aiders and abettors for murder. Inmates with murder convictions under the previous laws could be charged with murder even though they had nothing to do with it. Bill 775 allows a defendant convicted of…