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Supreme Court rules California prison overcrowding violates Constitution
Overcrowding has been a large problem in California's prison system. In fact, lawsuits tracing back to 1990 challenging overcrowding issues led a district court to order the state to reduce its prison population. California took the matter to the highest court in the land. A Santa Cruz criminal defense attorney knows that individuals charged with crimes in the state have the constitutional right to challenge the state's case at trial. However, people convicted of crimes who are placed in the state's prison system also retain certain constitutional rights.
Monday the United States Supreme Court agreed that California's overcrowded prisons are a matter of constitutional importance. The Court handed down a five-to-four ruling that concludes the state has failed to correct "serious constitutional violations" in the prison system related to overcrowding.
The state prison system was designed to hold a maximum capacity of roughly 80,000 people when the federal litigation began in 1990. Two separate class-action lawsuits were filed over more than a decade in an effort to correct the constitutional flaws in the prison system. Populations in the state's prison grew to more than double the intended capacity of the system.
Former California police officer charged with perjury, falsifying reports
Prosecutors in Sacramento have filed 34 felony charges against a former Sacramento Police Officer for allegedly lying on police reports, in criminal court hearings and on driver's license suspension forms in DUI cases. In September, the District Attorney's Office dismissed 79 criminal cases in Sacramento County due to the false allegations of the police officer came to light. The current criminal charges filed against the former officer stem from 24 of the dismissed cases.
The majority of the dismissed cases involved charges brought against Californians for allegations of driving under the influence. In January 2010, the officer was placed on administrative leave after he was accused of brandishing a weapon while he was off duty. During the administrative leave, an attorney reviewed videotape of a DUI traffic stop that had been captured on the officer's squad car video camera. The footage reportedly showed different facts than those written in the officer's police report.
U.S. Supreme Court sides with police in warrantless search
The high court ruled Monday in an 8 to 1 decision that the police acted lawfully under exigent circumstances. The case arose in 2005 after law enforcement conducted an undercover sting operation. A person allegedly sold crack cocaine to a police informant. The suspect reportedly entered an apartment building after the alleged sale.
Police entered the building, but were unable to determine which apartment the suspect entered. They combed the halls of the apartment building until they say they smelled the odor of marijuana coming from one of the unit.
Police pounded on the door and announced their presence loudly. They then listened at the door. Police claim they heard people moving inside the locked apartment. The police announced their intent to enter the apartment and broke down the door.
Police found a different man inside the apartment than the man allegedly involved in the sale of crack cocaine outside. Police say the man they found was smoking marijuana inside the apartment. Police also found cocaine and placed the man under arrest. He later was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
California Highway Patrol creates DUI warrant task force
The California Highway Patrol is seeking to beef up its enforcement in California DUI cases. The law enforcement agency has received a federal grant that it intends to use to reduce a backlog in outstanding California DUI cases. While checkpoints and other enforcement efforts can be expected to continue, the new initiative is focusing on cases that have already been charged. In a given year, California law enforcement agencies and prosecutors charge thousands of people with DUI. The CHP says that in 2009, more than 210,000 people were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in California.
The CHP recently announced the creation of a task force formed for the purpose of serving DUI warrants across the state. Currently the CHP says 330,000 misdemeanor and felony DUI arrest warrants remain outstanding.
The CHP received a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the national Highway Traffic Safety Administration and is using the grant in an effort to reduce the backlog of outstanding DUI arrest warrants in the state. The task force is expected to be serving warrants statewide. The task force will use service teams to conduct sweeps to serve the warrants.
Some drug charges dropped against Chico man, but they might be re-filed
A 62-year-old Chico man was arrested in October 2010 after a traffic stop near Tahoma, California. Police claim they discovered 103 pounds of processed pot in the man's vehicle during the traffic stop. The man reportedly was en route to a South Lake Tahoe pot cooperative. The man argued that he was in full compliance with California's medical marijuana laws at the time of the October arrest.
Before any ruling was made in the court proceedings in El Dorado County, prosecutors reportedly dropped the charges against the accused, but that may not be for long. Officials claim the man was involved in a pot growing operation in Butte County. The El Dorado marijuana charges reportedly were dropped pending the outcome of separate charges in Butte County.
After the original arrest, El Dorado County officials say they served a search warrant at the man's residence near Chico. Law enforcement claims they seized 295 pounds of marijuana and 62 plants during the search.
A California DUI conviction may carry collateral consequences
DUI charges in California can bring direct consequences under California sentencing if an individual is convicted of a DUI charge. An experienced Santa Cruz DUI attorney knows that conviction for DUI can have other "collateral" consequences, beyond what the judge imposes at the time of sentencing.
So far this year, six Major League Baseball players have been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol across the country. Pat Courtney, a spokesman for Major League Baseball says the topic of discipline for ballplayers who are convicted of DUI will be "a topic of negotiations this time around" when the league and players union sit down to hash out the next collective bargaining agreement.
The current agreement expires in December. There is no provision in the agreement related to off-field matters. The number of ballplayers charged with DUI this year has caught the eye of the league.
The most recent arrest occurred Tuesday. Shin-Soo Choo of the Indians was charged with DUI after police say chemical tests indicated the man's blood alcohol level was more the twice the legal limit. In February, Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera was arrested during spring training. Police claim the ball player drank from a bottle of scotch in their presence during the alleged DUI investigation.
Victims of California burglary face drug charges
The two women pled not guilty to cultivation of marijuana, maintaining a house for the sale of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale and theft of electricity. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 13. The women are being held on $100,000 bail.
Neighbors reportedly believed the home where the two women live was being burglarized. A neighbor called police to report the suspected burglary. Police arrived and say they could see the marijuana plants through the broken front door. Police say that nobody appeared to be home at the time they arrived.
Police obtained a search warrant. In executing the warrant, law enforcement claims they seized 800 marijuana plants and $3,000 in cash at the home. Police also claim to have found an electrical bypass in the home that they say allowed the women to tap into a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. power line.
Neighbors also gave police a description of a vehicle allegedly associated with the burglary. Law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of a BMW that reportedly matched the description of the car. A 38-year-old and a 34-year-old were arrested after the traffic stop.
80 Californians arrested in suspected gang related crimes
State and federal law enforcement agents swarmed neighborhoods on Los Angeles yesterday arresting as many as 80 people. Law enforcement says the operation was the culmination of more than two years of investigations. Sixty six Californians were arrested on suspicion of California weapons and drug charges. Federal authorities took an additional 14 Californians into custody, reportedly under federal indictments.
Law enforcement says the previous investigation included the use of undercover agents who allegedly purchased as many as 90 firearms. Undercover agents reportedly also bought drugs during the investigation. Police say agents bought roughly 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, 2 kilograms of crack, 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, 2 kilograms of heroin and 26 pounds of marijuana during the investigation.
Police allege that the focus of the investigation was on alleged California gang members and their associates. Law enforcement says they were particularly focusing on Rancho San Pedro, a gang that currently has 600 members and 400 associates.
Man with tattoo convicted of murder now faces California drug charges
The original investigation centered on a 2004 shooting outside a Pico Rivera liquor store. A homicide officer reportedly was reviewing photographs of tattoos of suspected gang members when he saw a familiar depiction on the chest of the 25-year-old. The investigator says the tattoo depicted a scene similar to that involved in the 2004 liquor store shooting.
Police arrested the man on a minor charge in 2008. While the tattooed man was being held in jail on the minor charge, police say they used a jailhouse decoy to get a confession to murder from the young man.
While he was being held on the murder charge, law enforcement claims the man called his mother on two separate two occasions. The calls in the jail are monitored. Prosecutors say the phone calls include evidence of a drug conspiracy. Prosecutors claim that the man conspired with his mother and three other people to smuggle narcotics into the jail system.
The man was scheduled for a court hearing related to the murder charge on June 10, 2010. Police say he used a cell phone from the courthouse lockup to call his brother, inquiring when a friend was going to turn himself in to begin serving a sentence on a separate conviction.
Breathalyzers in Ventura County found unreliable
Hundreds of DUI cases have been called into question in Ventura County after months of faulty readings were discovered. Deputies are required to conduct tests to confirm the accuracy of a reading. Law enforcement first noticed a faulty reading in January. As many as eight devices have shown to provide erratic readings. The breathalyzers remained in use until last week.
The breathalyzers in question were purchased in December. Last week, the county pulled all 128 devices from service. The discovery of inaccurate readings may impact a large number of DUI cases including a number of California DUI convictions in the county. The manufacturer of the Alco-Sensor V breathalyzers reportedly has acknowledged the defect in the devices and claims the problem will be fixed.
Roadside breathalyzer readings taken with the devices have no evidentiary value in court. However, some individuals arrested for DUI may have decided to plead guilty based upon the faulty breathalyzer results. The county elected to begin using the device to obtain an instant reading of breath alcohol content in suspected DUI cases.
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