Criminal Defense Articles

The following criminal defense articles can be categorized into two general categories. First, they are summaries and critiques of recent reported criminal law decisions, which we think are significant or helpful to our clients who face similar legal issues or similar factual scenarios. For example, we summarize recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions that interpret the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure in the context of a blood test in a DUI.

In another series of articles, we summarize several recent California Appellate Court decisions that interpret Proposition 47 and its limitations. Such articles also cover a great deal of issues involves sex offenders and the duty to register as a sex offender under Penal Code § 290.

The reader who reads several of these articles on the same subject may notice that the law does change over time and there are differences between state court and federal court. This is particularly true in the areas of collecting DNA, life without the possibility of parole sentences for juveniles and the Fourth Amendment insofar as warrantless blood draws related to a DUI. The law does change.

Second, they are articles about general legal concepts and fundamental matters of court procedure or evidence, but not based on any recent reported decision. Such articles, for example, explain whether a prosecutor must dismiss a domestic violence case if the victim refuses to come to court. In another article, we explain what an arraignment is, as this is a common question our clients ask. We also explain the immigration consequences of various convictions.

After each article, we provide links to two or three other articles that pertain to the issues in the article.

It should be noted that our website also has a separate section labeled “Other Useful Information” with links to documents that our clients find helpful. These links include information about bail schedules, what to bring when reporting for Cal-Trans and a listing of approved SB38 programs, with phone numbers, for example. There are over twenty links to various programs and classes.

Our website also has a separate section with selected case results from cases our office has handled, organized by the type of case, i.e. DUI, domestic violence, vandalism and graffiti, sex offenses or driving offenses. The case results not intended to be a promise of future results. Rather, they are meant to give the client or his / her family a sense of what issues and facts can be determinative in a particular case. They are also demonstrative of how plea bargaining works and how judges influence case results.

Greg Hill wrote each of these articles below. We present these with one purpose: to make the client and/or the client’s family more comfortable with the criminal process and knowledgeable about what to expect, what is important and what an attorney can do to help a client.

The information is not meant to be specific, personalized legal advice. Instead, it is meant to educate the reader about how other courts have ruled and general concepts that are important to the reader.

The reader can also click here to a separate page with articles organized by the practice area (the type of offense), if the reader wishes to narrow the scope of his or her focus by the type of crime.