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Newly Enacted California Penal Code section 1385 allows a judge to dismiss all enhancements including prior DUIs.
Under California Bill SB 81, passed in 2022, the judges have a lot more power over the outcome of a criminal case. If you are arrested for a crime in Los Angeles, the prosecutor has complete discretion in filing a criminal case. Yet, once the case is filed, the prosecutor has no discretion to “unilaterally” dismiss the case. Because nolle prosequi is abolished in California, the prosecutor may not unilaterally abandon a prosecution (Pen. Code, § 1386); only the court may dismiss a criminal charge (id., § 1385, subd. (a)).”(Steen v. Appellate Division of Superior Court (2014) This means that the court can refuse to dismiss a case even if the prosecutor asks. A “‘district attorney can only recommend dismissal […]
Dismiss Your Case: Mental Health Diversion For Criminal Cases Los Angeles
California Law Allows Dismissal of Pending Criminal Cases in Several Situations. One of these situations is reserved for someone with mental health issues. That is, a person who has mental health issues can get his case dismissed. This is done through Mental Health Diversion which is found in California Penal Code 1001.36 Under California PC 1001.36 the court can divert many crimes as long as the defendant can establish the following criteria found in PC 1001.36(b)(1)): There are exceptions to mental health diversion. For example, California Vehicle Code 23640 specifically does not allow DUI diversions. The California Court of Appeals held that because of VC 23640, DUI can be not diverted even if all conditions of PC 1001.36 are met. […]
Do I Have To Go To Court for my DUI case in Los Angeles?
Rule of Thumb: Most of the time, in Los Angeles misdemeanor criminal cases, you do not have to go to court. However, usually, in California felony cases, you will be required to go to court. There are, however, some exceptions to these “rules of thumb” Fighting a criminal case in Los Angeles can be very time-consuming and some criminal cases last months or even years. It also may be best to delay your Los Angeles criminal case to investigate or get a better deal from the prosecutor or a judge. This delay can result in multiple court hearings that many defendants cannot attend because of health, work, or don’t want to attend just because they are not comfortable going to […]
Bad Police Conduct: Win Your Los Angeles Criminal Case
If you were arrested for a crime in Los Angeles, you may want to examine the personnel records of the police officer who arrested you based on California Evidence Code section 1043. To do so, you have to establish a “good cause”. Good cause can be established when the personnel records are “material” to your criminal case in Los Angeles and are based on “reasonable belief” that the personnel record will contain helpful information to the defense of your criminal case in Los Angeles. This request is done through a motion, which is a request for a judge to make an order. This motion is called, a “Pitchess Motion”, after a 1969 California criminal case, Pitchess v. Superior Court. When […]
Bails and Bonds – Criminal Cases Los Angeles
Overview Of The Bail System If you are arrested in Los Angeles, the police usually will set bail. Bail is an amount of money that an arrested person can give to the police to be released. If the arrested person does not have the money to post the bond, he will stay in jail until court, request to be released on a promise to appear or hire a bail bondsman. If you cannot post bail after you are arrested, you must be taken to see a judge within 48 hours. If you can afford to post a bond, the bond is posted and you are released with a notice to go to court in a few weeks. Once the criminal […]
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIM’S RIGHTS IN CALIFORNIA
OVERVIEW OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CRIMES California Domestic Violence crime is one of the most common crimes prosecuted in Los Angeles county. Depending on the city where the arrest took place and the level of injury, the Los Angles City Attorney or Los Angeles District Attorney will be prosecuting a Los Angeles Domestic Violence Arrest. Los Angeles District Attorney prosecutes Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s Arrest, most small city arrests, and all serious arrests with “felony” type of injury. Los Angeles City Attorney prosecutes misdemeanor-level LAPD arrests. Almost any arrest for Los Angeles Domestic Violence will be a felony arrest. That means that police will refuse to decide if the injury is minor and arrest for a misdemeanor. Because statutory bail for […]
Los Angeles Criminal Case: Dismiss Your Case by Withdrawing Your Guilty Plea
BASICS OF PLEA WITHDRAWAL This post deals with a guilty plea that is affecting your life. If you plead guilty and regret it, you can contact Los Angeles Criminal Defense attorneys in Los Angeles to evaluate your case. If your rights were violated, you can get a dismissal of your criminal case in Los Angeles. This criminal case dismissal is not an outright dismissal of your criminal case but a conditional dismissal of your criminal case. First, the guilty plea is reversed, then the prosecutor dismisses the case. After plea withdrawal the prosecutor has a right to continue prosecution, however, most do not and instead dismiss criminal cases. Many Los Angeles defendants who are looking for criminal defense attorneys to […]
Dismiss Your DUI or Dismiss Your Criminal Case (Misdemeanor Diversion)
Dismissal Under California Penal Code Section 1001.95 (Unfortunately – DUI Diversion is No Longer Available In California under the court of appeal decision) The law changes in California once again. Starting January 1, 2021, California Penal Code section 1001.95 will allow judges, over the prosecutor’s objection, to dismiss misdemeanor cases. This law seems to apply to DUI cases and a judge now can dismiss your DUI case. To do that, a judge has to be convinced that diversion is appropriate in your case. Also, you have to agree to continue your case for up to 24 months and do what the judge asks you to do. A judge might ask you to do an alcohol education program, visit a hospital […]
Defendant Friendly New Los Angeles District Attorney Policy
On December 7th, 2020 George Gascon was sworn-in as the District Attorney of Los Angeles County. Immediately upon swearing in, he instituted a major change in Los Angeles County District Attorney Policy. He issued 9 special directives each ordering his prosecutors to be much more lenient on the defendants. This is the most significant change in Los Angeles prosecutions in many years. The Directives are: These new guidelines will significantly reduce the number of criminal cases prosecuted in Los Angeles County. We are yet to see if this policy will result in a reduction in crime in the city. It should be noted that Los Angeles City and Los Angeles County are reducing the law enforcement budget by cutting millions […]
Physical Or Mental DMV Hearing
APS HEARING In California, a DMV has ultimate authority over driving and because of that, it can require a DMV hearing. One such DMV hearing comes after a DUI arrest. If a driver is arrested for a DUI in Los Angeles, the arresting officer will confiscate the driver’s license. However, the driver can request a hearing to get his license back. This hearing has to be requested within 10 days of arrest. If the driver refused a chemical test, the DMV will hold a “refusal” hearing. If the driver’s blood alcohol level was tested and it showed the presence of alcohol above .08%, the DMV will hold an “APS” hearing. PHYSICAL AND MENTAL STATE HEARING On the other hand, when […]