California’s Employment Development Department, the state department in charge of issuing unemployment benefits, has been in the news a lot recently after reporting record fraud losses in 2020 due to looser restrictions on unemployment claims as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, of the $114 billion worth of unemployment benefits paid in 2020, […]
Prosecutors Can’t Compare a Defendant to a Homicidal Maniac
Prosecutors are limited by ethical and legal standards. But the problem with many ethical and legal standards (these included) is that the boundaries are not set in stone and vary on a case by case basis. This was most certainly the problem when prosecutors decided to compare an alleged bank robber to Jack Torrance of […]
The Unlawful Taking of a Bicycle: California Penal Code Section 499b (PC)
Under California law, simply borrowing an item without asking isn’t a crime in most cases as long as the “borrower” intends to return the property. But the state handles the taking modes of transportation quite a bit more seriously than other types of property, which is why joyriding crimes do not require the prosecutor to […]
If You Return Someone’s Property, Can You Avoid Criminal Charges?
As a child, everyone learns that borrowing without asking and borrowing without returning an item are both considered stealing the item from the owner. But from a legal perspective, things aren’t so clear cut. That’s because California’s theft laws require someone to intend to either permanently take an item or at least take it long […]
Lying About Having Coronavirus is a Crime in California
While we’ve already covered the fact that it’s a crime to knowingly expose someone to the coronavirus, it’s worth mentioning that doing the opposite can also get you in trouble with the law. That is, claiming to be infected with Covid-19 when you’re actually not can result in criminal charges depending on the situation. In […]
Determining the Value of Items in a Theft or Vandalism Case
In California, the severity of some crimes, particularly charges for theft and vandalism, are based on the value of property affected by the criminal act. In fact, if a theft involves property valued at over $950 it may be filed as a felony or misdemeanor, or if the property damage in a vandalism case is determined […]
Special Murder Circumstances that Can Result in the Death Penalty in CA
Have you ever wondered why some people get the death penalty for murder while others do not? The answer comes down to the specifics of the crime. That’s because in California, while capital punishment is still fully legal, it is only applicable in a handful of murder cases involving specific special circumstances detailed in California […]
Have You Been Accused of Armed Robbery in San Diego County?
In California, Robbery is defined as taking the property of another person through the use of force or threat. In many cases, this can involves the use of a firearm, and armed robbery can carry far more serious criminal penalties than a robbery committed without the use of a gun. Anyone accused of this very serious […]
Tampering With a Vehicle is a Crime in California
In California, it is illegal to tamper with another person’s vehicle, whether you mess with the car as a whole or just a part of the vehicle or the contents. The good news is that in many cases, this is a reduced charge used in some vehicle burglary cases and carries a much lighter sentence. […]
Vista and San Diego Health Care Fraud Lawyer
Healthcare fraud is a serious problem in America, which has been estimated to cost taxpayers at least $60 billion a year. All participants in the medical industry can be charged with fraud, including individual patients, doctors, pharmacists and nurses or entire hospitals, physician’s offices, pharmacies and urgent care clinics. Unfortunately, some of these cases come […]
