An appeal decided in May involves a 1980 rape and murder case in which detectives used DNA recovered from trash, other background investigation and investigative genealogy to identify a suspect. The defendant argued the search warrant was insufficient.
In a narrow ruling, the state Supreme Court unanimously determines that Government Code Section 821.6 does not provide law enforcement officers with absolute immunity, without a subsequent judicial proceeding.
In this Case Alert, we explore the significance of a new ruling in a rape case where the defendant moved the victim a short distance, and under what circumstances such movement is great enough to meet the bar to secure an aggravated kidnapping enhancement conviction.
In this Case Alert, we discuss an Arizona lawsuit that has resulted in an appeals court ruling that clarifies whether a police officer’s use of firearm and handcuffs in the detention of a person suspected of preparing to commit a dangerous felony is unconstitutional.
Court affirms the dismissal of a civil lawsuit filed after a young man was killed in Seattle during sometimes-violent protests that city officials allowed to continue. Ruling says a state-created danger must be specific to the plaintiff, not just general to the wider public.
A 2023 Second District Court of Appeals ruling allows online research to establish the value of stolen goods, setting a California precedent that helps determine whether theft cases should be considered misdemeanors or if they meet the financial threshold for a felony. Please click below to read the full alert.
Here we discuss temporary domestic violence restraining orders and a law enforcement officer’s legal obligations during a potential arrest when the subject hasn’t been served or if they don’t even know the order exists.
“Present Ability” to Commit Serious Bodily Injury is an Essential Element in the Crime of Assault - Despite Physical Limitations, the Defendant Had the “Present Ability” to Commit Assault
It remains a crime for convicted felons or own or possess firearms or ammunition, despite the “right to bear Arms” protections of the Second Amendment.
Conviction Reversed due to Insufficient Evidence the Defendant Saw or Heard Emergency Lights and Siren for the Purposes of Evading an Officer Causing Serious Bodily Injury (2800.3 V.C.)
