Posted by Christopher Martens | Feb 16, 2015 |
Sex crimes can run the gamut from innocent mistakes to violent attacks. Not all sex crimes are created equal but most convictions will come with a stipulation that you register as a sex offender. Under Megan's Law, your personal information as well as specifics about your charges must be public r...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Feb 12, 2015 |
Relationships are hard. People mistreat other people every day in so many ways but, in the eyes of the law, domestic violence is a serious and punishable offense. Domestic violence is harm or threats to harm someone you are in, or have been in, an intimate relationship with. The stereotypical sce...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Feb 10, 2015 |
Humans are all different and so conflict between people is normal and natural for society. We can all say or do things in the heat of the moment, even when we don't really intend on hurting the person. Unfortunately, stalking, cyberstalking and related crimes are very serious and have grave conse...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Feb 06, 2015 |
You've been summoned to court for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order hearing. You may be nervous and don't know how to best represent yourself. Court hearings can be mysterious to many. The papers you were served with are very important and you must follow the directions to respond closely. So...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Feb 04, 2015 |
There are many reasons why your drivers license can be suspended or revoked. Whatever the reason, not having a license can disrupt your life significantly. Driving with a suspended or revoked license is a misdemeanor under California Vehicle Code 14601. The penalties for this offense are serious;...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Jan 20, 2015 |
Sexual offenses can have contexts that escape the purview of the penal system, making the fairness and justness of a ruling subject to the uncertainty of hearsay. Under California state law you can still face criminal charges for rape even if you were wrongfully accused, if you can't prove your i...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Jan 16, 2015 |
Since passing the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, qualified patients in the State of California can possess, use, and cultivate medicinal marijuana for personal use. Medicinal marijuana is legal in nearly half of the states, California included. Under California Health and Safety Code 11362.7-1136...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Jan 14, 2015 |
Domestic violence is a serious accusation. It can have drastic social and legal ramifications. It is also an area of law where hearsay is taken very seriously. Spousal battery, a form of domestic violence, is a "willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon an intimate partner", according to...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Jan 12, 2015 |
Drinking and driving is a common, yet serious, offense. In California, driving with a BAC (blood alcohol content) higher than .08% is illegal, according to California Vehicle Code 23152-23229.1. However, blood alcohol content is not always a direct reflection of how impaired you were while drivin...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Jan 09, 2015 |
Despite an expanding legal market for recreational and medicinal marijuana, state and federal governments still have a tight hold on regulations and legislature regarding its possession, transportation, sale, and cultivation. California, where medicinal marijuana use is legal, is no exception. Ca...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Dec 11, 2014 |
Contrary to the misguided stereotype that most people have about California DUI defendants, most people arrested for major DUI crimes -- like violating California Vehicle Code Section 23152, hit and run, or assaulting a police officer -- do not take a cavalier attitude towards their charges. They...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Dec 09, 2014 |
As a professional accountant, you worked long and hard to obtain your CPA degree and other credentials, and you believe passionately in providing excellent service to your clients. However, you were in the wrong place at the wrong time, or you got in with the wrong people or somehow got unfairly ...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Dec 05, 2014 |
We've talked in the past about how aggressive DUI defense attorneys strive to turn over every stone to look for potential strategies to fight back against life altering DUI charges.
Whether you stand accused of a simple misdemeanor DUI, after failing a field sobriety test at a Fresno checkpoint, ...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Dec 03, 2014 |
Maybe police stopped you at a checkpoint and busted you for DUI, after you blew a 0.12 percent on your breath test (1.5 times the Golden State's legal limit, per California Vehicle Section 23152). Or maybe police arrested you after a fender-bender on a Fresno freeway for the crime of DUI with inj...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Dec 01, 2014 |
As someone who stands accused of a serious crime, such as California DUI, domestic violence or a drug crime, you understandably (and logically) fear potential punishments, such as REAL JAIL TIME, loss of your license, destruction of your personal reputation, massive fines and fees, and insurance ...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Nov 25, 2014 |
We've said it before; we'll say it again: California prosecutors do not take kindly to DUI recidivists -- people who commit DUI crimes more than one time.
Even first time offenders face jail time and other sundry punishments, which we've discussed at length in previous posts. But as you collect m...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Nov 24, 2014 |
When you think about the concept of "driving under the influence," you might conjure up images of someone pounding down one too many beers at a bar and hopping behind the wheel. Or you might imagine someone smoking a lot of marijuana or doing stimulants, like methamphetamine, and then driving the...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Nov 21, 2014 |
Getting stopped and arrested on a non-injury misdemeanor DUI count is awful enough – even this relatively minor DUI crime can lead to massive consequences ranging from the LOSS OF YOUR LICENSE to jail time to loss of your job to SKY ROCKETING INSURANCE PREMIUMS. But mistakes that you make in the ...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Nov 20, 2014 |
What's the truth about your recent DUI arrest? Had you really consumed enough alcohol to be over California's legal limit of 0.08% BAC? Or were you on the line? Did you actually fail your roadside field sobriety tests because you're been under the influence, or did police unfairly or inaccurately...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Nov 19, 2014 |
Getting stopped for driving under the influence (DUI) can be a nervy, anxiety-producing event. The fear has a basis in reality. A conviction for DUI can lead to JAIL TIME as well as to a license suspension, strict probation terms, forced alcohol education classes, legal fees, court fees, inflated...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Nov 12, 2014 |
Getting busted for DUI in California can be a humiliating, painful, and expensive experience.
Unfortunately, many defendants (and their families) get so confused and terrified by the arrest that they fail to take critical actions to investigate potential defenses. They miss out on obvious strateg...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Nov 10, 2014 |
Did police recently stop you for a DUI in Tulare, Fresno, or Kings County? If so, you probably have certain assumptions about what defense options might be available to you.
But odds are that you may not be thinking diversely or creatively enough, because you just don't know what sophisticated DU...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Nov 07, 2014 |
Does this describe you?
Police stopped you in Porterville or Tulare for DUI and tested you at the station using a breath or blood test. You clocked in at just over the legal limit -- around 0.09% BAC. That was still an illegal and unacceptable BAC level, as stipulated by California Vehicle Code S...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Nov 05, 2014 |
When and how do you have the right to refuse a PAS test for California DUI?
The answer depends on circumstances of your arrest. In some cases you do; in some cases, you don't. Why would you want to refuse the test? Let's say you believe that you were on the bubble of the legal limit; you might wa...
Posted by Christopher Martens | Nov 03, 2014 |
Racking up a DUI can lead to major punishments and massive inconveniences, including LOSS OF YOUR LICENSE, mandatory jail time, probation and forced installation of a device in your vehicle that prevents you from starting your car without blowing into a breathalyzer-like device first.
To stay out...