Articles Posted in Orange County

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Orange County may soon create a registry-style website for dangerous dogs. If the measure is approved by the Orange County board of supervisors there would be a few new definitions for “dangerous” or vicious” in regards to your pet.  What are the ripple effects?  You can expect higher home insurance premiums in some areas, home prices potentially affected, and less foot traffic in certain areas to business.  The recent proposal for a website that shows you the location of these dangerous animals is most likely in response to recent attacks in other counties in Southern California that resulted in bodily injury and in one Antelope Valley case death.

What does this mean for criminal law? If you have a vicious or dangerous dog and this website comes into existence, your neighborhood, depending on volume of “dangerous” or “vicious” dogs, could become a target by law enforcement.  A person having mere custody of such a dog may make them liable regardless of ownership.  If you have a guard dog or a breed that is prone to aggressiveness, you may want to consider that a photo of the dog and your address will be published to the public at large. Vigilantes have been known to occasionally target sex offenders based on the published sex offender registry, so the safety of your dog, your home, and potentially even you and your family could be at risk if the information is published in a similar dangerous dog registry.

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We knew it wouldn’t be long until there would be a tie-in between drinking and dieting. For those of you watching your waistlines, you may want to be extra responsible when thinking about driving, especially if you are inclined to choose a sugar-free mixed drink.

The results are in: a recent study conducted by a cognitive psychologist at Northern Kentucky University shows that if you drink with a sugar-free mixer, your blood alcohol content (BAC) will actually be higher than if you consumed the same amount of alcohol with a sugar-sweetened mixer. We presume that the sweeter the drink, the greater the effect. Margaritas, which are heavily sweetened, can pack a much greater punch when consumed with a sugar-free mix.

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Imagine you’re in court, charged with a crime, telling a judge the facts surrounding your case that show your innocence. Now imagine a police officer taking the stand and contradicting everything you’ve just said. Who is the judge going to believe? Who would a jury believe? Overwhelmingly, in a battle of credibility, a cop is going to win most of the time.

Cops are sworn to serve and protect their communities, right? They dress sharp, they’re well-groomed, wear a shiny badge and appear completely trustworthy. On the witness stand, they are relaxed, confident, and nearly anyone is going to believe what they say.

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Being arrested is not only embarrassing, but it can also endanger your employment, licensing, marriage, and reputation. And although you are technically “innocent until proven guilty,” society at large often doesn’t see it that way. Even though they don’t know all of the facts surrounding your case, if you were arrested, you were probably doing something you shouldn’t have been, right?

Not always. Arrests happen all the time, and not always with probable cause. In the case of DUI, field sobriety tests are designed to make you fail, even when sober. In a domestic violence call, an officer will make an arrest for even minor physical contacts, or when one party simply admits that some kind of physical contact occurred during their argument. People can be arrested for an assault and/or battery in self-defense, and mistaken identity occurs a lot more frequently than you would imagine.

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Natalie Wood 1963During the night of November 29, 1981, Natalie Wood, her husband Robert Wagner, and friend Christopher Walken were on a yacht anchored off Santa Catalina Island near Orange County, CA. At some point during the night, she ended up in the water without a life jacket and her body was recovered several hours later. At the time, the Coroner reported the cause of death was accidental drowning.

Thirty years later, the case was reopened after new sources came forward with additional information. For example, the boat’s skipper claims to have heard a loud argument coming from Wood’s cabin on the yacht hours before she went missing. In addition, bruises on her knees, wrists, and ankles that were overlooked in the original coroner’s report could be consistent with injuries sustained from an assault. Further, those injuries likely occurred prior to her falling in the water, according to the report.

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Police were contacted in February, 2011 about a foul animal odor coming from a house on their street. Officers arrived to the overpowering smell of urine and feces. Besides the floor and other surfaces soaked with cat urine and droppings, the house was infested with both fleas and flies.

The officers entered the home wearing masks, but had to leave upon feeling ill and returned with full hazmat body suits and respirators. They found two children in the home, one who used a couch as a bed, with at least one child having scratches on her arms and legs. Two adults had cat feces on their feet as a result of walking barefoot in the home.

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Let’s face it: If you don’t want to get pulled over by a police officer, you shouldn’t give him the finger as you’re driving by. But in case you do, he’s no longer allowed to pull you over and arrest you for that reason alone.

John Swartz was pulled over and arrested in May, 2006 when he allegedly flipped off a police officer who was using a radar gun to check the speed of passing vehicles. The officer claimed that he “thought there may have been a problem in the car” and “wanted to assure the safety of the passengers.” Swartz was later charged with the misdemeanor crime of disorderly conduct, which was later dismissed.

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The number of inmates in Orange County jails has increased in recent years, and so has the average length of time that these inmates remain incarcerated. This has resulted in a larger number of inmates requesting medical attention in recent years. The types of medical care authorities must provide to inmates (such as kidney dialysis) are also growing. To counter this trend, sheriff’s officials will begin charging inmates next year a medical “co-pay” of $3 per visit to the nurse.

Officials at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department maintain that the fee is not meant to be a punishment. Their argument is that while some inmates may be truly sick and need to see a nurse, others may take advantage of the medical facilities to meet with friends, exchange information, or simply to get out of their cell for a while.

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Who doesn’t remember the Rodney King video? George Holliday, the man who recorded the video from his apartment balcony in 1991, contacted the police station about his video, but was (conveniently?) ignored. He then sent the video to a TV station that aired it in its entirety and the rest is history.

With the advent of smartphones, we can all now record others with just the touch of a button. We can upload our videos directly to Facebook, Twitter, or even YouTube instantly, where the content can quickly spread to thousands, if not millions.

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The California Department of Justice maintains a list of all criminal convictions on your record. This list is known as your Rap sheet. These convictions remain on this list for your lifetime. If you are having difficulty finding employment or obtaining professional licenses because of your criminal history, get a copy of your Rap sheet.

The process involves: Continue reading →

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