Articles Tagged with attorney

Published on:

by

Thiel-214x300
A former culinary arts school teacher, Nichole Noel Thiel, was accused by her former student of having sex with him when he was 16 years old at her condominium in Idaho for a period lasting over two years. Thiel was 46 years old when the incidents allegedly took place.

The teen said it all started when he came across the teacher crying and upset and he gave her a hug. He said that she kissed him on the cheek and later he claimed she picked him up from his father’s home to take him back to her Coeur d’Alene home to have sex. He wouldn’t report the incident to his school counselor until the following year.

Thiel maintained her innocence throughout the investigation and trial. Due to the time that had passed, investigators were not able to find any physical evidence of the crime, so prosecutors were forced to rely almost entirely upon the testimony of witnesses. Throughout the trial, Thiel relied upon the support of her friends, colleagues, and family. From others, opinions of Thiel were harsh. Allegations of adults having sex with minors creates a sense of disgust, hysteria, and drives a “guilty-until-proven-innocent” rush to judgement from many in the community. Simply being arrested for a crime is often enough to convince people of guilt. Throughout the trial, criminal defense attorney Michael G. Palmer fought for Thiel’s innocence and realized she was faced with a teen who said that the sex happened and the only way to be acquitted was to somehow prove it didn’t.

Continue reading →
Published on:

by

36-year-old Jessica Godoy Ramos has been accused of posing as an immigration attorney and representing several immigrants seeking legal citizenship status, charging thousands of dollars for services she never provided. Ramos allegedly assumed the identity of a New York lawyer with a similar name and stole her bar license number allowing her to work undetected for several years.

A criminal complaint against Ramos claims her clients believed she was a legitimate lawyer until many of them showed up for appointments at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that were never scheduled. Though Ramos filed immigration petitions in some cases, it is alleged that she performed no tasks for some of the clients she billed. In addition, she allegedly issued counterfeit immigration parole documents with which a client was able to enter the U.S.

In February Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) received information from the USCIS concerning five individuals represented by Ramos who tried to pick up green cards that did not exist, resulting in the decision to open an investigation.

Continue reading →
Published on:

by

A jailed inmate and his attorney are facing federal charges for a scheme to allegedly distribute drugs to an Anchorage Correctional Complex for sale between inmates, according to federal prosecutors.

Kit Lee Karjala, a 54 year-old attorney and her 33 year old client, Christopher Brandon Miller, an inmate at the ACC, are charged with distribution of, and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, drug conspiracy, and providing and possessing contraband in prison.

A statement made by the Alaska U.S. attorney’s office on Thursday said that Karjala and four other inmates allegedly started this smuggling ring during the second half of last year and continued “until the present”. Prosecutors claim that Karjala allegedly took advantage of her attorney-client visits to smuggle drugs to Miller, and also other inmates that were not her clients. Karjala would allegedly transfer the drugs while blocking the cameras and then the inmate would allegedly carry the drugs “inside his body” into the jail, according to the statement.

Continue reading →
Published on:

by

Моst реорlе hоре never to be charged with a criminal offense in their lifetime, but thousands of Orange County residents are so charged every year. Fоrtunаtеlу, оur јudісіаl brаnсh hаs а рrеsumрtіоn оf іnnосеnсе untіl рrоvеn guіltу, аnd thіs mеаns thаt аnуоnе сhаrgеd wіth а сrіmе, whеthеr іt bе DUІ оr mаnslаughtеr, hаs thе rіght tо а strоng dеfеnsе. Fоr thе bеst dеfеnsе, thоugh, іt’s nесеssаrу tо fіnd а gооd experienced criminal defense аttоrnеу. When choosing a criminal defense lawyer, be sure to look for the following:

  1. Еduсаtіоn: Тhеrе аrе оvеr 200 lаw sсhооls іn Аmеrіса аррrоvеd bу thе Аmеrісаn Ваr Аssосіаtіоn, but thеу’rе dеfіnіtеlу nоt аll еquаl. In California and Orange County even, there are countless unaccredited law schools. Іnquіrіng аbоut аn аttоrnеу’s еduсаtіоn іsn’t аn аffrоnt tо а lаwуеr. Staycie R. Sena went to Stanford Law School, which is uniformly considered the best law school in California and often ties in ranking for the best law school in the world.

Continue reading →

Published on:

by

WildfireAn Oregon woman recently pled guilty in Federal court to starting a massive fire on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. She allegedly told police that she tossed a lit firework out of a car window because her firefighter friends were bored and needed work. She told officials that she thought it would be a small fire that would take only a few days to put out.

The firework ignited brush alongside the road that quickly spread northwest. Two days later, she reportedly posted a message on Facebook: “Like my fire?”

Continue reading →

Published on:

by

Only one day after the deadly Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting that took the lives of 20 children and six teachers in Newtown, Connecticut, Marcos Gurrola allegedly took out a .40-caliber Glock handgun in a crowded Orange County mall parking lot and fired 54 rounds toward the Macy’s building. He stopped shooting and surrendered when two Newport Beach police officers on bicycles arrived. Gurrola was in possession of six magazines for his handgun, with even more in his car.

He was charged with 54 felony counts of firing a weapon at an inhabited dwelling, 2 counts of assault, plus two firearm enhancements. The reasons for Gurrola’s actions are inconclusive. He reportedly claimed that when he fired his gun, it made him feel better. Police said in 2012 that Gurrola told a detective he fired his gun because he was angry, but was not aiming at anybody.

Continue reading →

Published on:

by

With tax day coming tomorrow, it’s tempting to make a few tweaks to reduce the amount of tax you owe to the federal government. But allow yourself to get carried away and you may find yourself in federal prison on tax evasion charges. The former city of Bell chief administrator was convicted of allegedly falsifying losses on his taxes, but that’s only half the story.

As the city administrator, he reportedly misappropriated taxpayer funds to pay himself a salary far in excess of what he should have received, and then claimed more than $770,000 in non-existent losses to the IRS to inflate his take-home pay up to $1.18 million per year.

Continue reading →

Published on:

by

When a man applied for a job selling life insurance, his potential employer pointed out a blemish on his background check that indicated he had an outstanding tax lien. Without missing a beat, the man replied that it had been taken care of and he would send proof. Shortly thereafter, a faxed letter was sent to the company indicating that the tax lien’s “amounts in question have been satisfied completely.” It concluded with, “there are no outstanding fees or penalties due, and your record has been cleared of any restrictions or liens.” The letter was signed in the name of a US District Judge.

The company was suspicious and sent the letter to Alicemarie H. Stotler, the judge indicated on his letter. The judge reviewed the letter and saw her forged signature on it. Surprisingly, the judge knew the man, since she once sentenced him to prison for filing a false tax refund claim. She reported the crime and FBI agents who later confronted and arrested the man, who “was cooperative and made a full confession.”

Continue reading →

Published on:

by

Kerry Kennedy, daughter of late senator Robert F. Kennedy, was acquitted of charges of driving while intoxicated (similar to California’s DUI charges) earlier this morning in a New York courtroom. Jurors spent just over an hour deliberating the facts before delivering their verdict.

Kennedy was found collapsed over the steering wheel of her vehicle after swerving and sideswiping a tractor-trailer on a New York interstate highway back in July, 2012.

Continue reading →

Published on:

by

If there is one thing that being an Orange County criminal defense attorney has taught me it is that good people do bad things. And all people have reasons for doing what they do. When a loved one has come into contact with the criminal justice system, it is the role of his criminal defense attorney to make the prosecutor and/or judge understand why. Few actions can be accurately summarized by knee-jerk or one-word responses such as “greed,” “anger” or “lust.” Like the fictional Valjean in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables who stole a loaf of bread for his starving sister, many have motives that most would find sympathetic. It is the criminal defense lawyer’s job to find out what, in particular, was going on in a defendant’s life when an incident occurred.

Was he subject to unusual pressures?

Continue reading →

Contact Information
19200 Von Karman Ave, #600
Irvine, CA 92612
Phone: (949) 477-8088 Fax: (949) 477-8089

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2016 – 2024, Law Offices Of Staycie R. Sena
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design