Articles Tagged with defense

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Chad Johnson, formerly known as Chad Ochocinco, is a wide receiver who played mostly for the Cincinnati Bengals since 2001. He signed with the Miami Dolphins on June 11 of this year, but was dropped following his arrest last month.

He and his wife Evelyn Lozada had a fight after she discovered a receipt detailing the purchase of condoms. What started out as an argument allegedly turned violent. Lozada told police that Johnson head-butted her during the altercation. Johnson was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor battery. The following day, Johnson was dropped from the Miami Dolphins as a result of the arrest.

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The Orange County register reports that a Laguna Niguel resident was arrested for drinking and having sex with her son’s underage friends since 2005. The woman, a 45-year old mother of three, is reportedly a “hockey mom” who allegedly met some of her son’s teammates during a sleepover at her home.

When interviewed by sheriff’s detectives, the woman first denied the allegations, but finally admitted to having sex with the older boy. She insists that she thought the older of the two boys was 18, like her son. He turned out to be 16. The woman’s Orange County criminal defense attorney insisted that she was going through a tumultuous divorce at the time, but that she wasn’t pursuing the boy. He also stated that the woman rebuffed the advances of the younger 13-year old.

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Most police stations around the country lag behind the times. Often, VHS recorders are used in patrol cars and carbon copy forms are still widely distributed. In fact, it was only last year that the San Francisco police department got email addresses.

Some progressive (and well-funded) police departments are getting some new toys to help fight crime. For example, portable fingerprint scanners that cost about $2500 each are being used in the field to identify suspects and bring up outstanding warrants for arrest on the spot.

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The Reverend Salvatore Cordileone was driving his mother home from a dinner with some of his friends when he was stopped at a DUI checkpoint in San Diego. Police administered a chemical test and he was “found to be over the California legal blood alcohol level,” Cordileone said. Police arrested Cordileone and booked him into the San Diego county jail on suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI).

The bishop posted $2500 bond, was released from jail, and is scheduled to appear in court on October 9. He made a public apology for his “error in judgment” and “feels shame for the disgrace I have brought upon the Church and myself.” He went on to say that “I will repay my debt to society.”

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The Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) was created by the California Legislature in 1965 and is maintained by the California Department of Justice (CDOJ). In an effort to protect the health and safety of children in the state, individuals against whom issues of child neglect or abuse were reported and found to be substantiated are included on the CACI. As of 2011, it contained names of about 850,000 people who were suspected of physical, sexual, metal or emotional abuse and/or neglect of a minor.

People on this list have not necessarily been convicted of a crime, but surprisingly, until 2012, even people who were the subjects of investigations with unsubstantiated findings were likewise included on this list as a possible child abuser.

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Angele Hardman allegedly walked into a Macy’s store and asked the clerk to try on a valuable, $4000 ring. When the ring seemed to get stuck on her finger, the clerk attempted to remove it with water and lotion. When the clerk’s back was turned, Hardman allegedly took off the ring and swallowed it. She then was reported to have presented the clerk with a fake copy of the same ring.

The clerk immediately noticed the discrepancy and called store security. Hardman was searched, but because the ring was not found among her belongings, she was released. After reviewing surveillance video, the store contacted police, and detectives arrived at her home for the purpose of investigating the incident.

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Police in Boulder, CO received a call about a man passed out in front of his car. When they investigated, medics were already tending to him, describing him as “drunk as crap.” The man was George Boedecker, the founder of Crocs footwear.

After telling police officers that he had pulled over to take a nap, he allegedly changed his story to say that his girlfriend was driving the vehicle. Since there was no woman present, officers questioned the identity of the female. Boedecker said she was a “really f—–g famous singer” and asked if they had ever heard of Taylor Swift.

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Miguel Alexander Vargas, 28, on trial in Orange County for the most severe form of domestic violence or spousal abuse charges for murdering his common-law wife, was recently tackled by courtroom deputies at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana after the judge denied a motion to allow him to represent himself.  He was then ordered removed from the courtroom by the presiding Orange County judge and yelled “I’m not f—— going!”

Vargas has already had two similar outbursts: earlier in the day, he was forcibly removed from court after ranting to the jury to the jury pool “this case is fake- the victim is still alive” and ignoring orders from the judge to remain quiet. In May, Vargas was subdued in the holding cell when he refused to cooperate, calling the judge a “f——– idiot.”

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If a female teacher has had sex with a former student when that student became an adult, should a jury know about it if she’s on trial for having sex with a minor student? Carlie Rose Attebury of Orange County, was recently found guilty of sex crimes involving a minor. During her trial, the prosecution introduced evidence that she had also had sex with three adult alumni of the school, shortly after they graduated.

Attebury, 32, was sentenced to 16 months in prison and forced to register as a sex offender. Her criminal defense attorney appealed the decision to the 4th District Court of Appeal. The justices ruled that the testimony by the three alumni was too prejudicial and should not have been told to the jury. They held that evidence suggested that she schemed or planned to have sex with minors, even though the students were legal adults. Because that suggestion was likely to have prejudiced the jury and may have contributed to her conviction, the appellate court overturned her convictions.

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You’ve seen the ads: A loud crash, an ambulance, a slick lawyer asking you to call him and promising that if he loses, you pay NOTHING! If he wins, the attorney collects a percentage (between a third and half) of the award. This is called a “contingency fee” and while all criminal defense attorneys would like to assure victories for their clients, the California State Bar prohibits criminal defense lawyers or criminal law attorneys from taking any criminal matter on a contingency basis.

Historically, contingency arrangements developed so that the poor could sue over damages to their person or property. Proponents argued that this type of system encouraged attorneys to work as hard as possible to win. Critics responded that only litigants with a good chance of winning would be able to obtain representation, unless the attorney was otherwise compensated.

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