Criminal "Wobbler" Charges in California Revisited

On October 12, 2013, Governor Jerry Brown vetoed SB 649, which would have given California criminal prosecutors the option to charge criminal possession of heroin or cocaine as misdemeanor, and classify such charges as "wobblers."  Brown believed the timing of this bill was premature, because SB 105, which requires his office to "examine California's criminal justice system" in detail, including sentencing issues and procedures, had already been passed.  

SB 105 also includes the Governor's plan to deal with prison overcrowding.

If you or someone you know is accused of a crime, arrested, or contacted by police, contact San Jose criminal defense attorney Maureen Baldwin at (408) 279-4450 to learn your options today! 

Being Falsely Accused of Criminal Charges in California, Part IV: Are Eyewitness Identifications Really Reliable?

Last time, we looked at how significant it is for a jury when someone identifies a criminal defendant as the perpetrator of a crime during trial.  But how reliable is that eyewitness identification?

Innocence Projects and universities across the country have conducted studies to illustrate how unreliable eyewitness identifications can be. Many studies show mistaken identity is a major cause of the wrongful conviction of innocent people.   Scientific research also supports this.  For over 10 years, the use of PCR DNA procedures has become accepted in all United States courts.

According to the Northern California Innocence Project, for example, "Eyewitness misidentification is the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions nationwide, playing a role in nearly 75% of convictions overturned through DNA testing."  In fact, psychologists such as Dr. Gary Wells, PhD, say that mistaken eyewitness identification has proved to be THE largest single factor contributing to the conviction of innocent people.  

Scientists and psychologists have warned against the dangers of allowing a criminal conviction based upon eyewitness identifications alone, unsupported by any other evidence. In November 2007, California even placed initiatives on the state election ballot to try to reform eyewitness identification procedures in jury trials. However, this ballot proposal was defeated.

If you or someone you know is accused of a crime, arrested, or contacted by police, contact San Jose criminal defense attorney Maureen Baldwin at (408) 279-4450 to learn your options today! 

Being Falsely Accused of Criminal Charges in California, Part III: Mistaken Identity

Anyone who has watched "Perry Mason," "Matlock," or "The Practice" has seen that crucial moment  during a criminal trial where the cunning prosecutor asks a witness the fateful question, 

"Do you see the person who shot Mr. X here in the courtroom?" 

The witness then ALWAYS points to the criminal defendant, saying. "He is sitting right there!" By the time the TV show ends, the skillful defense attorney inevitably proves that statement wrong, usually in an equally dramatic courtroom confession by the real killer. Of course, this seldom plays out like this in a real-life courtroom...

In reality, a jury will almost always consider the fact that the witness identifies the defendant as the person who committed a serious crime as the most important piece of evidence in the trial.       

A skilled defense attorney will try to undermine the witness's by showing how it's physically impossible for the defendant to be the correct person, or reveal other credibility issues that the witness has.   

A defense attorney may also use a psychologist as an expert witness to explain how people's minds can play tricks on them in times of unusual stress.  As a result, they believe they can identify a person that they did not even see at the time of the crime. Yet the eyewitness identification of the defendant as the person who committed the crime is a very difficult piece of evidence to overcome.

Take the case of Johnny Williams,  for example.  In 1998, a 9-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by someone who allegedly called himself "Johnny."  When someone in Williams' neighborhood heard the crime was done by someone named "Johnny," he or she assumed it was Williams, and told police.   During trial, the girl later identified him as the attacker. Williams ended up being convicted and spent 14 years in prison.

The Northern California Innocence Project later got the girls clothing retested.  Williams' DNA did not match what was found on the girl's clothing. In March 2013, Alameda County prosecutors determined Williams was not guilty.

If your Santa Clara County criminal case involves an erroneous eyewitness identification, get an attorney that can thoroughly investigate as soon as possible. A skilled attorney will be able to bring out the real facts and fight against mistaken eyewitness identification both in and outside the courtroom.

If you or someone you know is accused of a crime, arrested, or contacted by police, contact San Jose criminal defense attorney Maureen Baldwin at (408) 279-4450 to learn your options today! 

Being Falsely Accused of Criminal Charges in California, Part II: Jury Selection

As we saw last time, bias towards one side can potentially lead to the conviction of someone falsely accused of a crime.  Jury selection in a trial involving false accusations is therefore crucial.

A good defense attorney will look for potential jurors that can use their own experience and thoughts about the trial, who will truly do what the law requires—make the prosecution prove its case— and only look to the judge for guidance. 

This is especially important in a jury trial for the sort of crime that causes great anger in the mind of the average citizen, such as crimes of violence against children or the elderly, or any sort of sex crime. These types of criminal accusations make it particularly tough for criminal defense attorneys in Santa Clara County, because of aggressive prosecution by the District Attorney's Office.

A person facing false accusations that wants to exercise their constitutional right to a jury trial often has a difficult time finding a truly unbiased jury, wherever they go - whether in in Santa Clara County, in another California county, or, in fact, in most areas of the United States. 

A good criminal defense attorney fighting false accusations - whether in Santa Clara County or anywhere else - needs to thoroughly research and investigate the case.  He or she will need to:

• Get all of the police reports; 
• Make a complete witness list, based on what you tell them, and who is mentioned in the police reports and other documentation; 
• Get access to all physical evidence; and,
• Obtain enough funding to do their own investigation, and hire any necessary experts. 

The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office is the largest law firm in the county. It is extremely well-funded and has the support of all the police agencies in the county:

• The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office;
• The San Jose Police Department;
• The Palo Alto Police Department;
• The Sunnyvale Police Department;
• The Santa Clara Police Department;
• The Cupertino Police Department;
• The Campbell Police Department;
• The Los Gatos Police Department;
• The Morgan Hill Police Department; and,
• The Gilroy Police Department. 

The criminal defense attorney nevertheless has the advantage of knowing the details of your case more intimately than the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office will. With thorough investigation, and an experienced criminal defense lawyer, a person who has been falsely accused of a crime can obtain a fair trial, even in a pro-law enforcement county that prides itself as one of the safest large cities in the nation.

If you or someone you know is accused of a crime, arrested, or contacted by police, contact San Jose criminal defense attorney Maureen Baldwin at (408) 279-4450 to learn your options today! 

Being Falsely Accused of Criminal Charges in California, Part I: Potential Juror Bias

All California residents over 18 with U.S. citizenship are eligible for jury duty.

People who receive a summons for jury duty sometimes ignore it. Or, people may change their address – who are poor, homeless, or have big problems of their own – and not receive a jury summons. Sometimes, a jury summons is the least of their worries, such as being a single parent and holding down a job. 

But as disrupting as it may seem to our daily lives, it is a crucial part of the court process.  Unfortunately, the frustration that people feel could translate into a bias against one side or the other. 

\Another issue that can happen is that those citizens who do respond to their summons and ultimately end up on a jury are not always “in touch” with the problems of the people who end up on trial.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office is known for – and proud of – its reputation for being very aggressive in criminal prosecutions. After all, people do not want to live in a world full of crime. Most jurors view the DA prosecuting the case as the guardian of their safety.  Those same jurors tend to think of the defense attorney as a necessary evil at best. After all, it would be a bad member of society who thinks that people who steal, rape, and rob people are just fine and ought to go unpunished.

When placed in the setting of a jury trial, the average citizen tends to look to the prosecutor as the protector of their rights. This usually translates into a pro-prosecution bias, and makes it hard for someone who is falsely accused to get a fair trial.

Next time, we’ll look at the importance of jury selection for someone that has been falsely accused of a crime in Santa Clara County.

If you or someone you know is accused of a crime, arrested, or contacted by police, contact San Jose criminal defense attorney Maureen Baldwin at (408) 279-4450 to learn your options today! 

The Effect of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease on a DUI Arrest

When you are arrested for a DUI, California's "Implied Consent" law applies. Vehicle Code section 23612 says if you are lawfully arrested, you may be subject to either a blood test or a breath test for the officer to determine your blood alcohol content ("BAC") level.  The officer(s) will administer a breath test using a device called an "intoxilizer."  

Breath tests are based on a presumed blood/breath ratio, which could be affected by outside factors. For example, some people suffer from Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), a form of chronic heartburn. People with GERD cannot properly digest food, and often a lot of burping/belching occurs. This may cause a higher BAC result on the intoxylizer, because the machine can register gases coming up from the stomach in addition to the lung air it is designed to measure. 

If you have chronic heartburn, and an officer suspects you are driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, your true BAC level may be less than what the intoxylizer registers. A lawyer that prepares a  GERD DUI defense may involve both your doctor and an expert witness to explain your condition and its effects on your blood alcohol content to the jury.

If you or someone you know is accused of a crime, arrested, or contacted by police, contact San Jose criminal defense attorney Maureen Baldwin at (408) 279-4450 to learn your options today! 

Criminal "Wobbler" Charges in California, Part II

California legislators recently passed SB 649, which is now waiting for Governor Brown’s signature.  If signed into law, possession of almost all common illegal street drugs will become “wobblers,” which the prosecutor can charge as either alternative felonies or misdemeanors.  That also means that people who successfully complete probation can get felony drug convictions for personal use reduced to misdemeanors for record clearance purposes.

 It’s unclear whether SB 649 would apply to people who have been convicted of possession of a small amount of cocaine or heroin in the past.  If it does, those people would also be able to apply for reduction to misdemeanor.  Right now, it’s too soon to know whether the statute will be interpreted retroactively for persons already convicted, but I believe there is a valid argument for an equal protection under the law.

It seems logical that possession of very small amounts of all street drugs should be treated the same, and that is what SB649 proposes. Historically, any drug possession was a felony, assuming the drug was illegal, listed in the Drug Schedules in the Health and Safety Code.  Possession of marijuana was a felony before 1972.  Now marijuana possession of less than one ounce is an infraction, punishable by only a fine, while larger amounts not possessed for sale, and not concentrated cannabis or “hashish” are misdemeanors.  With a valid medical marijuana card, possession of marijuana is legal in California for medical use, and federal authorities are no longer prosecuting small amounts.  Most people believe that much of the United States will follow the lead of Washington and Colorado, legalizing possession of small amounts or marijuana for recreational use.

If you or someone you know is accused of a crime, arrested, or contacted by police, contact San Jose criminal defense attorney Maureen Baldwin at (408) 279-4450 to learn your options today!