2011 February Archive

Probation is the suspension of the imposition or execution of a sentence and the conditional release of a defendant into the community under the supervision of the court and the probation department. As a result, the court may revoke or modify probation at any time before it expires if the person has violated his or her conditions of probation. An arrest warrant is likely to be issued without any notice, and a person may be arrested at any time and placed into custody.

Probation violation warrants are issued by the court for a variety of reasons, including failure to appear at a court appearance, failure to enroll in a required program or class, failure to complete a required program or class, arrest during the probationary period, or commission of a new crime. Once the court determines that a person has violated his or her probation, it may reinstate that person on probation, modify its terms, or revoke probation in its entirety. If probation is revoked on felony probation, the court may sentence an individual up to the maximum prison term specified by the offense. When probation is revoked on a misdemeanor case, the court may sentence an individual for up to a year in a county jail.

If you have been accused of probation violation, you will need an experienced criminal defense attorney to vigorously represent you. At Wallin & Klarich, we have helped people accused of probation violations for over 30 years. Call us today at (888) 764-2615 or visit us at our website at www.wklaw.com/areas-probation-violation. We will be there when you call.

In California, under Penal Codes section 288a it is a crime to commit an act of oral copulation with a person under 18 years of age. Oral copulation is any contact, no matter how slight, between the mouth of one person and the sexual organ or anus of another person. Penetration is not required to be convicted of this crime. When charged as a misdemeanor, it may be punishable up to one year in county jail. In most situations, however, such offense is prosecuted as a felony and may be punishable by imprisonment in state prison for up to 8 years.

A conviction of section 288a may also impose sex offender registration requirement pursuant to Penal Code Section 290. It is important to know, however, that mandatory sex offender registration of offenders whose only registerable sex offense was consensual oral copulation with a 16 or 17 year old minor under Penal Code section 288a(b)(1) is illegal. Nonetheless, the court, in its discretion, may still impose sex offender registration obligations upon an individual even when the offense of oral copulation with a 16 or 17 year old victim was consensual.

If you have been accused of oral copulation, you will need an experienced criminal defense attorney to vigorously represent you. At Wallin & Klarich, we have helped people accused of this crime for over 30 years. Call us today at (888) 764-2615 or visit us at our website at www.wklaw.com/oral-copulation-pc-288-a. We will be there when you call.

A three-judge panel of the 4^th 　District Court of Appeal concluded that the conviction and five year prison sentence of defendant Raymond Higgins must be reversed due to improper questions and prejudicial comments made by a San Diego Deputy District Attorney during trial.

The prosecutor alleged that Higgins, armed with two guns, broke into a home.　Higgins claimed that he was drunk and depressed when he entered the residence in May 2008.

According to the Daily Journal, Christopher M. Lawson, a San Diego Deputy District Attorney, unfairly undermined the defendant Raymond Higgins’ credibility and the integrity of his defense counsel and the defense expert. During cross-examination Lawson used improper claims that the defense psychiatrist and defense counsel had worked together on a prior rape trial and “attacked” the rape victim in that case. Lawson also commented on the suicide of Higgins’s sister and the death of a young individual living in Higgins’ home.　　

Justice Cynthia G. Aaron stated that Lawson’s “pervasive pattern of misconduct…rendered the trial fundamentally unfair” and that “due to the pervasive nature of the prosecutor’s improper comments and questions in this case, and the fact that it is clear from the record that the prosecutor was undeterred by the trial court’s repeated sustaining of objections to his improper questioned and argument, we conclude that a series of admonitions would not have served to cure the unfairness caused by the prosecutor’s conduct”

Higgins’ appellate lawyer said he was pleased for his client because it is likely that he will be eligible for release pending a new trial.

If you are appealing your conviction, you will need an experienced San Diego criminal appellate lawyer who will closely scrutinize the trial record for all appealable issues.　 At Wallin & Klarich, we have helped people win their appeals for 30 years.　. Call us today at (888) 764-2615 or visit us at our website at www.wklaw.com. We will be there when you call.