Does a warrantless blood draw on an unconscious DUI suspect violate the 4th Amendment? We’ve been waiting on the answer to this question since 2016 with People v. Arredondo, which the Cal Supremes have been holding onto. Well, the US Supremes made the decision on their June 27, 2019 decision Mitchell v. Wisconsin (139 S. Ct 2525). And the answer is no, most likely drawing blood from an unconscious DUI suspect does not violate the 4th Amendment...

How must an attorney advise a criminal Defendant about immigration? Or specifically in this case People v. Novoa* from 4/22/19, if a Defense Attorney just crossed out certain parts of a change of plea form and has no records of actually advising a Defendant about immigration consequences of the plea, is that ineffective assistance of counsel? Such that would allow the Defendant to withdraw his guilty plea? The facts in Novoa: Defendant pled...

The facts of Jones: During jury selection, the People used peremptory challenges to excuse 3 jurors who are African American. Defense made a Batson/Wheeler challenge that the Prosecutor was improperly striking jurors based on race. When a party makes a Batson/Wheeler challenge, the Court must step through this framework: Did the defendant must make out a prima facie case that there is an inference of a discriminatory purpose from the...

Well, it depends on the facts…but People v. Kidd gives more guidance (from the Court of Appeals of California, Fourth District, Division Two, certified for publication on June 12, 2019, 2019 Cal. App. LEXIS 527). Let’s start with the law about whether police coming up to you is a detention: “As long as a reasonable person would feel free to disregard the police and go about his or her business, the encounter is consensual and no reasonable...

If Jurors hang on a lesser included offense, must the Court require a verdict of acquittal on the greater charged crime(s)? The quick answer from this California Supreme Court People v. Aranda (filed April 4, 2019) decision is the Court must take the acquittal on the greater crime and then the Court may declare a mistrial to the lesser offenses. There’s a few rules and understandings that come out of Aranda. First, the Court confirms Stone v....