Tag Archives: sentencing

Prop. 36 Passes; Will Modify California Three Strikes Law (Sam Spital)

COMMENTARY BY CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY SAM SPITAL: “In Wednesday’s November 7, 2012 NBC Channel 7 news online, the result of the election regarding Proposition 36 was announced in which the California voters agreed the 1994 three strikes law should be modified. The measure changed the law that has allowed sentences for third time offenders even … Read More

Sex predator released from supervision (Sam Spital)

“On October 2, 2012, in a UT San Diego News article, a Defendant who pled guilty to and was convicted of child molestation in 1989 was reported to have been released from further custody after two psychological evaluations opined he was unlikely to engage in violent sexual criminal behavior. This followed a recent hearing in … Read More

Rapist who left victim naked on road gets prison (Sam Spital)

“On September 27, 2012, the UT San Diego News contained an article in which a defendant pled guilty and was sentenced to 16 years in State Prison for an August 2011 kidnapping and rape of a 21 year old woman, who testified in the Preliminary Hearing that he beat her with a flashlight and golf … Read More

Megan’s Law – Summary of California Law On Sex Offender

“The Medical Board of California on September 20, 2012, reported its investigation of a physician who practices OB-GYN in two neighboring communities in Los Angeles, the community of Northridge and Van Nuys, who was arrested on two felony counts of Sexual Penetration with a Foreign Object-Unconscious, a violation of California Penal Code section 289 (d).This … Read More

Hit-and-run killer gets more jail time for drugs (Sam Spital)

“Fox 5 News reported on September 12, 2012, a Defendant previously convicted and incarcerated for a felony hit and run killing was sentenced to more jail time. She was charged with and pled guilty to smuggling drugs into jail; she made phone calls to help another inmate get drug laced greeting cards into the jail; … Read More

Should California Cut Drug Possession Penalties to Cut Costs?

California lawmaker Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) has proposed a radical solution to overcrowding in the state’s many prisons and a corrections budget that has skyrocketed in recent years: cut the penalties for simple drug possession from a felony to a misdemeanor. Vocal Speakers on Both Sides of the Debate This move has some – like … Read More