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Category: Misdemeanor

Take your kid to (not into the enclosure) the zoo day!

Posted on by Ross Erlich

Many of you have probably heard about the father who took his two-year-old daughter into the elephant enclosure at the San Diego Zoo for a photo opp.  From the video that’s been posted online, you can see the elephant start to approach the two and, when the father is attempting to get out, seems to drop the child and scoop her up just moments before the elephant gets to them.

Turns out that wasn’t the smartest move, for many reasons.  Setting aside the potential for small child/elephant mishaps, the man was promptly arrested for child endangerment and booked on $100,000 bond at the San Diego County jail.  Wonder if he got his picture?

Now, you might ask yourself, seems like a “relatively” minor crime, no?  No one got hurt, there was no ill-intent, no property was damaged or destroyed, shouldn’t this just be a simple issue to resolve?  As many things in the law are, it turns out the answer to that question is “it’s not so simple.”

California punishes “child abuse” and “child endangerment” and “child neglect.”  For purposes of our zoogoer, we’ll be talking about “child endangerment” which is codified in Penal Code 273(a).  Paraphrased for all you non-lawyers out there, that code makes it illegal for someone to willfully exposing a child to unjustifiable pain, suffering or danger, or by subjecting that child to an unreasonable risk of harm, even if the child never actually suffers any harm.  If the conditions are likely to produce great bodily injury or death, that charge is a felony, punishable by up to 2-4-6 years in state prison.  If the conditions are such that there is not likely to be great bodily injury or death, that is a misdemeanor, punishable by no more than 1 year in county jail.

Some examples of how this crime is charged in California include getting arrested for DUI with your child in the car, leaving a child inside a hot car without ventilation, leaving a dangerous weapon where a child can easily access it, failing to get medical treatment for a sick child, and the list goes on.  Chances are, if you have to think about whether the conduct would be considered illegal, it likely will be construed that way.

There are also some additional penalties unique to a conviction for child endangerment that the court has under its discretion.  If probation is granted by the court, the mandatory minimum time of probation (usually 36 months) is increased to 48 months.  There will be a criminal court protective order against the person conviction to protect the victim against any further violence or threats.  The person convicted will have to take, and complete, a 52-week child abuser treatment counseling program and, if any substances or alcohol was used in connection with the incident, the court can order the person convicted to abstain from drugs and/or alcohol and be subject to random testing by the probation department.  These additional penalties are all within the court’s discretion in such that an effective Los Angeles criminal defense attorney can argue and present facts which can prevent these obligations in furtherance of justice.

You might also be thinking, “wait, I never meant for this to happen, why am I being charged with this”?  Well, maybe you shouldn’t be.  Defenses to this conduct include non-intentional “endangerment” conduct, the person was legally disciplining their child, the whole act was a false accusation, someone other than the person being charged was responsible for the child at the time.

This brings us back to our zoogoer.  I would say that most of the general public, and for sure the district attorney’s office who is responsible for enforcing laws and public safety, would argue that taking your child into the elephant enclosure constitutes a situation that could willfully expose that child to unjustifiable pain, suffering or danger, whether or not the child actually suffers.

If you find yourself on the wrong end of an arrest or call from a police officer or detective, it is important to be aware of what you say to them and, hopefully, you don’t say anything until you’ve spoken to your attorney.  Contact Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Ross Erlich today to discuss your case, for free, and see what options you have so you don’t end up in the cage.

Vandalism – more than meets the eye

Posted on by admin

California Penal Code section 594 is the statute the defines what vandalism is.  That section states that “every person who maliciously commits any of the following acts with respect to any real or personal property not his or her own, is guilty of vandalism.”  Those acts are 1) graffiti, 2) damaging, or 3) destroying.  In short, if you damage, destroy or cover with graffiti any property that is not yours, that is vandalism.  Thus, it’s not just those young kids spraying graffiti on the walls, it’s items broken during a fight, breaking things in a store, crashing a stolen car, etc.

But, this definition requires that you have malicious or unlawful intent with regards to the damage.  Thus, if you accidentally damaged or defaced someone’s property, you wouldn’t be guilty of vandalism.

Now, many people might view a vandalism case or charge as something relatively minor.  “Hey, I damaged some property and no big deal, I’ll just plead guilty and pay to replace it.”  Well, as the title to this blog reads, it’s a little more than meets the eye.  Upon a conviction for vandalism, fines, yes, fines, can run you anywhere between $400 and $50,000.  Yes, you heard correctly, $50,000.  Much of this depends on the amount of the property that was damaged, but those are just the fines!

So, in addition to owing significant fines to the court for a conviction of vandalism, you might also have to deal with the fact that you’ve actually been convicted of a crime and that your criminal history now reflects that.  If the damage is $400 or more, vandalism can be charged as either a felony or misdemeanor.  If the damage is under $400, the charge will be filed as a misdemeanor.  Thus, any employer or future employer or state licensing board will see this in your background check and this will raise some red flags.  In Los Angeles county, the standard probation for a misdemeanor conviction is 3 years and for those 3 years, you cannot have your conviction expunged unless a judge agrees to terminate that probation early.

Also, the court has the authority, and “shall do so when feasible”, order you to show up and clean, repair or replace the damaged property.  The court can also order that your driver’s license be suspended upon a conviction for vandalism for up to 2 years, order mandatory counseling and/or community service.

So, you might be asking yourself, “what do I do to fight all of these penalties and obligations?”  I thought you would never ask!  There are a number of ways to fight a vandalism charge and the first, in my mind, comes down to whether you actually intended to cause damage to the property or what it an accident or mistake.  Also, what was the nature of the property (shared, formerly yours, not owned, etc).

I would also want to know who the “victim” in the matter is and the relation of that person to my client.  A lot of property damage crimes can be resolved by simply reaching out to the victim and working out a way for that person to be made whole and have their property brought back to the condition it was in prior to the incident or paid for.

There might be a way to get a civil compromise in this case which, if worked out, can have criminal proceedings permanently suspended (effectively case dismissed) if the victim signs off on an agreement that they were made whole and compensated for any out-of-pocket expenses they may have had as a result of the conduct.

In short, you don’t want to get convicted of vandalism or any other property damage crime.  As you can see, there are a number of variables that come with getting convicted and too many options that a judge has discretion over to order as additional penalties against you.  You want to leave as little to discretion as possible and ensure that you get a result that is clear and guaranteed and something that has as little impact on your record and freedom as possible.

Contact Ross Erlich Law for a free case consultation and find out about additional ways to keep yourself free.

 

Arrested For Domestic Violence? Now What?

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One of the most common calls that I get as a criminal defense lawyer in Los Angeles is, “I was arrested for domestic violence, now what do I do?”  This is a great question and the full answer is usually surprising to most people.

After someone gets arrested for domestic violence, there is usually an 8-day criminal protective order that is immediate issued so that the person arrested may not contact, be within 100 yards of, harass or annoy the victim in the case.  If the suspect posts bail and is given a future court date, this can be anywhere from 3 to 8 weeks from the day they bail out.  Thus, if the temporary criminal protective order expires, they are free to cohabitate or have contact with the victim.

The tricky part of these cases is once the court proceedings start.  For felonies in California, with certain limited exceptions, the defendant needs to be present at court for all court appearances.  In misdemeanors, with certain exceptions, a privately-retained criminal defense lawyer can appear on the client’s behalf without them having to be present.  In both cases, in any case involving “violence”, of which domestic violence is apart of, the defendant needs to be present on the first day of court to received service of the new criminal protective order against them.

Yes, you heard correctly.  A new protective order.  As was explained above, this order (typically) prevents the defendant from being within 100 yards of the victim, the location where the incident happened and prevents them from calling, texting, emailing or otherwise making contact with the victim.  This order lasts for the duration of the case, which can mean up to several months.  So, keep in mind that there might be the case where, if you are charge with domestic violence, you may need to find alternative living situations, not be in contact with your spouse or significant other and have other limitations with regards to daily life activities.  A violation of this order can lead to a new, separate, criminal charge against you.

A victim may choose to show up to court in an attempt to ask the judge to allow a “peaceful contact” order and not a full stay-away.  This would allow the defendant and the victim to live together and have contact, but would prohibit any non-peaceful contact by the defendant.  Keep in mind that this is really up to the judge, so if it is early on in the case or the violence in the case was significant, a judge may decide not to allow peaceful contact even if the victim shows up in court and says that they would like the order changed.

Now, once all of the “preliminary” matters are dealt with, comes the litigation of the actual case.  Domestic violence can be charged a number of different ways in California.  First off, it can be a felony or a misdemeanor, depending on the facts of the case, injuries, defendant’s prior record.  Secondly, there are several different Penal Code sections that deal with an incident among those in a domestic relationship.  Corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant, domestic battery, child abuse, child neglect, elder abuse and criminal threats are all examples of “domestic abuse” related charges.

Oftentimes these cases come down to a “your words against theirs”, or a “he said, she said” type case.  Thus, what the victim says on a 911 call and what they might have said to responding officers or a detective at the police station is highly relevant in determining how to handle a domestic abuse case.  In many instances, depending on the types of statements made by the victim and to whom, if they victim does not show up to court, the prosecution may not be able to use those statements at trial.

It is important to “plan early” for domestic violence cases.  Maybe even more so than with other criminal charges.  It is important to be aware of the protective order that will be issued and make arrangements for that.  It is important to note that you will never be able to own a firearm if you are convicted of domestic violence.  It is also important to note that in nearly all instances of a conviction of a domestic violence charge, the defendant will have to complete a 52-week Los Angeles County approved domestic violence class, among other terms and conditions of probation.  It is also important to note that a conviction for certain domestic violence charges can have a devastating impact on someone’s immigration circumstances.

This is why contacting Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer Ross Erlich as early as possible can help for you to plan how to fight the charges.  A Los Angeles domestic violence lawyer will know what steps that can be taken prior to the arraignment might make a significant impact in the outcome of your case.

If you, or someone you know, has been arrested for domestic violence or domestic battery in Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardino or Orange counties, contact Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer Ross Erlich today for a free case consultation at 323-222-4529.

 

Public Intoxication Charges Dropped Against Former LAPD Commander

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You might recall hearing about an LAPD Commander and an LAPD sergeant who were involved in a traffic incident in Glendale in which the Commander was charged with public intoxication and the sergeant, the driver of the vehicle, being arrested and charged with DUI.  In short, Glendale police came across a vehicle that was stopped for some reason, with the driver, the LAPD sergeant, asleep in the driver’s seat, and the commander taken into custody for public intoxication.

The commander was recorded on cell phone being led out of an unmarked LAPD vehicle by several Glendale Police Department officers.

Court records showed that the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office dismissed the public intoxication charges against the commander this week and have not confirm the reason for the dismissal.  The sergeant has pleaded not guilty to DUI charges stemming from the incident.

There has been much discussion already about getting a DUI in Los Angeles in previous blog posts.  If you or someone you know has been arrested for DUI in Los Angeles, contact Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer Ross Erlich today for a free case consultation.

But what about public intoxication?  Many people seem to believe that if you get arrested for public intoxication, the police simply bring you to the local jail to “sleep it off” and you get released the next day.  Well, that is not quite accurate and you could find yourself being released the next day with a misdemeanor citation to appear at a future court date.

Public intoxication is a violation of California Penal Code section 647(f), which states that any person who is found in any public place under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or any combination, in a condition that he or she is unable to exercise care for his or her own safety or the safety of others, or if being under the influence interferes with or obstructs or prevents the free use of any street, sidewalk or other public way, is guilty of disorderly conduct.

Thus, it is not illegal to be drunk or under the influence in a public place.  It is only illegal if you cannot exercise care for your safety or the safety of others, or, if you interfere or obstruct a street or sidewalk.

Because it is a misdemeanor, the charge is punishable by up to 6 months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.  Also, the conviction will be recorded on your criminal record and this can create issues for employment and obtaining a professional license with the state of California.

Just because you are charged with public intoxication doesn’t mean that you will be convicted of it.  Depending on your prior criminal record, if any, and what other charges are filed along with the public intoxication, if any, you may be eligible to enter into a diversionary sentence.  This can take the form of a number of different arrangements, including completing a drug treatment program, classes, attending NA or AA classes or some other community service type work in exchange for the charges to be dismissed.

If you or someone you know has been charged with DUI or public intoxication in Los Angeles, Orange county, San Bernardino county or Riverside county, contact Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer Ross Erlich today.