By Mani Dabiri | Published September 29, 2018 | Posted in Federal and State Criminal Defense, Government Subpoenas and Investigations | Tagged Tags: billofrights, collateralconsequences, domesticviolence, dueprocess, witnesses |
Why We Defend People
In 2009, I was a prosecutor in Orange County when I became a defendant in my own criminal case. I was falsely accused of domestic violence, and I was charged with two felony counts even though I was the one who called the police three times that night over my accuser’s behavior. It was surreal. Read More
Read MoreA Personal View of California’s Bail Reform
This problem of locking people up before trial is personal to me. Ten years ago, I was falsely accused of a crime, and I spent a night in jail based on one person’s word. I had committed no crime, but I was booked for and charged with felony domestic violence, and I had to take the Read More
Read MoreThe Pros and Cons of Bail Reform
We’ll see how California’s new bail law plays out in practice. On one hand, it promises to treat rich and poor alike when it comes to keeping someone in jail until any trial. It says everyone will get out within twelve hours on a misdemeanor charge, with some exceptions. And if you’re accused of a Read More
Read MoreCalifornia to End Money Bail
On August 28, Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 10 into law. It becomes effective October 1, 2019, and as you may have heard, it changes everything. It completely repeals the chapter of the Penal Code that provided for cash bail and replaces it with an entirely new one. Here’s the gist of it. If you’re arrested for Read More
Read MoreHappy Birthday, 14th Amendment
Did you know? This summer marks the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the 14th Amendment. To commemorate the occasion, here is a look at the Ohio congressman who authored arguably the most important amendment after the first ten. If he’s forgotten today then it’s a shame because he’s responsible for these momentous words: “All persons born Read More
Read MorePolice Need a Warrant for Your Cell-Phone Location Records
You can thank the Supreme Court for that. Last week, the nation’s high court ruled that police need a warrant to get your phone’s location records and map out your every move over time. The case reflects a growing consensus to protect these records, and it builds on a prior decision that said police can’t rummage through your phone just because Read More
Read MoreBuckets of Money
If you’ve lost a case against the SEC recently, and it was heard by an administrative law judge (or ALJ), you may want to call your lawyer. Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court sent back a case because the SEC hadn’t appointed the ALJ the way the Constitution required. The decision marked the culmination of years-long legal challenges to the Read More
Read MoreThe Microsoft-Ireland Case is Moot
We covered this before here and here. But the high-profile case of United States v. Microsoft Corporation is now over. The question was whether the government could force Microsoft to turn over data that it stored on servers in other countries. The problem was that federal law didn’t allow the government to do that, or at least Read More
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