Cannabis smell in a vehicle by itself not a reason to conduct vehicle search, Alameda court rules
On March 4, 2020, Bob Egelko of the San Francisco Chronicle published an article about this local appellate division case. The appellate division is a division of local courts that handle appeals of misdemeanors. Felony appeals are handled by the Courts of Appeal. Anyhow, the appellant in this case was stopped for driving without […]
Alcohol breath tests, a linchpin of the criminal justice system, are often unreliable, a New York Times investigation found.
On November 3, 2019, the New York Times ran a piece about the unreliable nature of alcohol breath testing machines. The results these machines generate are routinely admitted into evidence in California, even when the individual who administered the test is no longer employed by the testing agency, and is unavailable for cross-examination. Here is […]
Felony Unlawful Firearm Activity Case Dismissed
In August 2019, the District Attorney dismissed a felony unlawful firearm activity case, 2 months ahead of our scheduled jury trial. My client was accused of illegally possessing a firearm, but our position from the outset of this case was that he did so in self-defense. We filed a discovery motion after some key items […]