One of the biggest issues the court had with the law was the lack of provisions for teens to get to and from legal late-night events without being picked up by a parent. Justice Alex McDonald claimed that the law imposed unconstitutional restrictions on the teen’s first amendment rights.

The city is already taking steps to adapt the law to suit the court’s decision. In the meanwhile, police cannot enforce the curfew. At present, the law says a person under 18 cannot be out between 10 P.M. and 6 A.M. unless traveling to or from a job or accompanied by an adult. At the same time, the minors have the right to be at certain events between these times. The city claims the law’s aim is to protect teens from being victimized by crime and from participating in crime.

“It punishes the minor even though they may have parental permission,” said the San Diego criminal lawyer responsible for appealing the issue. “It gives them the right to attend these things, but punishes them for going.”

To read more on the matter, see the article on Sign on San Diego. Image via Erin MC Hammer [Flickr].

Timothy Allen found this out the hard way as he repeatedly shined a laser on police helicopters and commercial airplanes until he was tracked down and arrested for the crime. His San Diego criminal attorney helped him plead the charges down to one count, but he is still going to have to serve 8 months behind bars.

To read more about the story, see the article on Sign On San Diego. Image via Dittmeyer [Flickr].

Unsurprisingly, the police quickly were able to figure out the truth behind the “attack” and arrested the mugger after the 83 year-old robbery victim confirmed that he was being defended by the bystander.

To read more about the story, see the article in Sign On San Diego. Image Via threephin [Flickr].

For every 1,000 people, there were only 28.2 crimes. In 2008, the rate was 34.56 crimes per 1,000 people.

While most cities nationwide have seen crime rate reductions in the last year, San Diego is fortunate to experience such drastic rates and for so many years in a row. Homicides in the city are the lowest they have been since 1972. Dallas, a comparably sized city, had nearly four times as many homicides this year, Phoenix had three times as many.

San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne said the crime rate reduction was a result of a number of factors including better intelligence-based policing, improved technology and more efficient use of resources. He said that as more people have cell phones, crime rates should continue to go down because the devices allow people to report crimes without a time delay.

Not all statistics are down though, suicides, domestic violence and mental health-related crimes have all gone up. San Diego criminal attorneys say this is a result of the city’s reduction of mental health services and difficult economic times that have caused hardships in many relationships.

To read more about the crime reductions, see the article in Del Mar Times. Image via banspy [Flickr].

Not surprisingly, the family filed suit against the police officers involved, the police departments involved and the cities of Escondido and Oceanside for illegally coercing a confession from the boy. While the case was originally dismissed, a federal appeals court has insisted that the family does have grounds to sue the officers and police departments.

“One need only read the transcripts of the boys’ interrogations, or watch the videotapes, to understand how thoroughly the defendants’ conduct in this case ‘shocks the conscience,’ ” wrote Judge Sidney R. Thomas, as he proved that the case met the legal definition of a coerced confession.

The case may finally go to court this year, assuming the city does not appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. At this point, the crux of the case lies in the definition of “a criminal case,” as the Supreme Court has previously stated that a coerced confession is not grounds for a civil suit until the mater becomes a criminal case –which has not been officially defined by the courts. Because the boys were formally charged, incarcerated and attended hearings, the family’s San Diego criminal attorney, Milton Silverman,  says the situation does qualify as a criminal case.

For now, he is pleased with the verdict. “It’s about time we got some justice for the Crowe family,” he said.

To read more about the issue, see the article on Sign On San Diego. Image via Paul Kehrer [Flickr].

Under the bill marijuana users, sellers and growers would have to be over 21 years of age and the state would charge a 9% tax on all sales, which is estimated to run at about $50 of taxes per ounce.

The victory for marijuana advocates is considered to be largely symbolic, as the bill must still be reviewed by another senate committee before it will be voted on. This second committee will not look at the bill for some time. Regardless, the drug’s supporters are still optimistic.

”We’re thrilled. This to me, this is the formal beginning of the end of marijuana prohibition in the United States”, said Stephen Gutwillig of the Drug Policy Alliance, a pro-legalization group.

To read more on the measure, see the article in Top News. Image Via Eric Caballero [Flickr].

Ten people from Vista have already been released from jail and San Diego criminal lawyers expect that many of their clients will have their cases dismissed or overturned due to the report. Reports show that as many as 1000 test results may be void, but prosecutors are avid that not all of the tests will result in overturned cases or dismissals.

The faulty results span all the way from May until now. Since the scandal, the San Diego police have stopped working with the lab for the time being.

To read more about the issue, see the article in the San Diego News Network. Image Via spratmackrel [Flickr].

A federal court of appeals recently looked at this issue and has issued the most restrictive ruling yet regarding the police use of these weapons. The court declared that many uses of tasers violate the suspect’s rights to be free from excessive force. The court opinion seemed to imply that police should evaluate all aspects of a situation before using the weapon. Factors they need to be wary of include the suspect’s level of threat, the crime the suspect is accused of, and if the suspect is mentally troubled.

San Diego criminal lawyer Eugene Iredale, who argued the case, says it is a landmark decision and one of the clearest statements regarding the law enforcement tool’s use to date.

To read more about the court decision, see the article in the Modesto Bee. Image Via Oldmaison [Flickr]

Anti-corruption investigators say that the cartels research potential targets and then offer them sex, drugs, money –whatever it takes, in order to get the agents to join their team. Many of the defendant’s San Diego criminal attorneys believe the newly-hired agents can be easily swayed because their $70,000 a year paychecks are minuscule compared to the payments they can receive for smuggling through only a few illegal trucks.

Arrests of agents has gone up 40% in the last few years. Officials even believe the cartels are urging their own operatives to seek out positions in the agency. As long as the person has no criminal record, the admission to the agency may be somewhat easy. The rash of hiring at the agency has made the corruption even easier; “there is so much hiring; if you have a warm body and pulse, you have a job,” said one investigator.

To read more about the increase in corruption, see the article in the New York Times. Image Via Jim.Greenhill [Flickr].

The man, Ryan Paul Carnell, could face over 9 years in prison if he is convicted. While Carnell was already out on a $125,000 bail, the judge in the case raised the bail amount to $500,000 and Carnell was led away from court in handcuffs. Carnell’s San Diego criminal attorney, Stephen D. Klarich, has not made any statements about the not-guilty plead.

Carnell is already awaiting sentencing in a similar trial where he was found guilty of sending a photograph of his penis to a teenage girl.

To read more about the case, see the article on Sign On San Diego.