Recent Blog Posts in March 2009

Kanye West has been charged with three criminal misdemeanor offenses. The musician faces charges of vandalism, battery and grand theft stemming from a run-in with a cameraman in the Los Angeles Airport last September. West's manager Don Crowley has also been charged with two counts each of vandalism, battery and grand theft. Back in September, West reportedly broke a camera light on the equipment belonging to paparazzi while they were shooting footage of him in a public area of the airport. Crowley is accused of breaking both the video camera and a still camera also on scene. If found convicted and sentenced to the maximum, Kanye West faces up to two and a half years in jail while Crowley faces up to five. Both men are scheduled to be arraigned on April 14th in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Rap Star T.I. sentenced to prison in Federal Criminal Case

Rap star T.I. was sentenced in Federal Court in Atlanta, GA to serve one year and one day in prison and ordered to pay a $100,300 fine on weapons charges related to his purchase of machine guns and silencers. The rapper, whose real name is Clifford Harris, reached the terms of the sentence in a plea agreement with prosecutors last year. T.I. / Harris also was sentenced to some property forfeiture, supervised release for three years after his prison sentence, 365 days of home confinement and 1,500 hours of community service. He has already served 305 days of home confinement and 1,030 hours of service. In addition to his prison sentence, the rapper must also undergo DNA testing and drug counseling, he cannot own firearms and must submit to law enforcement searches without a warrant. The Rapper's sentence was a result of a plea bargain, if he not reached a plea deal he could have been facing up to a maximum of 10 years in Federal Prison.

T.I. / Harris was arrested in October 2007 in an Atlanta parking lot hours before he was to perform at the BET Award show. Harris was caught in a federal sting after his bodyguard-turned-informant delivered three machine guns and two silencers to him, prosecutors said. The rapper had provided the bodyguard with $12,000 to buy the weapons. Harris was already not allowed to posses and firearms as a result of his previous 1998 on felony drug conviction -- possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute.

Numerous members of the "Manson Family" are seeking parole from California state prison after serving decades in prison for their notorious string of brutal murders. The followers of Charles Manson committed the murders of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and six others in a two-night rampage that terrorized the city of Los Angeles, California, in August 1969. The Manson family members were initially sentenced to death following their conviction at trial, only to have their sentences commuted to life in prison when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down death penalty laws in 1972.

Since that time, Manson family members Susan Atkins, Charles "Tex" Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten have repeatedly been described as model prisoners who have accepted responsibility for their crimes. Susan Atkins is terminally ill with cancer and Charles "Tex" Watson is an ordained minister.  Parole boards, however, continue to reject their bids for release, and a debate rages over whether the four should ever be freed. Atkins, California's longest-serving female inmate requested a "compassionate release" from the California Board of Parole Hearings in July. She has terminal brain cancer, doctors say. The board unanimously denied her request.

By her own admission, Atkins held Tate down as she pleaded for mercy, and stabbed the eight-months-pregnant woman 16 times. In a 1993 parole board hearing, Atkins said Tate "asked me to let  her baby live ... I told her I didn't have any mercy on her."  After stabbing Tate to death, Atkins scrawled the word "pig" in blood on the door of the home Tate shared with her husband, film director Roman Polanski, who was not home at the time. Three of Tate's house guests were also slain, as was a teenager who was visiting the home's caretaker in his cottage out back.

Atkins' release was opposed by Tate's sister, Debra, Los Angeles County prosecutors and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others. However, the former prosecutor who won her conviction, Vincent Bugliosi, said he supported Atkins' request for release based on her medical condition.

If you ever you find yourself being questioned, arrested or taken into custody, no matter who you are or what the circumstances may be, your best defense is to remain silent, otherwise known as exercising your Miranda rights.  By law, if the Police wish to question someone who is in custody they must advise the individual of their right to remain silent. If you hear those rights, understand that they are fundamental rights guaranteed to you under the United States Constitution and you should exercise your right to remain silent.

One thing police do not tell you is that they can never use the fact that you remain silent against you, in fact, they often trick people into making a statement. The police may use deceptive tactics and lie to people under investigation. They may tell you that if you tell them your side of the story, they will not arrest you. That is a lie. It is a regular police tactic - used in the hope that the accused will make a statement which can later be used against them in Court.  Whether you should speak to the police is an extremely important and complex decision, which can only be made with the advice of a competent Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney.

The Miranda rule was developed to protect the individual's Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.  The Miranda warning ensures that people in custody realize they do not have to talk to the police and that they have the right to the presence of an attorney.  Even after incarceration, you never have to speak to anyone without speaking to your lawyer first. 

If the Miranda warning is not given before questioning, or if police continue to question a suspect after he or she indicates in any manner a desire to consult with an attorney before speaking, statements by the suspect generally are inadmissible at trial--they cannot be used against the suspect.

The newest teen fad sweeping across the country at the moment has put many teenagers and young adults in life altering positions over the last few months.  This new fad involves sending explicit photos of themselves or other teens via text messaging or email and has been given the term "sexting".  Under both Federal and State criminal law, anyone sending or receiving elicit photos or videos of persons under the age of 18, may be guilty of possession, distribution and production of child pornography, even if they themselves are under the age of 18.

For example, a 15-year-old Pennsylvania girl is facing child pornography charges for sending nude photos of herself to other kids.  A 19-year-old Florida man got thrown out of college and has to register as a sex offender for 25 years because he sent nude pictures of his girlfriend to other teens.  In Alabama, authorities arrested four middle-school students for exchanging nude photos of themselves.  And in Rochester, N.Y., a 16-year-old boy is now facing up to seven years in prison for forwarding a nude photo of a 15-year-old girlfriend to his friends.

Being accused of a sex crime can be a terrifying experience for anyone, let alone teens who are mainly guilty of bad judgment. Child pornography charges may permanently change your life and place your future and freedom at stake.  It takes a truly skilled and experienced criminal attorney to defend a client who is charged with any type of sex crime and achieve the best possible result.

The consequences for a sex crime conviction may range from probation to a lifetime in jail in certain circumstances. Additionally, almost any conviction will include mandatory lifetime sex offender registration, a label that will govern where you are able to live and work. Being labeled a sex offender carries with it serious social consequences - friends, business associates and even family members may no longer want to be involved in your life.

Don't let a conviction for a sex crime ruin your life and destroy your future. If you, or someone you know has been arrested or is under investigation for a sex crime, Contact Los Angeles sex crimes defense lawyer Robert M. Bernstein regarding your case to defend your rights.

Although California law authorizes the legal use of medical marijuana, it is illegal under Federal law. Over the last several years Federal Agents have regularly raided California marijuana dispensaries and filed Federal criminal narcotic charges against these dispensary owners.

However, the new Obama administration has announced a change to this policy. United States Attorney General Eric Holder stated this week that the Drug Enforcement Administration would end its raids on state-approved marijuana dispensaries.

Federal raids on medical marijuana distributors continued at least into the second week of Barack Obama's presidency, when federal agents shut down at least two dispensaries in California on Feb. 3.