Criminal Law eNews

In an article published in the fall 2015 issue of the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice magazine (“Advice from the Bench for White Collar Client Facing Sentencing”), I shared some of what I have learned from federal judges during my nearly 50 years of practice.[1] After that article published, I felt that an expanded, in-depth article that featured the experience, philosophy and viewpoints of those and other federal judges was needed. Law360 agreed, and a multipart series was born. Read more

All CLA members have complementary access to the Fastcase legal research system. To access Fastcase, login to your CLA account and click on Fastcase. On the next page, you have the option of clicking a hyperlink to directly view Sections publications, including the Criminal Law Journal. Editions of the Criminal law Journal are listed by date and volume. You can also download the editions as a PDF. Alternatively, you can locate and search Sections publications through the Fastcase system. Click… Read more

The Criminal Law Section held their Executive Committee meeting this weekend in Sacramento with special guest Ona Dosunmu, CLA Executive Director. Read more

Trial court did not err in denying defendant's motion to suppress drug evidence where a dog sniff that occurred while an officer was writing a citation did not unconstitutionally prolong defendant's detention for a traffic stop. A police officer with a narcotics-certified dog stopped Vera because his car windows were illegally tinted. Because the officer could not see into Vera's car, he ordered Vera out of the car. Read more

The Criminal Law section wishes to encourage you to pursue legal specialization. To become a legal specialist, you must pass a written examination, satisfy the task and CLE requirements, and get favorable evaluations from attorneys and judges. Read more

Donald Heller, a member of the Criminal Law Section Executive Committee, is representing William "Rick" Singer, the lead defendant in the college admission prosecution. Mr. Singer, was the CEO of a college admissions prep company called The Key, which is alleged to function as an SAT-fixing and college admissions-rigging scheme. Fifty persons were charged in the indictment, filed in United States District Court, District of Massachusetts. Read more

Penal Code Section 1170.91 provides that a veteran, upon being convicted of a felony, may introduce evidence of a mental health malady arising from military service at sentencing, and that the court must take such evidence into account in sentencing as a factor in mitigation. This law took effect January 1, 2015. Read more