Criminal Law

The Committee on Revision of the Penal Code is a state entity established in 2020 to make recommendations to the Governor and Legislature about all aspects of California criminal law. This presentation will give an overview of the Penal Code Committee’s work, including its most recent recommendations and the latest data on crime rates, incarceration levels, and more. Read more

We regret to inform you that the Annual Trail Skills Update conference, originally set for Saturday, November 4, 2023 has been canceled. Read more

Ciminelli v. United States, No. 21-1170 Issue: Whether the Second Circuit’s “right to control” theory of fraud—which treats the deprivation of complete and accurate information bearing on a person’s economic decision as a species of property fraud—states a valid basis for liability under the federal wire fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1343. Read more

The United States Sentencing Commission has recently introduced a significant adjustment for zero-point offenders through a newly created Section 4C1.1 of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines that would go into effect on November 1, 2023. This adjustment acknowledges that defendants with no criminal history points (zero-point offenders) should be treated differently during sentencing. Read more

This training will cover resentencing procedures under California Penal Code section 1172.1, including recent changes to the law. In 2018, former Governor Jerry Brown created a special unit within the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to identify people in prison who had rehabilitated themselves so much that they would be “an asset to their community” if released. Since then, around 2,000 people have been referred under this process. District Attorneys’ Offices throughout California have similarly recommended people in prison for resentencing. During this one hour presentation, learn about this rapidly-developing area of law, obtain practice tips, and hear about inspiring success stories. Read more

The presentation is an in depth analysis of AB 3070 and the practical application on the use of preemptory challenges and civil July trials. Read more

Issue: Whether the Arizona Supreme Court’s holding that Arizona Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.1(g) precluded post-conviction relief is an adequate and independent state-law ground for the judgment.Holding: The Arizona Supreme Court’s holding below — that Lynch v. Arizona did not represent a “significant change in the law” for purposes of permitting John Montenegro Cruz to file a successive petition for state postconviction relief under Arizona Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.1(g) Read more

We’ve just read the opposition brief in our big case. Now we are considering drafting our reply brief without including the four-letter words that recently echoed from our office walls. Read more

Do you ever wonder if you can propound discovery in a domestic violence action? Are you curious about where to start? The benefit and impact of different discovery devices? Read more

 The U.S. Supreme Court's current ideological divide may be the sharpest we've seen in a long time. Yet the justices do unite in one key respect: The current court boasts some of the best opinion writers in American legal history.  Read more