Criminal Law

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

Earn up to 5.0 Hours MCLE & Legal Specialization in Criminal Law; which includes 1.0 Hour Elimination of Bias Read more

Todd Bequette has been a criminal defense attorney in Alameda County for over 25 years. He was born and raised in Gridley, a small town in Northern California. He attended Georgetown Law and received his undergraduate degree from the University of the Pacific. He’s also serves annually on the faculty of the Stanford Law School Trial Skills Workshop. He represents clients in some of the most serious criminal cases in Alameda County, and is frequently in trial on homicides. Read more

Brown v. Davenport, No. 20-826 Issue: Whether a federal habeas court may grant relief based solely on its conclusion that the test from Brecht v. Abrahamson is satisfied, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit held, or whether the court must also find that the state court’s application of Chapman v. California was unreasonable under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1), as the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 9th and 10th Circuits have held. Read more

The Criminal Law Section would like to acknowledge the contributions of Donald H. Heller, who recently passed away. Don was a member of the Criminal Law Section Executive Committee. Even as he battled cancer, Don was an active participant in our ExCom. His many comments and ideas were always powerful and thought provoking. He was truly dedicated to the improvement of the criminal justice system. Read more