Author: spiralmode

Finally! It’s graduation season. For many students and parents, this is a day they’ve been waiting for their entire lives. They’re finally putting high school behind themselves once and for all and allowing themselves to focus on the future. If you’re a graduating senior or someone...

10 May, 2022 /
No one likes DUI checkpoints. Not only do they make many of us nervous, even when we haven’t been drinking. There’s just something about getting caught in a checkpoint and seeing a police officer walking towards us that tends to activate a guilt complex, they also drastically extend the length of time it takes you to get from Point A to Point B. As irritated as you might be that you were caught at a DUI checkpoint, you shouldn’t expect the state to stop using them anytime soon. The purpose of the checkpoints is to reduce the annual number of deaths and injuries that are the direct result of drunk driving incidents. As long as the checkpoints continue to catch drunk drivers, they will remain an issue you’ll have to deal with when driving in California. Many people have protested that DUI checkpoints are illegal, that they’re a form of entrapment. The issue has even made it all the way to both the California and Federal Supreme Courts, who ruled that the checkpoints were legal. There are some rules that they must follow when the highway patrol sets up a California DUI checkpoint. These rules include:
  • Arranging things so only the supervising officers are in charge of operational decisions;
  • Establishing completely neutral criteria for drawing motorists into the checkpoint.
  • Making sure the checkpoint is set up in a location where the supervising officers can reasonably expect drunk drivers to pass-through
  • The checkpoint is safe and all safety protocol is being followed
  • The is sufficient evidence that the checkpoint will catch some drunk drivers
  • That the checkpoint is organized in such a way that each person is detained for as short a period of time as possible
  • Roadblocks are used to publicly announce the presence of DUI checkpoint
10 May, 2022 /
One of the charges that are quite serious but is seldom mentioned is great bodily harm. This is a charge that will usually be paired with an assault charge. Great bodily harm in California is a sentence enhancement charge. It is attached to other charges to give the judge the option of extending the maximum sentence of the other charges. The way this works is that the judge sets a maximum sentence for the first conviction and then adds additional time for the great bodily harm charge. These two sentences cannot be carried out consecutively. The time the defendant must serve for the great bodily harm charge will not start until the sentence for the other charge has been completed. Great bodily harm in California is outlined in California Penal Code 12022.7 PC. For a great bodily harm charge to be added as a sentence enhancement, the victim must have sustained substantial injuries. These must be far more serious than a few scrapes and bruises. The types of injuries that can lead to a great bodily harm charge include:
  • Broken bones
  • Gunshot wounds
  • Severe burns
  • Internal injuries
25 April, 2022 /

Believe it or not, the State of California didn’t put up traffic signs, signals, and lights simply to make your commute more difficult. Despite what it may feel like some days, the traffic signals weren’t created as some sort of vendetta against you. The truth...

25 April, 2022 /

Mislabeling food in California is a law that usually only impacts people who own or operate things like coffee shops, delis, grocery stores, and restaurants. It doesn’t matter how badly the food was mislabeled, if evidence of mislabeling exists, the people involved will be arrested...

25 April, 2022 /
Just because you’re legally allowed to own a firearm in California, it doesn’t mean you have an instant right to do whatever you want with it. For example, while you’re allowed to own a firearm and even carry it with you if that same firearm is loaded, you could find yourself in serious legal trouble. The topic of carrying a loaded firearm in California is covered in Penal Code 25850 PC. When you read through the law, you’ll find that even though you have an ownership license for the firearm, if that firearm is loaded, you’re not allowed to have it:
  • While on a public street
  • While in a public place
  • While cruising the streets in your car
25 April, 2022 /

Here at Anaheim Bail Bonds, it’s our belief that no one should have to sit in a jail cell for a moment longer than necessary. We understand that each minute you’re in a cell, the bleaker your situation feels. We want you to be as...

13 April, 2022 /

Most people don’t think about how difficult it is to prepare a solid defense while you’re sitting in a jail cell. There’s very little privacy. You have to hope that your lawyer is willing and able to arrange their schedule so that they can routinely...

13 April, 2022 /
Driving while drunk isn’t just frowned upon in California, it’s illegal. While you’re allowed to go out and have a good time, if that good time involves drinking alcohol, you need to pay careful attention to how much you consume. As soon as your blood alcohol level reaches 0.08%, you’re no longer legally allowed to drive.

What Happens if You Get Caught Drunk Driving in California?

Don’t assume that just because you’ve never had a drunk driving offense you have nothing to worry about the first time you’re charged with drunk driving in California. Even though it’s your first offense, it’s still going to have a massive impact on your immediate future. First the fines. California law is written in such a way that in addition to being required to pay anywhere from $390-$1,000 in fines, you can also pay something that’s called penalty assessments. Once you’re convicted of first-time drunk driving the judge has the option of sentencing you to jail time. This is in addition to the fines. While there’s no mandatory jail time for a first-time drunk driving conviction, the judge could decide that you need to spend 48 hours to 6 months in jail. Plan on losing your driving privileges. As soon as you’ve been officially convicted of your first DUI, your license will be suspended for six months. If you refused to submit to a bloc alcohol concentration test, an administrative license suspension could also be enforced which would mean losing your license for a full year.

What Happens if Someone is Injured Because you Were Driving Drunk in California

There’s no way of getting around the fact that if you injure someone while you’re driving drunk, you’ll face far more serious consequences for your actions than if you’re simply pulled over. How severe those additional consequences depends on several different factors including:
11 April, 2022 /
Many people have heard the term, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, but they don’t really know what it means. Nor do they fully understand how it can be against the law in California. Contributing to the delinquency of a minor in California is a violation of Penal Code 272 PC. It states: “Every person who commits any act or omits the performance of any duty, which act or omission causes or tends to cause or encourage any person under the age of 18 years to come within the provisions of Section 300, 601, or 602 of the Welfare and Institutions Code or which act or omission contributes thereto, or any person who, by any act or omission, or by threats, commands, or persuasion, induces or endeavors to induce any person under the age of 18 years or any ward or dependent child of the juvenile court to fail or refuse to conform to a lawful order of the juvenile court, or to do or to perform any act or to follow any course of conduct or to so live as would cause or manifestly tend to cause that person to become or to remain a person within the provisions of Section 300, 601, or 602 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, is guilty of a misdemeanor.” It also says: “An adult stranger who is 21 years of age or older, who knowingly contacts or communicates with a minor who is under 14 years of age, who knew or reasonably should have known that the minor is under 14 years of age, for the purpose of persuading and luring, or transporting, or attempting to persuade and lure, or transport, that minor away from the minor’s home or from any location known by the minor’s parent, legal guardian, or custodian, to be a place where the minor is located, for any purpose, without the express consent of the minor’s parent or legal guardian, and with the intent to avoid the consent of the minor’s parent or legal guardian, is guilty of an infraction or a misdemeanor, subject to subdivision (d) of Section 17.” Most of us know that kids, particularly teenagers will generally do what they want, including engaging in what society considers risky behavior. Even California lawmakers understand that. When they created Penal Code 272 PC, California lawmakers didn’t think they could instantly encourage teenagers to make smart choices. The purpose of the law is to discourage adults from turning the blind eye to irresponsible behavior and to take the steps to stop it. Examples of behavior that could result in delinquency of a minor charge include:
  • Allowing a young teen to share a bedroom with a much older partner
  • Providing a minor with alcohol or tobacco
  • Allowing a minor to routinely skip school
  • Allowing a minor to drive a vehicle even though they are years away from obtaining a license
    • 11 April, 2022 /