Author: spiralmode

anaheim-bail-bonds If you hate telemarketers, you’re not alone. Legal Beagle reported that in 2017, Bank my Cell conducted a survey that revealed that out of 1,200 people, 75% of them actively avoided calls that they knew were from telemarketers. 85% of the people who responded to the survey reported that even the thought of dealing with telemarketers triggered anxiety-related issues. The reason most of us loathe dealing with telemarketers is that the calls are time-consuming and the person on the other end of the line keeps pushing even though we’ve told them no several times. Most of us also hate feeling guilty when we have no option but to hang up on the irritating telemarketer. It turns out, there’s another reason to avoid telemarketers. That reason is telemarketing fraud.

What Is Telemarketing Fraud

Cornell Law School defines telemarketing fraud as:
    “Phone and telemarketing fraud refers to any type of scheme in which a criminal communicates with the potential victim via the telephone. Because many reputable companies use telemarketing to conduct business, criminals can often effectively use the method as a way to obtain a victim’s credit card information or identity and then use this information to make unauthorized purchases elsewhere. Victims have difficulty distinguishing between reputable telemarketers and scam artists. Frequent victims of telemarketing scams include the poor, the elderly, and immigrants without strong English skills.”
01 June, 2021 /

If you haven’t been in a car accident yet, you should consider yourself lucky. Considering how much time we spend behind the wheel, the odds are good that sooner or later you’ll be involved in one. Because of the likelihood of getting into a car...

19 May, 2021 /

Dogs love their owners and want to be with them all the time. In an attempt to keep our dogs happy, many of us take them with us when we run errands. On cold days, this isn’t an issue, but now that we’re on the...

19 May, 2021 /
anaheim-bail-bonds One of the more confusing criminal charges California has is the accessory after the fact. Many people don’t know that it’s possible to get into trouble for a crime that they weren’t involved with until well after the crime happened. California law stipulates that anyone who basically takes steps to hinder a criminal investigation could be charged with accessory after the fact. This means that if you help or conceal a loved one who has committed a crime, you will likely find yourself in hot legal water. An accessory after the fact charge isn’t something you should joke about. It’s a felony that comes with a potential sentencing that includes a three-year stay in one of California’s state prisons. Accessory after the fact charges are touched on in California’s Penal Code 32 (PC). It states that:
    “Every person who, after a felony has been committed, harbors, conceals or aids a principal in such felony, with the intent that said principal may avoid or escape from arrest, trial, conviction or punishment, having knowledge that said the principal has committed such felony or has been charged with such felony or convicted thereof, is an accessory to such felony.”
17 May, 2021 /

Kids and hot cars are never a good combination. Everyone knows that, yet there is still an average of 38 children who die each year after they’re locked into a hot car. In all fairness, nearly all of these cases are an accident. The child...

17 May, 2021 /
anaheim-bail-bonds California has three different types of warrants. Each one serves a different purpose. Search warrants and arrest warrants are the ones that most people are familiar with, mostly because they play huge roles in various procedural shows. The third type of warrant is called a bench warrant. The majority of the warrants currently active in California are bench warrants. While a bench warrant means you can be arrested if the police find you, they aren’t the same as an arrest warrant. An arrest warrant typically means you’re suspected of committing a crime or wanted for questioning in regard to a crime. Bench warrants are typically issued because you failed to do something you were supposed to take care of. Common reasons bench warrants are sworn out include:
  • You failed to report to a court date (a bench warrant can be issued even if you were supposed to be on the jury or serve as a witness)
  • Failed to pay a court fine/traffic ticket
  • Fell behind on court-ordered child support
  • Failed to follow an order that demanded you vacate a property
  • Broke the terms of your probation
  • Etc.
05 May, 2021 /
anaheim-bail-bonds While everyone knows that stalking is a crime, few realize that it can be a felony or a misdemeanor (and in some cases, the accused might be charged with both a felony and a misdemeanor.) Every single state has stalking laws. While the nuances of stalking laws vary from one state to another, for the most part, each state has the same description of what can be considered stalking. As a rule, any behavior that can be considered prolonged harassment, an obvious attempt to frighten someone, the unwanted monitoring of a person, using proximity to threaten a person, or actions that lead to emotional distress is covered by stalking laws. Anyone who engages in the following types of behavior will likely be charged and convicted of stalking in California:
  • Going out of your way to follow a person
  • Frequently showing up at locations where you know a specific person will be
  • Using GPS to monitor a person’s movements
  • Constantly filming/photographing someone without their permission
  • Obsessively monitoring someone’s social media accounts, phone calls/texts, reading their emails, and studying their computer activities
  • Going out of your way to gather as much information as you can about a specific person
  • Leveling threats against a person or their loved ones (including pets) if they don’t spend time with you
  • Instigating property damage
  • Sending gifts and other forms of communication after you’ve been told to stop doing so
05 May, 2021 /
anaheim-bail-bonds You love your pets and would do anything for them. Unfortunately, the world is full of people who know how much you value your pets and they want to benefit from your devotion. This isn’t about pet stores charging ridiculously high prices for toys, or breeders selling badly bred animals, or even dog clubs raising their training fees. This is about people who have no reservations about stealing a pet and holding them for ransom. The issue recently came to light following the dognapping of Lady Gaga’s pet dogs. There is speculation that the dogs were deliberately targeted and that the end goal was to use them for ransom. It’s likely that thieves think that the police aren’t likely to become involved in these types of cases and that people will pay a great deal to have their pets returned. It’s even likely that dognappers don’t plan on demanding a ransom. In most cases, the distraught owners promptly offer a sizeable reward for the return of their pets. In Lady Gaga’s case, she is offering a $500,000 reward in an effort to get her dogs back. While most dog owners can’t afford to offer that type of reward, a reward of a few hundred dollars can still be enough to convince someone that grabbing an unattended dog is worthwhile.

California's Stance on Animal Theft

While you might think of your dog as a child, California’s legal system doesn’t. If your dog is stolen, and the dog is value exceeds $950, it’s considered Grand Theft. According to California Penal Code (PC) § 487e, 487f, 487g, 491, felony grand animal theft involves, “a person who feloniously steals, takes, or carries away a dog of another where the dog’s value exceeds $950.” It goes on to state that, “If a person steals or maliciously takes an animal for purposes of sale, medical research, slaughter, or other commercial use, he or she commits a public offense punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding 1 year or in a state prison.” If the stolen dog isn’t worth at least $950, the individual who stole the animal can be charged with petty theft. A guilty conviction can include a six-month jail sentence and a $1,000 fine.

Tips To Help Keep Your Pets Safe

As a pet owner, it’s your responsibility to keep your pets healthy and safe. This includes taking steps to make them less appealing to thieves. Ways of doing this include:
  • Never leaving them outside unattended.
  • Change your walking route each time you take them out.
  • Getting them microchipped.
03 May, 2021 /
anaheim-bail-bonds Domestic violence is a complex crime so it shouldn’t come as surprise to learn that the laws dealing with domestic violence are equally complicated. The first step in unraveling this complex system is knowing exactly what domestic violence is. California defines domestic violence as actions that either harm or threaten to harm an intimate partner. It’s important to understand that there are sub-categories of domestic violence which include:
  • Domestic battery (actual physical abuse)
  • Domestic assault (the use of words or actions to threaten physical abuse)
03 May, 2021 /
chat-room-crimes-in-california Chat room crimes are a term that typically refers to specific cases that ultimately deal with the solicitation of a minor. The term first became popular after it was used by the television show, To Catch a Predator. Chat room crimes typically involve an older person, usually, a male, who uses things like chat rooms and instant messaging to connect with and ultimately lure a minor. In many cases, the minor thinks that they are chatting with someone who is of a similar age to themselves. Chat room crimes are typically covered by solicitation of a minor laws, which are outlined in California Penal Code (PC) 288.2. The code states that:
    “Every person who knows, should have known, or believes that another person is a minor, and who knowingly distributes, sends, causes to be sent, exhibits, or offers to distribute or exhibit by any means, including by physical delivery, telephone, electronic communication, or in person, any harmful matter that depicts a minor or minors engaging in sexual conduct, to the other person with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust or passions or sexual desires of that person or the minor, and with the intent or for the purposes of engaging in sexual intercourse, sodomy, or oral copulation with the other person, or with the intent that either person touches an intimate body part of the other, is guilty.”
21 April, 2021 /
If you call California home, there are a few laws you should familiarize yourself with to avoid finding yourself on the wrong side of the law.

DUI Threshold Laws

Everyone knows that getting arrested for DUI is a serious, life-altering problem. The problem is that few people know what when they have crossed over the threshold from legally able to drive and become too drunk to drive. It doesn’t matter if you are the kind of person who gets buzzed after a few sips or someone who really can hold their liquor. If you’re pulled over and your blood alcohol level is 0.08% or higher, you will be charged with a DUI.

Data Privacy Laws in California

One of the great things about calling California home is knowing that you have a legal right to know exactly what type of data businesses collect about you and what they’re using it for. The California Consumer Privacy Act went into effect on January 1, 2020. The California Consumer Privacy Act is written in such a way that you:
  • Can delete personal data a business has collected
  • Block the sale of personal data
  • Have the ability to learn exactly what data is collected/sold/shared/etc.
21 April, 2021 /

Getting arrested and charged for DUI once in California is terrifying and life-altering. The second time you’re arrested for the same thing is even worse. Like many states, California lawmakers have decided that to take a hard stance on drunk drivers. One of the ways they’ve...

19 April, 2021 /