How to Respond to Police Questioning?

Jun 26, 2017

What To Do When Encountering Questions from Law Enforcement?

The stated purpose of establishing a police department is to investigate, solve and deter the commission of a crime. While the reality may not always match the ideal, a big part of police work is questioning victims, witnesses, and suspects of crime. Talking to the police is not an experience most people enjoy, and if the conversation is related to involvement in the commission of a crime, saying anything is ill-advised.

Anytime a person is associated with criminal activity, a criminal defense attorney should be consulted to ensure the law is followed and rights are not violated. Even being questioned as a source of information can be an overwhelming experience, and would still make most people cautious about offering information.

Understanding one’s obligation to participate in police questioning is important for exercising one’s legal rights, and avoiding false implications in a crime, especially if police are looking to elicit specific information. It is no secret that police have coerced and pressured individuals for the information they want, which can be difficult to withstand, and even children have been subject to this type of unfair treatment.

Lawmakers are attempting to fix this situation for children through the consideration of a bill that would require minors to be permitted to consult with an attorney before waiving any constitutional rights.

Knowing when and how to respond to police questions is an issue relevant to everyone, and a discussion on how to best handle this situation will be explored below.

What Are Your Rights When the Police Questioning You?

First, no one is legally required to participate in police questioning, and police cannot hold a person for questioning if no arrest is made. Further, police are required to inform the individual that staying for questioning is voluntary and he/she is free to leave at any point.

However, if no arrest is anticipated, police are not required to read a person his/her Miranda Rights, which are rights extended to all criminal suspects under the U.S. Constitution. The risk of not remaining cognizant of these rights during any interaction with police is a self-incriminating statement that could be made that arouses police suspicion.

These rights include:

• the right to remain silent;
• the right to refrain from making self-incriminating statements; and
• the right to the appointment and/or presence of an attorney.

A person always has the ability to say no to questioning, whether a suspect or not, though police are likely to continue until one of the rights listed above is specifically invoked.

When Must You Answer a Police Officer’s Question?

Generally, a person is always required to identify him/herself if asked, and to provide requested documents during a traffic stop. Further, while questions do not have to be answered, commands or orders typically have to be followed.

Can You Refuse to Answer Police Questions?

If the police make a request for voluntary questioning at the police station, it is not advisable to participate in this conversation without first obtaining legal counsel. Thus, instead of proceeding directly to the station, an appointment should be made so there is at least an opportunity to consult an attorney, but having an attorney present during any questioning is the better option.

Not only can an attorney protect one’s rights, he/she can also assess the nature of the questioning and whether a person has reason to worry about forthcoming criminal charges.

Our Los Angeles Attorneys Can Help You

Being questioned by police in any context can be overwhelming, but having an experienced criminal defense attorney by your side greatly reduces the likelihood the interaction will support criminal charges being brought against you.

The Los Angeles law firm Manshoory Law Group, APC educates their clients about to combat the charges against them, and continuously fights to get the best possible result. Attorneys are available 24/7 to take your call. Contact us for a free consultation.

California Supreme Court Clarifies the Law on Criminal Threats

Jun 19, 2017

Controlling one’s emotions is one of the hardest aspects of being human, especially the strong emotions of anger and jealousy. At some point, almost everyone loses their temper and says or does something they later regret. Most of the time these momentary lapses in judgment do have serious consequences, but sometimes, criminal charges may result.

Anytime criminal charges are possible, a criminal defense attorney should be the first point of contact to address this serious situation. Not every threat will subject a person to potential criminal prosecution, but it is important to understand where the lines are legally drawn.

This offense, known as a criminal threat under California penal law, may appear to be easily understood and thus avoided, but the California Supreme Court recently issued a decision about the applicability of criminal threat charges to nonverbal behavior, which shows that even seemingly simple crimes have nuances that control when someone may be found guilty.

A discussion on what a criminal threat is, the impact of the Supreme Court’s recent decision, and some defenses available to combat this charge will follow below.

What is a Criminal Threat?

The U.S. Constitution grants all citizens the right to free speech, so the government cannot arbitrarily restrict what someone is allowed to say. However, some limitations are permitted if the speech involves statements that can lead to harm to another.

In the case of criminal threats, California law says it is a crime to:

• intentionally threaten to kill or seriously harm another person, in which:
• the statement, which can be communicated verbally, in writing, or electronically, was meant to be understood as a threat;
• the statement was so “unequivocal, unconditional, immediate and specific,” it suggested the immediate ability to carry it out; and
• the person threatened reasonably feared for his/her safety or the safety of his/her family.

All of these factors, or elements in legal terms, must be proven by the prosecution in order to convict a person of this offense.

Supreme Court Decision

Looking at the elements, the method of communication required to qualify as a criminal threat seems clear – spoken, written, or electronic. However, prosecutors recently decided to charge a man with this offense solely based on hand gestures.

Specifically, the man charged was supposed to have made the hand sign of a particular gang, followed by the shape of a gun, which was then pointed at an off-duty police officer and his friends. The court said the law, based on the plain language of the statute, does not include nonverbal hand gestures under its prohibitions. As a result, the court dismissed the five charges of criminal threat filed against the defendant.

How to Beat a Criminal Threats Charge?

As noted above, the prosecution must prove the above elements before a defendant can be found guilty of making a criminal threat. One way to prevent that from happening is to argue that one or more of the factors are not present in the case.

These arguments are legal defenses to this charge, and some examples include:

• there was no immediate threat because the statement was too vague as to when the threat would be carried out;
• the alleged victim was not afraid because it was taken as a joke, or the person did not believe it could be carried out;
• the victim’s fear was unreasonable; or
• the victim’s fear was momentary, and it did not cause prolonged concern.

Presenting legal defenses is a critical aspect of any criminal defense case, and is one of the primary reasons someone facing criminal charges needs to seek an experienced criminal defense attorney.

Hire a Criminal Defense Attorney

No matter the charge, you need a criminal defense attorney committed to defending your rights and getting the best possible result. A criminal justice system is a complex place that calls for an experienced attorney to advocate for your interests.

Los Angeles’ Manshoory Law Group, APC knows what it takes to build a strong defense, and has attorneys available 24/7 to take your call. Contact us for a free consultation.

How to Dispute a Police Report in California?

Apr 26, 2017

How to Challenging a Police Report?

When a police officer files a report about an alleged criminal incident, it carries a lot of weight with prosecutors, and significantly increases the chances that charges will be filed against the named individuals. If there are any possible criminal charges that will be filed, a person should hire a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible.

The veracity of the allegations in police reports is rarely questioned, which understandably creates the feeling that challenging the police officer’s statement is nearly impossible. However, a recent news story out of central California, about a man arrested on narcotics and weapons charges, demonstrates that police reports can be contested and that California law has a procedure in place to do so.

The existence of such a procedure to challenge police reports reflects the state’s recognition that police are not always right. Given that false police reports can lead to an innocent person going to jail or prison, understanding when and how to challenge one is important information to know. A discussion of several approaches for contesting the contents of a police report will follow below.

Investigation and Cross-Examination at Trial

A police officer’s report is often one of the foundational aspects of the State’s case in criminal prosecution. Thus, exposing the contents as false can completely undermine the prosecutor’s efforts.

Experienced criminal defense attorneys will know that if the possibility exists a police officer filed a false report, a private investigator should be hired to uncover evidence of the report’s false claims. Once confirmation of the report’s false claims is found, this information can be used to convince the prosecutor to drop the case.

In addition, the legitimacy of a police report can be challenged within the trial itself. A standard aspect of most criminal trials involves the investigating or arresting police officer testifying about his/her knowledge of the case.

Skilled criminal defense attorneys will know how to effectively question the officer to elicit testimony that contradicts or conflicts with what is written in the police report. This type of attack will throw a lot of doubt onto the State’s case, and make it unlikely they can prove guilt.

How Can I File a Complaint?

Another way to create uncertainty in the prosecution’s case is to file a complaint against the police officer with the police department. Few accused of a crime would go the trouble to file a complaint if there was no real basis for challenging the officer’s report.

If the department sees enough merit to take the complaint seriously, the complaint can be used as leverage to convince the prosecutor to reduce the charges or drop the case. Alternatively, if the case makes it to trial, claims by the defense that the officer lied in the report are likely to be given more weight by the jury if a complaint was filed as well.

How to Request Petition to See Personnel Records?

In addition, California allows defendants to request access to a police officer’s personnel records, called a Pitchess Motion, to see if other people reported similar misconduct by filing false reports. This information can be used by the defense to show a pattern of providing false information by an officer and to gather a list of potential witnesses to call at trial that can testify about the past misconduct.

Basically, this request is made when there is a belief that the officer’s wrongful actions had a significant impact on the charges filed against a person, and personnel records can provide evidence there is a history of bad behavior. Depending on what the review of the personnel file turns up, this evidence could be used to suppress evidence or dismiss the charges.

Hire a Criminal Defense Attorney to Dispute a Police Report

Criminal charges should never be taken lightly. If you expect to be or have been charged with a crime, you need an experienced criminal defense attorney on your side to challenge the prosecutor’s case.

The Los Angeles law firm Manshoory Law Group, APC works to get the best possible results for all their clients and has attorneys available 24/7 to help you. Contact us for a free consultation.

Lawmakers Look to Downgrade Criminal Statute on Transmission of HIV

Apr 24, 2017

Reports of sex crimes are filed with police every day, and each individual accused of such a crime is entitled to representation by a criminal defense attorney. Generally, though, sex between two consenting adults should be a private act that is free from regulation by the government. However, the State feels there is a greater interest involved when one partner fails to disclose to the other that he/she is positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Because infection with HIV brings the possibility of early death, the government believes that withholding this information from a potential partner unfairly exposes them to this serious condition without permission. There is still a significant stigma associated with HIV that goes back to the early days of its discovery in the 1980s, which makes those that suspect or know they carry this virus understandably reluctant to discuss it with others.

Some lawmakers in the state legislature want to remove some of the negativity linked with HIV by reducing several HIV-based criminal offenses from felonies to misdemeanors in hopes of encouraging more people to get tested and seek treatment. In addition to HIV, knowingly exposing a sexual partner to other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) is also a criminal offense. Understanding how the government treats this issue is important for both past and future sexual encounters.

A discussion of the criminal laws related to exposing others to STDs and HIV, as well as the proposed legislation, will follow below.

Current Law on HIV/STD Exposure

Under California Health and Safety laws, it is a misdemeanor for someone carrying any “contagious, infectious or communicable disease,” which includes commonly-known STDs, to intentionally expose him/herself to the public. HIV, on the other hand, is treated much more harshly.

Knowingly exposing a sexual partner to infection with HIV without their knowledge and with the intent to infect is charged as a felony, and brings potential sentences of three, five, or eight years in State prison. Importantly, knowing one is HIV positive is not enough to convict a person of this offense if the intent to infect another person is not also proven.

Common defenses to this charge are the person did not know they were HIV positive when he/she engaged in the sexual intercourse or that the accused lacked the intent to infect the other person.

Proposed HIV Legislation

The proposed legislation would reduce the offense of intentionally exposing another to infection with HIV to a misdemeanor punishable by no more than six months in county jail. The bill specifically amends the law so that the intentional transmission of an infectious or communicable disease falls under one provision and eliminates the separate felony offense for HIV transmission completely.

In particular, a person would be guilty of this misdemeanor offense if all of the following are true:

• the defendant knows they are infected with a communicable disease;
• the defendant acts with the intent to spread it to another person; and
• the other party is infected with the disease.

Noteworthy is the fact that not knowing about the possible exposure to a communicable disease prior to sexual interaction does not automatically make it involuntary, and an intent to spread the disease does not exist if the defendant took steps to prevent it, i.e., wearing a condom.

Hire a Criminal Defense Attorney

Being charged with a sex-related crime can ruin your life, so aggressively combating these accusations from the beginning is essential. Manshoory Law Group, APC is committed to vigorously defending clients against these charges to mitigate the devastating consequences.

If you are facing a sex crime and live in the Los Angeles area, contact the Manshoory Law Group right away to start taking control of this serious situation. Attorneys are available 24/7, and offer free consultations in all cases.