Everyone has heard the term “hung jury”, but what exactly does it mean? In a criminal case in California, the jury verdict must be unanimous. All 12 jurors must agree that either the defendant is either guilty or not guilty. A hung jury happens when the jurors simply can’t reach…
Feel like you’re being tried in a kangaroo court? Has someone falsely accused you of committing a serious crime and then disappeared before you have a chance to defend yourself in court? It happens more often than you think. You get accused by someone in a “he said she said”…
Recently I visited the ongoing trial of a man accused of murder. The defendant was a Hispanic man in his twenties and was an admitted member of a Hispanic gang in Santa Ana. I walked into the courtroom, sat down and took a look at the jury. I almost laughed…
What happens when just one of twelve refuses to vote for guilty? That juror becomes the Hold Out Juror. It takes twelve guilty votes to convict. A jury has twelve members. All twelve have to agree and vote for guilt before a guilty verdict can be returned. The Hold Out…
Recently an 18 year old appeared by way of a video arraignment. She was in jail and the judge was in the courtroom. The original charge was pretty simple. However, she was in jail having just been arrested the night before. The Defendant was standing at the podium in the…
The police reports pain an ugly picture. They clearly show that the Defendant is guilty. What to do? How does your attorney get the District Attorney to reduce or dismiss the charge against you? The experienced trial attorney tries to paint a picture that accurately shows the client for who…
A defendant has a right to a jury trial in most misdemeanor trials and in all felony trials. Many times the case is won or lost in jury selection. A prosecutor told me the other day that he won the case in jury selection after the case was concluded. He…
Crimes occur with many participants. Murders, car-jacking, embezzlement, fraud, white collar crime, insurance fraud, and almost any crime you can imagine can happen with more than one defendant. Anytime there is a case involving multiple defendants there is the possibility that one of the defendants will turn “state’s evidence”. In…
Many times a case has multiple defendants. A crime will occur and several people will get arrested. Some might be friends or they might be strangers to each other. But, like most events in our lives, we do what we do with people we know. So what happens when several…
Defendant was charged with residential burglary. The young man was Hispanic and was known to associate with gang members. He denied being a gang member himself but the police were constantly stopping him and conducting interviews in “consensual encounters”. He wasn’t consenting to being stopped by the police but unless…