Category: California

From 2006: Hofsheier Decision (Equal Protection) From 2012: Case that said 311.11a cases weren’t subject to the Hofsheier Motion because there is no violation of the Equal Protection doctrine

The most telling predictor of whether an ex-offender will reenter the community as a law-abiding and productive member, or whether instead he or she will return to jail or prison, is employment. Former inmates with steady jobs have fairly high success rates. For those who can’t find work, prospects are dismal. Full Article

A 2004 state law requires the names and addresses of all registered sex offenders to be made public. On Monday, the state Supreme Court ruled that the law could apply to a Bay Area man who admitted molesting a child in 1991, when sex offender registrations were confidential. Full Article

A California Court of Appeal that last month rebuked a Huntington Beach Police Department (HBPD) sting operation targeting adults in pursuit of minors for sex on Craigslist has refused a California Attorney General’s office request to reconsider its decision, but nonetheless softened it stance in the case. Full Article

“… requiring the parties’ compliance with changes in the law made retroactive to them does not violate the terms of the plea agreement, nor does the failure of a plea agreement to reference the possibility the law might change translate into an implied promise the defendant will be unaffected by a change in the statutory consequences attending his or her conviction. To that extent, then, the terms of the plea agreement can be affected by changes in the law.“ 6-1 Decision

After more than seven years and a move 2,800 miles across the country, ____ ____ thought he’d left behind reminders of the arrest that capped a bitter break-up. That was, until he searched the Internet last month and came face-to-face with his 2006 police mug shot. Full Article

Only three of 46 people contacted by police Wednesday had not followed state sex offender registration laws or were violating probation terms, Santa Rosa police said. Officers from several agencies joined Santa Rosa police during the all-day effort to make sure sex offenders registered in the city were complying with the law, Sgt. Terry Anderson said. Full Article

A jury has convicted San Juan Capistrano resident Robert Eugene Vasquez of murdering his neighbor in what prosecutors described as a vigilante killing. He was also convicted of almost killing a second San Juan Capistrano man two days later, as he was hiding out from the police. Full Article

The Long Beach Unified School District has won a $2.6-million judgment in its lawsuit against a former student who falsely accused classmate and football player Brian Banks of rape, officials said Thursday. “The court recognizes that our school district was a victim in this case,” district Supt. Christopher J. Steinhauser said in a statement. “This judgment demonstrates that when people attempt to defraud our school system, they will feel the full force of the law.” Full Article

A panel of federal judges on Thursday ordered Gov. Jerry Brown to immediately begin releasing inmates from the state’s crowded prisons. In a 52-page order signed by U.S. District Judges Stephen Reinhardt, Lawrence Karlton and Thelton Henderson, the court ordered Brown to expand good-time credits that allow inmates to finish their prison terms early. Full Article

Article provided by Ventura Criminal Defense Lawyer – Bamieh & Erickson PLC Those convicted of sex crimes have long been a straw man for elected officials looking to bolster their political clout. Every time a politician wishes to appear “tough on crime,” one of the easiest avenues is pushing new sex offender legislation through the California House and Senate. But, while new sex offender regulations may be popular with the public, they are not always good policy, often hampering the livelihoods of individuals who would have otherwise simply paid their…

A man accused of killing a registered sex offender in a San Juan Capistrano mobile home park and attacking a second victim days later goes on trial Monday for murder. Robert Vasquez, 36, could face a sentence of life in state prison without parole if convicted, according to a statement from the Orange County district attorney’s office. Full Article NOTE: We copied and pasted the headline in the interest of news aggregation. However, we strongly disapprove of the choice of words and this type of reporting.

A survey that a crime victims’ group described as the first of its kind in California yielded some findings contrary to conventional wisdom Thursday: Most victims question the benefits of imprisoning more criminals and prefer rehabilitation, education and Gov. Jerry Brown’s realignment program. “This report turns on its head the notion that victims care only about tough-on-crime sentences,” said Lenore Anderson, director of Californians for Safety and Justice, the nonprofit that commissioned the poll. Full Article