Poor Court Funding for Defense Lawyers

Posted on November 29, 2012 by admin

The Supreme Court requires state and federal governments to provide services to those they accuse of crimes, and governments pay private lawyers to fulfill those obligations.  But hiring private lawyers costs money and courts do not set budgets.  It is a well-known problem that legislatures often do not provide funding for criminal defense services that are deemed adequate.  For example, wrongful convictions are among the most discussed issues of the criminal justice.  And documented wrongful convictions are only a small portion of the total number.  These outcomes are in direct correlation with poor defense lawyering.  A further problem is that with guilty offenders, who can hire better lawyers and win acquittals or reduce punishments through entitlements and negotiation for non-criminal dispositions.

The uneven systemic effectiveness of defense counsel needs to be repaired by the court.  Poor defense is widely underfunded and the political structures in which it is entangled in suggest little hope for improvement.  Courts create formal entitlements, but legislative funding defines the real content of rights.  For example, rights such as effective defense counsel requires money in order to take into effect, but legislative funding undermines the defense attorneys, who are the primary enforces of such rights, and therefore decreases the exercise of such rights.  Courts have been unwilling to govern funding decision to reinforce legal guarantees.

If you have been arrested contact Criminal Attorney in Sacramento Richard Allaye Chan Jr., for free consultation. Call (916) 446-4400 today.

Allaye Chan Law
1000 G Street, Suite 220
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 446-4400

 

 

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White Collar Criminal Defenses

Posted on November 13, 2012 by admin

The penalties for white-collar crime vary depending on the degree of the defense, but they usually include either jail time (in either federal or state prison), fines, restitution (the return of money or property to the victim), forfeiture (the giving up of money or property), supervised release, or home detention. If you are under investigation for white-collar offense and have to go to trial, a skilled white-collar criminal defense team will examine a variety of defenses for you to undergo.  Duress, which is a threat of harm made to compel a person to do something against his or her will or judgment is a possible defense you could use.

Entrapment is a common defense in which law enforcement officials have coerced a defendant into committing a criminal act that he or she otherwise would not have committed.  Absence of intent is another common defense you can use if your attorney can convince the prosecutors or a judge that you lacked the intent to commit a crime.  If you are under investigation for a white-collar offense, you must realize that you are in a lot of trouble and that you must actively participate with your white-collar specialists to help fix the problem.

If you have been arrested contact Criminal Lawyer in Sacramento Richard Allaye Chan Jr., for free consultation. Call (916) 446-4400 today.

Allaye Chan Law
1000 G Street, Suite 220
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 446-4400

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Defenses

Posted on October 3, 2012 by admin

There are many different defenses that can be used in criminal cases.  One of the most notable one is that of insanity.  Different states have adopted different measures in evaluating and responding to the plea of insanity.  Some states adopted a simple test known as the M’Naghten rule, which is simply a determination of whether the perpetrator was able to distinguish right from wrong.  Other states have adopted the irresistible impulse test that may apply when a defendant knew he or she was doing wrong, but that status of his or her mind prevented him or her from controlling his or her conduct—he or she was overtaken by an irresistible impulse to engage in that behavior.  The District of Columbia adopted the Durham test and provides that an accused is not criminally responsible if his or her unlawful act was the product of mental disease or mental defect.  These types of insanity defenses are generally subject of a good deal of controversy and normally involve expert testimony from psychiatrists or other mental health professionals.

Another defense is intoxication.  If a crime requires specific intent, then a person who is intoxicated may be incapable of forming that specific intent.  Coercion is another defense that arises when there is duress.  For example, a bank teller who turns over the bank’s money to the robber is acting under duress and therefore is not guilty.  Another defense is that of necessity.  For example, a woman who is threatened with sexual assault, and who then breaks down a neighbor’s front door to seek refuge is not guilty of burglary because her conduct is governed by the defense of needing to find safety.

If you have been arrested contact Sacramento Criminal Lawyer Richard Allaye Chan Jr., for free consultation. Call (916) 446-4400 today.

Allaye Chan Law
1000 G Street, Suite 220
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 446-4400

 

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Bonds

Posted on September 28, 2012 by admin

A bond issued by a bail bondsman is a type of insurance policy with the court as the beneficiary of that policy.  The defendant who obtains the bond from the bail bondsman pays a premium for that bond, which normally is a certain percentage of the face amount of the bond.  If the defendant does not appear at subsequent court proceedings, then the bondsman has to pay that bond amount to the court.  The bondsman can get its money back.  The Eighth Amendment provides that excessive bail shall not be required.  That is a rather loose standard and indeed the amount of bail that will be set by the court is a very subjective matter.

If you have been arrested contact Sacramento Criminal Attorney Richard Allaye Chan Jr., for free consultation. Call (916) 446-4400 today.

Allaye Chan Law
1000 G Street, Suite 220
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 446-4400

 

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Murder

Posted on September 10, 2012 by admin

There are different degrees of murder.  Murder one, or capital murder, is the premeditated, willful, and deliberate killing of another person.  In most jurisdictions, the person who kills while attempting to inflict serious bodily injury on another has shown sufficient malice to be guilty of murder.  In those jurisdictions where murder is divided into different degrees, this type of murder is generally referred to as murder in the second degree.  The main distinction between first degree and second degree murder is the premeditation.

Felony murder arises where any death results during the commission of a felony.  A felony is a crime for which a person can be imprisoned for more than a year.  A misdemeanor is a crime for which a person can be imprisoned for up to a year.  Many jurisdictions make distinctions as to whether felony murder will be murder one or murder two depending upon the type of felony that is being committed.  Under the so-called year and a day rule, a death cannot be attributed to the defendant’s wrongful conduct unless the death occurs within a year and a day of that conduct.  So if the person died after a year and a day of the wrongful conduct, then the defendant could not be charged with murder.

If you have been arrested contact criminal defense attorney in Sacramento Richard Allaye Chan Jr., for free consultation. Call (916) 446-4400 today.

Allaye Chan Law
1000 G Street, Suite 220
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 446-4400

 

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Crimes of Theft

Posted on August 28, 2012 by admin

You commit the crime of embezzlement when you wrongfully take something that someone else has entrusted to you.  The main difference between larceny and embezzlement is that in embezzlement, you start off with lawful possession of the property.  For example, the corporate accountant who juggles the books and skims 10 percent off the top is guilty of embezzlement, since he or she was lawfully entrusted with the money in the first place.  But if a cleaning woman sees the money in an open safe and takes it, she is guilty of larceny because the company never entrusted the money to her.

You are guilty of forgery when you make or alter a writing that has some legal significance.  For example, signing another person’s name to a check without his or her consent, changing the amount on the check without the person’s permission, or pretending to be someone else and sign his or her name to a contract without the person’s content is forgery.

If you have been arrested contact criminal defense lawyer in Sacramento Richard Allaye Chan Jr., for free consultation. Call (916) 446-4400 today.

Allaye Chan Law
1000 G Street, Suite 220
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 446-4400

 

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Intoxication as Defense

Posted on August 8, 2012 by admin

Voluntary intoxication is generally not a defense to a crime, but it may reduce the charge in a few cases where a specific intent is required.  For instance, a man charged with first-degree murder may be convicted of second-degree murder by proving that he was so drunk he was incapable of premeditating the killing.

You can use involuntary intoxication as a defense only if you weren’t sober enough to realize what you were doing and could not control your actions.  Suppose somebody at a party drops a powerful drug in your drink without your knowledge.  Or you’ve been told that the punch you’re drinking is nonalcoholic, when it was actually spiked.  The next morning you wake up in jail wondering what had happened.  You learn that you were on a criminal rampage the night before.  You cannot be held guilty for your actions because you were so drunk or high on drugs that you didn’t know what you were doing because in this case, your intoxication was involuntary, against your knowledge and will.

If you have been arrested contact criminal lawyer Sacramento Richard Allaye Chan Jr., for free consultation. Call (916) 446-4400 today.

Allaye Chan Law
1000 G Street, Suite 220
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 446-4400

 

 

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The Adversary Process

Posted on July 16, 2012 by admin

Once the jury is chosen, the trial begins.  The adversary process is a process in which the adversaries attempt to achieve their different objectives through the rules of law and professional ethics.  The prosecutor’s job is to obtain a conviction of the defendant.  The prosecutor is an agent of the government and seeks to punish the criminal and prevent future crime.   The prosecutor is required to uphold the law, even if that makes it difficult to obtain a conviction.  The defense attorney, on the other hand, is the client’s advocate.  He attacks the state’s evidence, questions the credibility of its witnesses, and presents contrary evidence that tells a different story.  An adversary process empowers a defense attorney to assert the rights of any defendant, guilty or innocent.

If you have been arrested contact criminal attorney Sacramento Richard Allaye Chan Jr., for free consultation. Call (916) 446-4400 today.

Allaye Chan Law
1000 G Street, Suite 220
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 446-4400

 

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Criminal Acts Involve Voluntary Decisions

Posted on June 18, 2012 by admin

Every criminal offense requires both a criminal act and an accompanying state of mind.  An act is simply a movement of a part of the body and the criminality refers to the harm that ensues from the act.  The state of mind is the most fundamental part of a criminal offense.  The element of voluntariness is essential.  Only when the criminal has chosen to commit crime and consciously and voluntarily acted can he be justly punished.

There are some issues proving voluntariness or lack thereof.  For instance, if you were in possession of illegal drugs but did not know you had it because someone had slipped it into your pocket, you are not guilty because you did not possess it voluntarily.  However, if you knew you had the drugs and had enough time to dispose of them but didn’t, it is reasonable to infer that you voluntarily kept the drugs and are therefore guilty.

If you have been arrested contact criminal attorney in Sacramento Richard Allaye Chan Jr., for free consultation. Call (916) 446-4400 today.

Allaye Chan Law
1000 G Street, Suite 220
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 446-4400

 

 

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Exclusionary Rule

Posted on June 14, 2012 by admin

Although this rule is controversial, the exclusionary rule states that the courts must exclude evidence that was obtained as the result of an unreasonable search or seizure.  This rule was created to control police behavior and has had exceptions in certain cases.  The main idea is that if the police realize that evidence they obtain in violation of someone’s constitutional rights cannot be used in a criminal prosecution, they will control their behavior from that point forward and assure that the constitutional rights of defendants are observed.

Although this is a good way to control police behavior and therefore control constitutional rights, many people feel it is wrong to allow the criminal to go freely simply because the police have mistaken.

If you have been arrested contact Sacramento criminal attorney Richard Allaye Chan Jr., for free consultation. Call (916) 446-4400 today.

Allaye Chan Law
1000 G Street, Suite 220
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 446-4400

 

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