Blog Posts in 2019

When someone chooses to plead guilty in a criminal case, the plea must be “knowing, intelligent, and voluntary.” This means they must understand the rights they are giving up in order to plead guilty, ...

Politics and other current, newsworthy events have led to an increase in attention to possible affronts made because of one’s affiliation with a minority group. The data shows that, despite the ...

Understanding Consent in California Since 2014, California has defined consent as an “affirmative and ongoing” process for any sexual activity. This standard is useful for determining what counts as ...

In my last blog, I began talking about the structural imbalances in the criminal justice system between the government and the accused and the ways the Constitution and courts have devised to attempt ...

There are few places in which the balance of power is as uneven as in criminal prosecution. On one side, you have the government, with essentially unlimited resources. On the other, you have the ...

It may seem impossible to put together a defense if the police found you possessing illegal drugs or drug paraphernalia —excuses like “it’s not mine!” or “I didn’t know what it was” only go so far in ...