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Plea deal of misdemeanor and no probation for superstar rapper in gun possession case. Judge dismisses 43 pound marijuana case at preliminary hearing. Our client and a co-defendant were arrested with 43 pounds of packaged marijuana and 22 plants. They were subsequently charged with possession... Dismissal for man client charged with downloading child pornography in Torrance Superior Court. Plea deal of three years for a social worker charged in $700,000 welfare fraud case, largest in LA County history. Client was a social worker who allegedly collected welfare for relatives and children who didn't exist. Not guilty verdict in felony battery case wherein the victim sustained serious and permanent injuries following a bar fight. Michael argued self-defense notwithstanding numerous prosecution witnesses. After a hung jury in the first trial... In a recent DUI case at the LAX court, Michael negotiated a plea resulting in a plea non-alcohol related reckless driving. Our client, a pharmaceutical salesperson, was... In a recent domestic violence case, Michael obtained a dismissal of all charges against our client at the time of trial. In that case, the alleged victim... No jail time for man charge with cultivation of 498 marijuana plants and 40 pounds of product, including $21,000 in stolen electricity from DWP. Plea deal of 3 years for client charged with the possession for sale of more than 25 kilos of cocaine. In a recent 25 pound methamphetamine case, Michael negotiated a 3 year deal for our client prior to trial in Los Angeles. In that case, our client... |
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Scandal At San Francisco Police Lab May Unravel Hundreds Of Cases
Posted By admin on Jun 3, 2010 8:21am PDT
A scandal that has shaken San Francisco's criminal justice system and rocked the race for state attorney general began with a criminalist who allegedly stole drugs from a police laboratory.
Investigators said Deborah Madden, a longtime Police Department criminalist who testified for the prosecution in scores of cases, told them she skimmed cocaine from the lab to help her quit drinking. She also implicated other analysts in sloppy investigative work.
But the revelation that reverberated most was about Madden's past: She had been convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence in 2008, a fact known to her supervisor but never revealed to prosecutors or defense lawyers when she testified.
Under Brady vs. Maryland, a 1963 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, prosecutors are required to disclose evidence helpful to the defense if it would likely change the outcome of a case. Madden's alleged thievery has sparked revelations that Dist. Atty. Kamala Harris, who is running for state attorney general, and her predecessors failed to seek and disclose potentially incriminating information about law enforcement witnesses.
"It was kind of a like a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy," said Jeff Adachi, the elected head of the Public Defender's office. "The police weren't telling and the district attorney wasn't asking."
Madden's admissions have prompted Harris to dismiss 700 pending drug cases and the police to shut down the drug lab. They also have sparked an ongoing background review of law enforcement personnel who may have testified for the prosecution.
Once the review is complete, prosecutors and defense lawyers will have to comb through a multitude of cases in which witnesses with undisclosed misconduct testified. Although felons are barred by law from being uniformed police officers, some officers could have misdemeanor convictions.
Adachi said that more than 100 police employees may have a history of misconduct that should have been disclosed and that "hundreds, if not thousands" of criminal cases were likely to have been affected.
Harris' opponents in the race for the Democratic nomination for attorney general have used the scandal to pummel her record. Former Facebook Inc. executive Chris Kelly has accused Harris of "extraordinary malfeasance," and former Los Angeles City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo also has blamed her for the problems.
Her defenders say she inherited a dysfunctional office and moved quickly to make changes once she learned that law enforcement witnesses had backgrounds that required disclosure.
"You have a duty to turn over evidence that is exculpatory that is in your possession, but you don't have a duty to find it," said UC Hastings Law Professor Rory Little, a former federal prosecutor. But he added, "It is stupid not to ask" potential witnesses for such information.
He estimated that 90% of prosecutor's offices in the U.S. have no system for determining whether law enforcement witnesses have records that should be disclosed, although Los Angeles has had such a policy in place for years.
"Until a case blows up, you tend not to do it because police unions resist it," Little said. "The D.A.'s office would assume the cops aren't using a chemist who steals drugs and has a conviction. But you cannot depend on people to disclose this kind of embarrassing information voluntarily. You are going to have to put a system in place that discovers it."
San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo lectured Harris' office in a ruling last month to be "more mindful" of due process.
A spokeswoman for Harris said she hopes to refile the drug cases that were dismissed, after the evidence is tested by outside laboratories. But Golden Gate University Law Professor Peter Keane predicted that "many cases are going to be fatally defective and are going to wind up being dumped."
"Ninety-nine percent of them will be cheap dope cases," said Keane, a former San Francisco public defender. "I doubt you will see anyone walking off death row as a result of this."
He said the revelations have highlighted the "stumblebum nature of the criminal justice system in San Francisco," which he contrasted to what he viewed as more professional law enforcement in Los Angeles and New York.
"You can't lay this entirely on Harris' doorstep," Keane said. "It surfaced on her watch, but it has been endemic for a long time."
Police Chief George Gascon, who was hired from the Los Angeles Police Department, has said he noticed the absence of a system for learning about so-called Brady material not long after he took over the department. He said he discussed it with the D.A.'s office in September.
Hastings Law Professor David Faigman, who specializes in forensic science, said Madden's case did not surprise him. He recalled taking a class to the drug lab several years ago and seeing open garbage bags of what appeared to be marijuana laying on the floor.
"Courts need to be more attentive to what is going on in laboratories," Faigman said. "The courts have been trusting them, and there is good reason to mistrust."
If you feel your rights have been violated during an arrest or prosecution of your case, you need to consult an experienced Los Angeles criminal defense attorney immediately. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office is required by law to release all discovery related to your case. Failure to do so could lead to dismissal of your charges.
In a recent case in Los Angeles Superior Court, Criminal Courts Building , attorney James A. Goldstein obtained a dismissal of charges in a massive $5 million Auto & Mortgage Fraud Case. In this multiple defendant case, his client was charged with 33 felony counts of fraud, including identity theft, grand theft and filing false financial documents. After more than 2 months in trial, James A. Goldstein brought a motion to dismiss all charges based on several discovery violations by the District Attorney, including the failure to turn over potentially exculpatory evidence, also referred to as a Brady violation.
If you have already been convicted of a crime and you feel the prosecution acted improperly, you need to consult a Los Angeles criminal appeals lawyer, to discuss the circumstances of your conviction and the possibility of filing an appeal.
If you need help filing a criminal appeal, we can represent you throughout the appeal process. Filing an appeal is a complicated and complex process that can take months or even a year to resolve. When filing an appeal, you want to make sure your case is being handled by a Los Angeles criminal appeals attorney who has experience in this area of criminal law, and can provide you with the professional advice and guidance you need. At Goldstein Law Group, we have more than 46 years of experience in criminal defense, and have handled countless criminal appeals throughout our careers. When you retain our services, we will make sure you have a thorough understanding of the appeals process, as well as your rights under the law. Most importantly, we will do everything we can to convince the appellate court to reverse your conviction.
For more information about our services, please don’t hesitate to contact a Los Angles criminal appeals lawyer at Goldstein Law Group today at (800) 571-4196. If you are interested in filing an appeal it’s important to act quickly!
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