Don't ring the bell if you don't want to follow the rules. And never punch a bouncer in the face.
#14 A Do-over Jury Trial
#13 A Jury’s Struggle: “Being Under the Influence” v. “Being Impaired”
The laws relating to Driving Under the Influence (DUI) have provided a standard formula when it comes to prosecuting defendants who have consumed too much alcohol and chose to get behind the wheel of the car. We have two ways to proceed, and we often proceed with both routes: (1) the defendant's blood alcohol content…
#12 A “Who-Done-It” Jury Trial
Eye witness identification is a tricky thing. So many variables come into play that there is an entire jury instruction given. Things like: whether the witness knew the person, race, length of contact, stress of event, lighting conditions, proximity, suggestability of line up, and how closely the witness was paying attention are just a few…
#11 The Jury Trial Involving Justice for Murphy (the dog)
Murphy riding passenger with Paradise Animal Control in 2015 The biggest takeaway from jury trial #11 was that people in our neck of the woods care about animals, a lot. Animal cruelty was the only charge the defendant in this trial faced and it involved a pit bull puppy named Murphy who sustained multiple injuries…
#10 The Jury Trial where I Learned (the hard way) that My Instincts Matter
#10 was my first jury trial with significant media exposure. It involved a victim who went onto property that defendant was squatting at in Chico. He and his dog were attacked by the defendant with a knife and eventually chased off the property. The victim screamed for help as he ran away. One witness opened…
#9 The Jury Trial Where Criminal Law met Water Law at a Crossroads
There have been multiple times in my experiences as a prosecutor where I have had to dig deep into some very non-criminal law areas in order to both and proceed with prosecution. Crimes that happen in California that impact our natural resources is one of those areas. In California we have complicated regulatory schemes involving…
#8 The Jury Trial Where the Verdict Was Reached Outside the Courtroom
A lot of effort is involved in keeping our jurors insulated from any outside influences that could affect their opinion of the case. The Court gives them instructions that jurors cannot do any independent investigation, cannot look up or research the people involed on the internet, or do any research on legal concepts. Lawyers and…
#6 The Court Trial Involving Puppies
Sometimes a defendant will waive their Constitutional Right to a jury trial and agree to have the case decided by a Judge. This happens for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is a complicated legal argument, or the case could involve some highly inflamatory facts and a defendant may be concerned about a jury's reaction.…
#5 The Jury Trial Involving Math
Jury Trial 5 went right back into the arena of DUI. At 12:56am the defendant ran a stop sign at the entrance kiosk to Loafer Creek campground in Oroville. A State Parks officer attempted to pull him over but defendant did not yield, instead he continued to drive outside of the campground and onto Hwy…
#4 The Jury Trial Without a Victim
My fourth jury trial introduced me to the world of domestic violence. To say that as a prosecutor we never really know how a domestic violence case is going to pan out in front of a jury is an absolute understatement. These are the cases where prosecutors have to be prepared for absolutely every possibility.…
Hopelessly Devoted 