Archives : 2011 : July

Queens of the Stone Age Nick Oliveri Being Questioned on Domestic Violence

California Domestic Violence

Under California law, domestic violence incidents involve the corporate injury or trauma to a current spouse, former spouse, domestic partner, co-parent of a child, girlfriend, boyfriend, fiancée or someone you are dating by either striking the person violently or causing bruising or swelling. You could either be charged under California Penal Code Section 273.5 with a felony domestic violence or a misdemeanor battery under Penal Code Section 243(e)(1), if there is no visible sign of injuries. Penal Code Section 422 also considers threatening someone with the intent to commit harm against them as a crime as well. California police have the authority to arrest offenders who violate restraining orders under Penal Code 836. However, the district attorneys are not required to prosecute offenders. As a result, victims may be at a higher risk of experiencing repeat incidents of domestic violence by their ex-domestic partner, person they have had an intimidate experience or dating experience with.

Penalties and Fines

If you are convicted of domestic violence charges in California, you could face a minimum of 30 days in the county jail or mandatory attendance of a batter’s class for a first time misdemeanor, or one to four years in the state prison and a fine up to $6,000 or both for a felony domestic violence charge. Immigrants convicted of domestic violence will automatically be deported. Having a domestic violence charge on your record may prevent you from obtaining a job or a government college loan or other financial assistance.

Case Example

Nick Oliveri, the bassist and singer with Queens of the Stone Age, was arrested on Tuesday July 12, 2011, at his Hollywood, California home for domestic violence after a five hour standoff with the LAPD SWAT team. According to the police, Oliveri and his girlfriend got into an argument on Monday. Oliveri left the scene before police arrived and returned to his home on Tuesday. Police were afraid that he might have taken his girlfriend hostage, but she left the home around 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening. Oliveri was taken into police custody around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening after LAPD knocked on his door. Investigators are checking into what went on at the house and whether Oliver was under the influence of narcotics.
California domestic violence/domestic battery charges are serious. If you are arrested for either, you should contact a California criminal defense attorney immediately to represent you. The attorney can argue defenses such as self-defense, defense of others or accident in order to get your charges reduced to a lesser crime, get you probation or attendance of a batter’s class or get the charges dismissed.

The need for a criminal defense attorney; Dominique Strauss-Kahn

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was arrested in May 2011, for allegedly sexually assaulting a hotel housekeeper in his New York Sofitel hotel room. Strauss-Kahn pled not guilty to seven charges, including attempted rape, a conviction of which carries a 10 year prison sentence in New York. He was released from house arrest on Friday July 1, 2011, on his own recognizance. Although prosecutors made no attempt to oppose the release, they have retained his passport.

The Manhattan prosecutors acknowledge that they do have evidence to support the rape accusations made by the housekeeper that Strauss-Kahn forced her to perform oral sex. They are getting ready to make a decision whether or not they are going to drop the case against Strauss-Kahn. The housekeeper admitted to prosecutors that she lied about what the details after the alleged rape incident. She initially said she waited in the hall after the attack until after Mr.  Strauss-Kahn left his room. She then admitted that she cleaned a room nearby and then returned to clean Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s room. After that, she said she reported the incident to her supervisor.

Prosecutors informed Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s attorney’s by letter that the housekeeper made up the charges with the help of a male who gave her a cassette recording that she memorized. She also admitted that she had never been a victim of gang rape in Guinea. In addition, she admitted to falsifying her income in order to qualify for housing and declaring a friend’s child and her own child as dependents on tax returns to get an increased amount on her tax refund.  Prosecutors have informed the Judge that the credibility of the housekeeper has been compromised as a result of her history of lying, and that it will be difficult to get a jury to believe her even if she is telling the truth about the rape.

Mr. Thompson, the attorney for the housekeeper, admits that she lied, but he insists that she was attacked and her testimony of the incident has not changed. He explained the fact that she cleaned a room after the incident occurred because she was confused and upset about what happened to her. Mr. Strauss-Kahn has maintained he is innocent of any wrongdoing. Prior to this incident, Strauss-Kahn was viewed as the top contender for the French Presidential race next year. Strauss-Kahn recently said: “media speculation that he might run is simply absurd.” Meanwhile, the only two people who really know what happened in that hotel room are Mr. Strauss-Kahn and the housekeeper.

If you have been arrested for attempted rape, this is a very serious offense. You should hire a criminal defense attorney immediately to represent you. Depending on the evidence the prosecutor has and the circumstances of the case, your attorney can argue that the sex was consensual, or that there was insufficient evidence or mistaken identity to get the charges dismissed against you.

Rodney King Booked On Suspicion Of Driving Under The Influence

California driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drug laws (DUI laws) are complex, and you could face stiff fines, penalties and jail time, especially if you cause an accident resulting in the serious injury or death of another person if your BAC is over .08% at the time of your arrest. Penalties are enhanced for second or more offenses, and you could face automatic suspension of your driver’s license for a minimum one year or more. You may also be required to install an Ignition Interlock Device (IID) in your car at your own expense and attend a drug or alcohol counseling program.

Penalties

Vehicle Code Sections 23152 and 23153

Under Vehicle Code Section 23152, you could be charged with a misdemeanor DUI or a felony under Vehicle Code Section 23153 if you cause an accident and/or injury to someone.

Penal Code 191.5 and 192

Under Penal Code Sections 191.5 and 192, you could be charged with vehicular manslaughter if you cause the death of another person while driving under the influence. A DUI first offender with a BAC over .08% faces suspension of their driver’s license for four months up to one year if they refuse to take a chemical test. Drivers under the age of 21 with a BAC of .01% face having their license automatically suspended for one year. For a DUI second offense and a BAC over .08%, drivers face a one year suspension or a two year suspension for refusal to take a chemical test.
Jail sentences range from 96 hours to three years and fines up to $1,600. You may be required to complete a driving under the influence counseling program, mandatory installation of an IID in your car, and have to obtain SR22 (California Proof of Insurance Certificate) car insurance.  Keep in mind that penalties are increased if you have a second or more conviction. Three DUI convictions within 10 years with a BAC of .08% are considered a felony in California.

Case

Rodney King, famous for his videotaped beating by Los Angeles police in 1992, which resulted in the trial of the police accused of brutally beating King and the 1992 Los Angeles riots that erupted after the verdict was read acquitting three of the LAPD officers and finding one of the officers guilty of excessive force, was arrested and booked on suspicion of driving under the influence on Tuesday July 12, 2011, in Moreno Valley, California. According to police, King committed multiple traffic violations while driving a 1994 Mitsubishi.  Police were not sure if King was drunk or on drugs at the time of the arrest.

If you are arrested for a DUI offense in California, you should hire a California criminal defense attorney to defend you. The attorney is an expert at California DUI laws and will assert legal defenses to get your charges reduced to a lesser offense such as speeding or negligence if you are charged with vehicular manslaughter, or the attorney may be able to you into a drug or alcohol treatment program to get you a suspended sentence or probation. The attorney will also investigate whether the police failed to observe Miranda warning laws before they questioned you in order to get your case dropped or help you with expungement of a DUI conviction or other driving record charges.

Casey Anthony Not Guilty

On July 5, 2011, an Orlando jury at the Orange County Courthouse found defendant Casey Anthony not guilty of first degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter of a child regarding charges filed against her in 2008 regarding the death of her two year old daughter, Caylee Anthony. She was convicted of four lesser misdemeanor crimes of providing false information to law enforcement officers. If Casey had been convicted of first degree murder, should could have faced the death penalty in Florida. Judge Belvin Perry sentenced her to the maximum four year sentence for her misdemeanor convictions of lying to authorities. He denied the defense’s request to combine the misdemeanor counts into one which could have meant that she would have been released immediately. She was given time served and good behavior and is expected to be released on July 17, 2011. An unnamed juror who was interviewed after the decision said the reason the jury found Casey not guilty of the more serious crimes of murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter is that the prosecutors failed to show how Caylee was murdered.

The circumstances surrounding the case began when Cindy Anthony reported her granddaughter, Caylee Anthony missing on July 5, 2008. Casey Anthony was arrested on July 16, 2008 on circumstantial evidence and charged in October of 2008 with first degree murder. In December of 2008, almost six months after Caylee was reported missing, police investigators found parts of the decomposed body of Caylee with duct tape in the woods near the Anthony residence. It was established by the prosecution and admitted by the defense team, that Casey Anthony lied to sheriff deputies about working at Universal Studios, about employing a nanny that took care of Caylee and that the nanny, whose name was Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez took the child (it was later determined that no such person existed, about telling two imaginary people Caylee was missing and about receiving a telephone call from Caylee the day prior to when she was reported missing). Photos were presented showing Casey at a Florida nightclub partying with friends prior to the child being reported as missing.

At trial, Casey’s lead defense attorney Jose Baez claimed that Casey had lied to cover up the family tragedy that Caylee had accidentally drowned in her grandparents George and Cindy Anthony’s pool. He also claimed that Casey did not tell the truth because she was frightened of her father George Anthony, who her attorney Baez claimed started molesting Casey at age eight. Baez also claimed that Casey’s brother might be Caylee’s father, and that the meter reader who found Caylee’s remains may have moved them. None of these allegations were ever proven. Casey’s defense team was able to raise enough reasonable doubt about the duct tape that showed no evidence of Casey’s DNA on it, which prosecutors argued was allegedly used to suffocate Caylee. They also raised doubt about conflicting testimony regarding the odor inside the Anthony car. It had not been established whether it was a decomposing body or trash left in the car. The prosecutors did not clarify why chloroform was so important to the case.
The case became one of the most watched and talked about cases since the O.J. Simpson murder trial and attracted a crowd of spectators and national and international media coverage. In fact, outside the courthouse the day the verdict was read, people expressed their outrage that justice had not been served for Caylee.  Casey Anthony could profit from the case by selling her story to publishers, filmmakers or by signing a television contract.

If you are arrested for murder, aggravated child abuse or aggravated assault of a child, these are serious crimes. Depending on your state laws, you could face the death penalty or life in prison if convicted of first degree murder. You should hire an experienced criminal defense attorney to defend you. The attorney can argue such defenses as circumstantial evidence or lack of evidence, mistaken identity, self defense or defense of others to either create enough reasonable doubt to get you acquitted or have the charges dismissed or reduced to a lesser crime.