Anybody who has watched any police show on TV is familiar with the Miranda rights-You have the right to remain silent.  Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.  You have the right to speak to an attorney.  If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.  Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you? However, suspects in the future will likely hear a markedly different version of the Miranda rights.  This is the result of a slow chipping away at these rights, to the extent that some current versions leave much room for ambiguity.

This year, the Supreme Court made several revisions to the Miranda warnings.  It is a development that Alabama criminal defense attorneys have watched with growing concern.  During the recently ended Supreme Court session, the court placed several limits on the rights.  The decisions do not change the wording of the Miranda Rights as most Americans know them.  However, the Supreme Court did approve of one version of the Miranda Rights in the state of Florida.

The problem that Alabama criminal defense lawyers have with this version is that the wording does not inform suspects that they have a right to have a lawyer present when they’re being questioned by police.  The Miranda warning that is currently being used in some parts of Florida goes like this – You have the right to talk to a lawyer before answering any of our questions.  If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, one will be appointed for you without cost and before any questioning.  You have the right to use any of these rights at any time you want during this interview.

Criminal defense lawyers have argued that this version of the warning leaves room for much ambiguity, and does not make it clear to the suspect that he can have a lawyer present during his questioning.  However, the court ruled that this version contains all the information a suspect needs.

There are other changes too.  A suspect’s request for an attorney is now only valid for 14 days after he’s released from police custody.  Two weeks after he is released from custody, police can question a suspect without having to repeat his Miranda rights.

The last change is the strangest of all.   For the first time now, a suspect must inform the police that he or she intends to remain silent.  In other words, your right to remain silent is only valid if you actually inform the police that you intend to remain silent.

Karen Goldstein has published some very helpful Questions and Answers pertaining to criminal defense.  These questions range from General Law to DUI, Federal Crimes, Domestic Violence and Sex Crimes.  The information is informative and simple.  It is interesting ready whether you have been arrested for a crime or are just interested in the legal process.

Elena Mebtahi has posted an DUI Questionnaire on her website.  The form allows an individual to give all of the details of their arrest so the attorney can review them before a call is initiated.  This allows the attorney to be very efficient and understand each person’s situation before calling.  It also allows an easy first step for a person who may have never hired an attorney before.  The questionnaire guides a person through all of the information a DUI lawyer would need.  The form can be filled out in under 5 minutes and starts the process that a person arrested of DUI should undergo.

California easily has some of the worst prison conditions in the nation. Massive overcrowding is just one of the problems that the state is struggling to cope with, but much like an ostrich with its head in the sand, the state refuses to believe this problem exists. Add to that a growing problem with poor quality prison food that’s low in nutrition, low in taste, and supposedly, high in cost efficiency.

Budget cuts across the state have become a fact of life for many Californians. These cuts have also infiltrated down into the prison system, where the food is getting progressively inedible. Any criminal defense lawyer in Los Angeles or inmate rights advocate will tell you that most prison riots are caused because of hungry and aggressive prisoners. A well fed prisoner is less likely to indulge in fights, or incite riots. In 1971, prisoners at New York’s Attica prison rioted in a carnage that resulted in 43 deaths. It was America’s deadliest prison riot, and was linked to the poor quality meals served at the prison.

Since then, prison rights advocates have been able to advocate for more nutritious meals that are a blend of calories and nutrients. Prisons now come with cleaner kitchens, and prisoners with health issues can have low-fat as well as low-sodium meals. However, inmate rights groups allege that budget cuts have led to leaner menus in prisons. There are fewer hot meals being served, and the portions are getting smaller. Also in order to cut down on costs, more and more prisons in California are turning to packaged foods that have a bland taste and minimal nutritional value. Besides, prisons don’t offer diabetic-friendly meals and don’t take into consideration food allergies. County jails have some of the worst food that inmates can be expected to eat.

Unfortunately, we never hear about how budget cuts affect prison inmates. These are not glamorous issues that tug at your heartstrings . That’s why it’s important that Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys continue to bring attention to this prison health and safety issue.

Balls of thick, black, crude oil sludge are headed toward the Louisiana coastline, threatening to endanger the health of local communities and destroy their livelihoods. Not that the Jindal administration is wasting any sleep over it. The Louisiana Legislature is all set to pass a bill that will ban cyberbullying of kids.

The bill would prohibit the use of the Internet or text messaging devices to send an electronic communication that is intended to “coerce, abuse, torment, harass, embarrass or cause any emotional distress to a person under the age of 17”. Under the bill, using the Internet, text messages or any other form of electronic communication methods to ”bully” under 17-year-olds would become a crime.

So under the new law, a young Louisiana girl who sends a text message to her ex-boyfriend calling him unprintable names, would be a criminal. For that matter, anyone who e-mails or sends anyone a similar private message on Facebook, MySpace or any other social networking site or public forums, would all be criminals. Supporters of the bill insist that a measure like this was long overdue. This week, controversy rages in Massachusetts over the suicide of a 16-year-old girl after bullying and harassment by her schoolmates.

You don’t have to be a Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer to understand how silly this is. There’s no doubt that risks to sensitive teenage minds from, what they perceive as, bullying online or off-line, are real. However, it’s important that legislators define real risks to teenagers definitively. You can’t lug everything from an annoying, but harmless private text message, to a major rant on a public forum or Facebook, in the same category. You need to define exactly what constitutes a serious risk to a teenager’s mental state of mind, and target those risks only. This law targets so many different categories of non, semi, quasi, and total harassment that it could actually end up creating more problems than solving any.

This isn’t the kind of thing that California criminal defense lawyers get to see very often.  A Texas convict has received a temporary reprieve in the form of a United States Supreme Court stay of his execution. The stay came just as Hank Skinner was eating his last meal, one hour before the execution was due to take place.

The days and hours leading up to the execution have been dramatic, and full of frenzied efforts by Skinner’s advocates around the country and worldwide. Texas Gov. Rick Perry received more than 8,000 letters of support calling for a stay on the execution.

Those calls of support are based on Skinner’s insistence that more DNA testing could prove his innocence, and exonerate him of the murder of his girlfriend and her two adult sons. That murder took place on New Year’s Eve 1990. The girlfriend Twila Busby and her two sons Elwin Caler and Randy Busby were found dead in the home Busby shared with Skinner. Busby had been bludgeoned to death, while her two sons had been stabbed.

Skinner was in the home when the murders occurred. He has never denied that. He says he was incapacitated by heavy alcohol and codeine use, and does not know what happened. He has always pointed to Busby’s uncle, who has since died, as the real murderer.

DNA testing ultimately convicted Skinner, but the testing was not done on items that Skinner now wants tested.  For over a decade, Skinner has insisted that more DNA testing on untested evidence from the scene – including vaginal swabs from Busby, finger nail clippings, strands of hair, two knives, a dish towel and a jacket found at the scene – could exonerate him.  Prosecutors insist that all evidence found at the scene points to Skinner as the murderer. Gov. Perry has resisted acting on Skinner’s behalf, but the U.S. Supreme Court has now finally acted with a temporary reprieve.

The reprieve comes after hectic efforts by criminal defense lawyers around the country, the Innocence Project, and Change.org. The case quickly went international, with appeals for a stay coming in from France and other European countries.

The Supreme Court will now decide whether to take up Skinner’s appeal, although it isn’t yet certain when that will happen.

DUI Expungement Attorney Los Angeles

A DUI conviction can have serious consequences far beyond the payment of fines and other penalties. A DUI conviction on your record poses a significant stumbling block to securing a good job and can negatively affect your future career advancement. This could be especially disastrous if you are a college student or recent graduate who is about to enter the job market.  Having your DUI Expunged will remove a DUI conviction from your record and will help you secure a successful future in the workplace.

What is a DUI Expungement?

A DUI expungement is a legal procedure that partially clears your criminal record following a DUI conviction. A petition is filed with the court and reviewed by a judge. If the judge grants the expungement, your “guilty” or “no contest” plea is withdrawn, a plea of “not guilty” is entered, and the DUI case is dismissed. Both misdemeanor and felony DUI convictions can usually be expunged. If you successfully completed probation for a felony DUI, it may be possible to reduce it to a misdemeanor prior to expungement.

What Are The Benefits of Expungement?

After your expungement is granted, you can truly say that you have not been convicted of a crime. Your conviction will not show up in a background check performed by non-government entities and private parties. You no longer have to disclose the fact of the DUI conviction on job applications and a prospective employer will not be able to hold a DUI conviction against you in hiring or promotion considerations. There are, however, three exceptions when disclosure is required:

• if you seek to become a peace officer or run for public office;
• if you seek to contract with the California Lottery Commission; or
• if you apply for a state license or teaching credentials.

How Do I Qualify For An Expungement?

Anyone can have his or her California DUI conviction expunged as long as:

• your DUI conviction did not result in a prison sentence (incarceration in a city or county jail does not count);
• you do not have any pending criminal charges or current court cases; and
• you have successfully completed your probation.

Don’t let a DUI conviction cripple your career opportunities.  Look into the possibility of having your record reversed through the expungement process.

Elena Mebtahi is no ordinary DUI Attorney in Los Angeles.  She is focusing her practice on representing people who have been arrested for DUI and are on a slim budget.  College kids and other people who have been hit hard by the economy can not always afford an attorney.  Elena is making it possible for a lot more people to find good legal representation after being arrested for a DUI.

Some college students may actually be from outside of California.  If their parents are trying to help them out and looking for an attorney online, Elena has a very informational website at www.la-duiattorney.com/.  If you have been arrested for drunk driving and are looking for an inexpensive DUI attorney in Los Angeles, Elena Mebtahi may be just who you are looking for.

New California DUI Law

On July 1st, 2010, repeat DUI offenders may receive a bit of a break.  Currently someone who receives a 2nd DUI will have their license removed for 2 years and are not able to apply for a restricted license for one full year.  A person who is arrested for a 3rd DUI offense will have their drivers’ license revoked for 3 years with no ability to obtain a restricted license.

The new DUI law may be giving the multiple DUI offender group another option.  For example, someone who receives their 2nd DUI may only have their license suspended for 90 days if they complete alcohol classes and have an IID installed.  An IID is an Ignition Interlock Device that will not allow the car to start until the driver has blown a “clean” sample into the system.  This will prevent the driver from operating the vehicle under the influence of alcohol.  This will give DUI attorneys in Los Angeles another bargaining chip when fighting for their clients.

Even a person with a 3rd DUI conviction will be eligible for  the program after a 6 month suspension as long as the act only involved an alcohol violation.  If the accused is involved in an accident they will not be eligible for the program.

Las Vegas just added another fatality due to a drunk driving accident this past week.  Jason P. Swogger was arrested after he collided with Mark Poole’s car on December 17th.  The injuries Mr. Poole received were too traumatic and he died on the way to the hospital.  Mr. Swogger was treated at St. Rose Dominican Hospital and was determined to have been drinking prior to the accident.

Even with the crack down on drunk driving accidents over the past several years, they still seem to be happening at alarming rates.  There are around 17,000 deaths due to alcohol related auto accidents every year.  Programs like MADD,  DUI checkpoints and TV adverting seem to do little to bring down that number.  Even a 10% decrease in DUI related fatalies would save around 1,700 lives each year.  That’s 1,700 less families destroyed.

It’s hard to say what the next steps should be.  The penalties for drinking and driving are bigger than ever.  Clubs and bars are being held accountable for over serving their customers and there are enough PSA’s on the subject to make every person over the age of 18 well aware of the problem.  Is this a cultural epidemic?  Are Americans willing to accept tens of thousands of preventable deaths every year?  These questions are still up for debate since there is nothing to support a turn around in the statistics.