Senate Bill 439
Joining twenty-one other U.S. states, in setting a minimum age that complies with International Human Rights Standards, unless a minor younger than 12 in the state of California commits rape or murder, the new minimum age for prosecution for minors is now 12 years old. Click here for more information about this bill.

Senate Bill 1391
In order to divert minors from serving time in adult prisons, minors under the age of 16 will be incarcerated in juvenile detention facilities. The transfer of defendants under the age of 16 from juvenile court to an adult court has been prohibited. However, a judge can send a defendant from juvenile court to an adult court if the defendant wasn’t apprehended until after turning 18 years of age, or if there is sufficient reason to transfer the case. Some factors that can be taken into consideration are:

–       The defendant’s mental and emotional maturity and health.

–       If the defendant can be better served in regard to rehabilitation in the juvenile court system.

–       If the defendant has a past criminal history, how serious were the offenses and how successful were previous attempts by juvenile court at rehabilitating the defendant.

For more information on this bill go to:http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB1391

Senate Bill 1421
New California legislation allows the public to access a police officer’s record in investigations involving police shootings, excess force, sexual misconduct, as well as in cases establishing dishonesty or misconduct by an officer.

Assembly Bill 748
Video footage and audio recordings taken by body cameras on police officers are required now by law to be disclosed to the public. In cases involving a police shooting or where excess force results in death or injury to a person, the video images and audio recordings must be a released and available within 45 days after the event happened. For more information

Assembly Bill 2504
Police officers and law enforcement dispatchers will receive inclusive training to better understand the different sexual orientations and gender identities that comprise the LGBTQ community.  Officers will be educated on how to generate better relations with the LGBTQ community in all  police departments. More Info

Senate Bill 1100 
Anyone buying a rifle or shotgun in California has to be at least 21 years old. The minimum age before that was 18 years. For more information on this bill go to:https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB1100

Assembly Bill 2103 
To obtain a license to carry a concealed weapon in public, the applicant must undergo at least 8 hours of firearms training. To obtain more information about this bill go to:https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB2103

Senate Bill 1412
This bill allows employers to ask a job applicant about a specific conviction, regardless if the conviction has been expunged, ordered sealed, statutorily eradicated, or judicially dismissed following probation if :

1.     The position the applicant is interviewing for requires the applicant to possess or use a firearm in the course of the job.

1. The applicant is prohibited by law from holding the position sought, regardless of whether the conviction has been expunged, judicially ordered sealed, statutorily eradicated, or judicially dismissed following probation.
2. Employers are prohibited by law from hiring an applicant who has that particular conviction, regardless of whether the conviction has been expunged, judicially ordered sealed, statutorily eradicated, or judicially dismissed following probation.

For more information on this bill go to: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB1412

If you’ve been charged with a crime, you want an aggressive effective attorney who will fight for you every step of the way. Getting your case dismissed is always top priority for Criminal Defense Attorney James E. Blatt.

If you’ve been arrested, or under investigation for committing a crime, it is critical that you have a smart powerful defender protecting you and your rights.

To have your questions answered and your case evaluated for Free, Call James E. Blatt now.

When someone who has never been in trouble with the law before is charged with a criminal offense, that person is traumatized and altered in ways no one can imagine unless they’ve been through the justice system themselves.

The criminal justice system can seem harsh and unforgiving. There are consequences for every wrong step you make. By not hiring the right legal counsel to defend your case, you may pay for the repercussions with your future.

Properly investigating a criminal case is critical to the health of your future. Any bright person can manage to pass a Bar Exam. Your defense attorney needs to be honed in areas of expertise beside being experienced in the laws of California Criminal Defense Law. Moreover, the counsel you hire should have the scent skills of a bloodhound in order to know which leads to follow, the observation skills of an eagle to pick out clues others have missed, be able to think like a police detective and have the innate nature to listen like an interviewer.

If these traits sound impossible to find in one attorney, the staff a criminal defense attorney surrounds themselves with will be an extension of the legal team’s intelligence standards.

A highly experienced Criminal Defense Attorney always has good reason to examine and reexamine every piece of evidence related to your case. Everything about a criminal case is vitally important as it may provide corroborative or supplementary evidence to strengthen your defense. Even major details can be overlooked. Clues at the crime scene can easily become compromised, or even ignored. Prosecutorial misconduct may fly under the radar screen.

Every crime scene is different. Depending on how many law enforcement people were involved and walked the area can impact on which evidence factors are intact or mishandled. Today’s’ DNA technology has facilitated solving crimes whereas blood samples taken at the scene of a crime and/or a person’s fingerprints were at one time the only forensic indicators the police had to work with. And even though we have this state-of-the-art advanced technology to assist in correcting identifying the accused, a simple case of mistaken identity can still make an innocent person lose years of their life behind bars.

Expert legal representation serves to protect your legal rights and helps you navigate through a labyrinth of procedural laws and causes of action.   

Choosing The Right Criminal Lawyer Is Your Best Defense

If you’ve been charged with a crime or under investigation call the Law Offices of James E. Blatt today  877-546-2528