Rizio and Nelson California Law Blog

Prostitution Laws

The following actions may result in a prostitution charge: a) Any act committed with the intent to sexually arouse or gratify. b) Loitering in or around any public toilet for purposes of engaging in or soliciting any lewd, lascivious, or unlawful act. c) Loitering or wandering the streets or place to place without any apparent reason and refusing to identify or account for his or her presence when...

DUI Felony Classification

Felonies are crimes that are punishable up to state prison terms. The term length is variable, depending upon the severity of the crime and the criminal record of the offender, and can be low, mid, or high term. A DUI may be a misdemeanor or a felony depending the offender’s criminal background and other variables. The California court system guides DUI convictions and punishments based on applicable...

Methamphetamine Statistics

Methamphetamines, also known as “meth” or “crystal meth”, are drugs that are quickly growing in popularity in the state of California. Among the biggest users of this drug are young women, ages 12 to 25. This should not be surprising, since the affects of meth use include increased energy levels, elevated mood, and appetite suppression. Our society has conditioned our young women to believe...

California Sex Crimes

Sex crimes are severely punished in the state of California. Convictions may result in having misdemeanors and/or felonies on a person’s criminal record. Punishments vary from incarceration in county jail up to one year or imprisonment in the state prison. Additionally, monetary fines may be as high as $10,000. Many sex crimes culminate in lifetime registration requirements as a sex offender....

Home Invasion Legal Issues

Desperate times sometimes result in drastic actions.  Desperate times, desperate measures. That’s how the saying goes, and most of the time, we say it lightly. However, it is a sign of these difficult economic times when we see in the papers and on the news more and more crimes of theft, robbery, and home invasion. With unemployment rates still high, the chances are that many people will...

Juvenile Justice

According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the primary goals of the juvenile justice system are public safety and rehabilitation for the offender. Depending on the crime committed and the background of the juvenile, a treatment and education program is provided to service the juvenile’s needs. Many of these children are themselves victims of abuse and neglect, and wind up making unwise...

About Parole

If you are on parole, or may be eligible for parole soon, it is very important to understand the rules and regulations that define the conditions of your parole. All parolees, no matter what the crime, have many conditions they have to meet. They include: responsibility to initiate communication with the parole officer where the parolee has to live, including which county, and sometimes excluding...

CA Gun Laws – More Confusion

According to an article posted recently on pe.com of the Press-Enterprise, new federal gun laws allow visitors to bring firearms into national parks. However, the federal law left it up to each individual state to apply the new law. The author, John Asbury, writes, “…how the new federal law will be applied in California is unclear, according to the state attorney general’s office.”...

When in trouble – know where to turn

The criminal justice system categorizes crimes by two types for statistical purposes: Part I crimes and Part II crimes. The FBI records the information in the Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Agencies that contribute to this data, such as police departments, submit the information to the FBI once a month. They write, “In 2002, law enforcement agencies active in the UCR Program represented...