Rizio and Nelson California Law Blog

Terrorism – The Importance Of A Solid Defence

The United States of America is aggressively pursuing prosecution of anyone they suspect is involved in terrorist activity. The punishments are harsh, with some states employing the death penalty in severe cases (the Timothy McVeigh case, for example). Even pranksters can find themselves in front of a jury for making criminal threats and face up to $250,000 USD and five years in a federal correctional...

PVDMI

With the focus of reducing California’s recidivism rate, and the mandate that the prison population be reduced, a risk assessment system is used to determine if a criminal should be released on parole, or be returned to prison. It’s called the Parole Violation Decision Making Instrument, or PVDMI. According to an article in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)...

California’s Crime Rate is Down

In a society such as ours where freedom is valued above all else, it is inevitable that some people make bad choices and commit crimes. For this, we obviously have a judicial system in place to punish criminals. In California, we have a Three Strikes Law that is helping to put criminals in jail and keep them there. Despite the problem of overcrowded prisons in our state, fewer career criminals are...

Marijuana In The News

When we think about marijuana’s negative connotations, we envision prison cells for drug use, selling marijuana, growing the drug, and maybe even selling or forging prescriptions for it. There rarely come visions of wildfire when we mention the phrase “marijuana problems,” but this can actually be a major concern in the state of California. Case in point: Just this year people have...

Grand Theft Auto in Decline in CA

According to Reuters, September 24, 2009, the rate of auto theft incidences in California is decreasing. This is great news for the victims who have gone through the inconvenience and expense of having their car stolen. One of the programs that has been developed to combat auto theft is VIN etching. The VIN, Vehicle Identification Number, which every automobile manufactured has, is unique for every...

Arson In California

Arson is very serious Arson is a very serious crime, and can even carry the death penalty in the state of California under certain circumstances. These include, but are not limited to: When the arson causes death to one or more individuals, including emergency personnel Under California’s Three Strikes Law, when there are mitigating factors such as malice aforethought In June of this year,...

Violent Crimes

There are three major types of violent crimes in California: Homicide, Robbery, and Assault. Homicide is, of course, murder of another human being. First or Second degree murder convictions result in life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Robbery is theft combined with physical force. Assault is when one person threatens to harm or does physical harm to another person. Depending on the...

Grand Theft Shoplifting

In California, shoplifting is a frequent offense. Despite the fact that it’s a risky endeavor, people still try to get away with stealing if they can. Sometimes, young people are the victims of peer pressure and will steal something in order to fit in with their “friends.” Other times, people are desperate and feel that they need to steal in order to survive.  Shoplifting can also be a...

Extortion Laws in California

When the word “extortion” is mentioned, people may think of Italian men in dark suits carrying Gatlin guns and roaming neighborhoods, searching for business owners to fork over their cash for “protection”. Gone are the days when the mob could openly threaten anyone on the streets, including police, without fear. However, the crime of extortion is alive and well, only now the perpetrators may...