Rizio and Nelson California Law Blog

Grand Theft – Shoplifting

Shoplifting may be considered grand theft depending on the value of items that have been stolen. This is a crime that is very hard to defend since there are generally security tapes, witnesses or other evidence that is difficult to ignore. There is a significant difference however in how the charges are lodged. If a grand theft charge is defended properly it can be reduced to a misdemeanor instead...

How can someone be convicted of Prescription Fraud?

The California criminal jury instructions (CALJIC) outlines the elements required to convict a person for prescription forgery. CALJIC 12.05 states that: “In order to prove this crime, each of the following elements must be proved: 1. A person forged/altered/issued/uttered a form for the prescription of drugs; and 2. As forged/altered issued/uttered the prescription was for [a narcotic drug]. Alternatively, 1....

What is prescription forging?

Prescription forging is against the law. By definition, it is the illegal acquisition of pharmaceuticals for personal use or profit. Prescription fraud is committed in many ways, including but not limited to visiting multiple doctors to receive multiple prescriptions, and forging the prescription to increase the quantity. The biggest factor driving prescription fraud is increased abuse and addiction...

About Prescription Drug Abuse

Approximately 20% of Americans (according to The National Institute on Drug Abuse report) have used prescription drugs for non-medical purposes at some point in their lives. With the increased availability of prescription drugs over the internet, and the surprising increase in senior citizen trafficking of prescription drugs, combined with the high incidence of overdoses by users of illegally obtained...

Drug Possession

A charge of drug possession for personal use requires the following to be true:a) Defendant’s knowledge of the controlled substance’s presence; andb) Defendant’s knowledge that the substance is indeed a controlled substance.Possession may be classified as either actual or constructive possession. Actual possession indicates that a defendant knowingly has direct physical control...

Laws Regarding the Growth of Marijuana

In the state of California, and most other states in the United States, it is illegal to grow or cultivate marijuana (cannabis). The California criminal jury instructions gives guidance to the factors that the prosecution must prove in order to successfully convict a defendant of this type of offense.“Every person who plants/cultivates/harvests/dries/ or processes any marijuana or any part thereof...