California Abolish Death Peanlty- Up to Voters

Should we abolish the death penalty? Personally, I have major issues with the death penalty. However, I would like to take an attempt to look at capital punishment in an economic light instead of bringing morality into the equasion. As of today, more than 100 nations and, after Wednesday this week, 17 states have abandoned the death penalty as an unworkable legal struggle. On Monday, the California Secretary of State declared that an initiative that would replace California’s death penalty with life imprisonment (LWOP) qualified for the November ballot. Since the issue is on the ballot for California voters, it begs the question if California will be the 18th state to abolish capital punishment in favor of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole? We do not have to answer this question right now; all Californians will get to answer this question in November.

A University of California professor at UC Berkeley School of Law, Franklin E. Zimring, writes that no state or nation ended state execution because of a popular vote, and predicts the initiative will ultimately fail. Since no state or nation has ended execution due to a vote, Zimring stated that only when political leaders take up the cause to end a policy that both opponents and proponents agree is not working, will California end its 34-year death penalty. I find it interesting that no state has ever ended execution through a vote but I also understand that the past does not dictate what will happen in the present. I hope that the California voters will see how much money is wasted on capital punishment and will vote to end such scrupulous spending given our current economic state.

In the state of California, there are now 720 condemned convicts on Death Row, this number far exceeds any other state in history. However, the state has only executed only 13 since the death penalty was re-instated in 1978. The policy has cost the state upwards of $4 billion dollars as convictions are prosecuted and mandatory appeals are granted. California’s last execution was 76-year-old Clarence Ray Allen, who was killed by lethal injection in 2006. A federal court judge declared a moratorium on executions in California in 2006 after questions were raised concerning the lethal injection process. The moratorium is expected to extend until 2013.

The reason for instating the death penalty in California is attributed to the rising homicide rate in the state proceeding adoption of the death penalty. Homicides, which have averaged about 2,400 a year for the past three decades, are now at 50-year lows, as is violent crime in general. In 2010, California reported 1,809 homicides, which is 4.9 per 100,000 residents. The reasons for the rate dropping can be debated.

Advances in DNA testing has revealed that many death row inmates were not guilty of the crime for which they were convicted. With the element of doubt interjected into the process, public opinion on the death penalty has shifted. A poll last year saw a rise in voters who favored life without the possibility of patrol over the death penalty given the recent exonerations and the cost of prosecuting death penalty cases.

If you get caught stealing a bible, you may need an attorney. Contact my office today and we can help get your charges down to a minimum. I have been very successful in getting misdemeanor petty theft charges down to infractions pursuant to penal code section 490.1. Give us a call and we can start building a defense for your case.

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Trayvon Martin Homicide Charges

Looks like the media attention that this case gained has ended with charges being brought. The Neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman has been arrested and is now facing second-degree murder felony charges in the shooting of 17 year old Trayvon Martin. This news was relayed by a law enforcement official to The Associated Press Wednesday (April 11, 2012) afternoon.

The official with knowledge of the case stated that the charge against mr. George Zimmerman will be announced at a news conference by the special prosecutor assigned, Angela Corey, at 6 pm tonight Wednesday April 11, 2012. The official state that the 28 year old defendant from Sanford is in custody in Florida but they have not stated exactly where to prevent any issues.

Just a short bit of news. The media will surely play this story over and over. The rest is me promoting myself- ignore it unless you need a lawyer too.

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Heroin Show and Tell = Arrest.

Police in Bridgeport Connecticut have made an arrest after a 5-year-old boy brought around 50 packets of black tar heroin to school for show and tell. The police have arrested his stepfather for the show and tell spectacle.

The young boy went to his kindergarten class on Monday with his stepfather's jacket and pulled out the 10 small baggies of drugs just before he was going to present for show and tell. The child’s teacher grabbed the bags away from the 5 year old boy, and the principal called local police.

The boy's stepfather, 35 year old Santos Roman, was placed under arrest after arriving at his stepson’s elementary school. Mr. Roman came to the school to pick up his stepson. He saw his jacked in an empty classroom and he grabbed it and tried to run out of the school, as reported by police spokesman Keith Bryant. He said police, who had already seized the drugs, then took Mr. Roman into custody. Mr. Roman was being held on $100,000 bail on charges of risk of injury to a minor and drug charges. The police are not sure yet if he has a lawyer yet. Police also stated that the drugs at show and tell had a street value of around $500.

The boy was put in state custody until other relatives could be located.

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San Mateo DUI/ DWI and expungement Attorney Bob Mortland is a solo practitioner attorney in the Peninsula. Mr. Mortland is a San Mateo DUI, San Mateo Traffic ticket, San Mateo Expungement, Redwood City DUI, Redwood City Traffic Ticket, Redwood City Expungement, San Carlos DUI, San Carlos Expungement, San Carlos Traffic Ticket, Menlo Park DUI, Menlo Park Traffic Ticket, Menlo Park Expungement, Peninsula DUI, Peninsula Expungement, Peninsula Traffic Ticket, Foster City DUI, Foster City Traffic Ticket, Foster City Expungement, Criminal defense Lawyer, Criminal Attorney. http://www.sanmateoduilegal.com/ Palo Alto DUI lawyer

Urinate on Chairs, Get Arrested...

This article made me laugh at the absurdity from the Associated Press from West Des Moines, Iowa:

An IT (information technology) employee was accused of urinating on a colleagues’ office chair in Iowa. The accused has since turned himself in to the police for his actions. 59 year old Raymond Foley surrendered to the local police on Saturday this week.

The Des Moined Register is reporting that Mr. Foley is possibly facing a charge of second degree criminal mischief. In California, he would likely be facing a charge for misdemeanor vandalism. Mr. Foley was contacted by the Associated Press on Tuesday but he did not comment on the exact specifics. Mr. Foley only stated that he no longer works at the Farm Bureau office in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Police have reported that some co-workers complained of stains on office chairs. After the complaints were heard, the camera surveillance footage of the area was located and Mr. Foley was caught in the act on camera. Police went on to report that Mr. Foley would look up employee photos in the agency computer database and would then go into the office during closed hours and urinate on their office chairs. The total chair damage is estimated around $4,500. That’s a lot of chairs! The moral of the story: don’t urinate on chairs, especially when all of your moves are being videotaped. Mr. Foley is going to have a tough time fighting these charges in court and will likely have a difficult time finding a new job given his history of urinating on chairs.

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Goh No!

I wanted to stay away from this news story because this blog tends to focus on funny and/or odd criminals. However, this case has been all over the news and is a stark reminder of why mental health is a necessity. My condolences go out to the families and friends of the victims in this event.

A former nursing student was in the courtroom today in Alameda County Superior Court. The former student, 43 year old One Goh, was formally charged with seven counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder. He was charged in a complaint filed by Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley. These charges stem from an incident that took place on Monday this week at Oikos University in Oakland, CA. Mr. Goh is alleged to have gone to the school, where he was no longer a student, and opened fire in a heartless manner. Seven people were found dead and three others were wounded during the attack at Oikos University.

In addition to the numerous homicide counts that Mr. Goh is facing, he is also being charged with special circumstances of robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, as well as multiple murder in addition to gun enhancements which caused great bodily injury. Goh is said to have briefly kidnapped Kathleen Ping, a 24 year old Oikos employee from Oakland who was later found dead. In addition, Mr. Goh is alleged to have carjacked another student’s vehicle, 38 year old Tshering Bhutia of San Francisco, who was killed in the Oikos University parking lot.

At 2:00 pm today Mr. Goh was arraigned, under a heavy security detail, and he is now being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail in Alameda County, CA. Mr. Goh is possibly subject to the death penalty, or life without the possibility of parole if Mr. Goh loses his case at jury trial.

Police are investigating every aspect of this case and few details have come out at this point. Police have stated that Mr. Goh spent weeks planning to kill an administrator or other classmates at Oikos who had angered him in the past. Further, police have learned that Mr. Goh was a student studying nursing but he left the school a few months ago. In fact, one of the administrators recalls a conversation with Mr. Goh concerning a refund of tuition and this administrator believes that she was the target in this attack. Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan said Goh has largely cooperated with investigators, offering details of his killing plan but little remorse for having allegedly carried it out.

One of the instructors at the University, Romie Delariman, stated that Mr. Goh was an eager student but was paranoid, mentally unstable and consumed by an inability to get along with women at a college where women made up the majority of the nursing faculty and student body.

After the brutal attack, Mr. Goh went to Alameda, CA. Police are not sure why he went to Alameda, as it is an island with only 2 ways in and out, but they presume that he went there to ditch the gun in the water surrounding the naval island. He wound up at a Safeway store in Alameda, where he allegedly told employees at the customer service desk, "I just shot some people." At this point, divers have been searching systematically for the murder weapon but one has not yet been located.

This story shocks me and I am sure it shocks many others out there. Every time I hear about a school shooting, it upsets me and sends chills up my spine as I remember the scenes on the tv from the school shootings at Columbine. The factor in every single one of these cases is a mental instability. In the instant case, Mr. Goh had mental issues and this was evident from his actions towards the administrators and his bully attitude. The strange thing about this case is how old Mr. Goh is- 43. Most school shootings are young adults or teenagers that do not have a strong mental grasp yet. I understand that what Mr. Goh did was wrong and absolutely hate these actions. However, I still believe that Mr. Goh has the right to the best defense he can get and I would gladly represent Mr. Goh. If you have been charged with a crime, need an expungement, a dui, or even have an infraction (traffic ticket, dog without a leash, noise complaint, give my office a call at (510)463-1643. Our rates are low due to the low overhead and we will fight your case! Visit our blog for more info at http://www.bobmortland.com

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No Ticket for Batman!

The police in Maryland made an enforcement stop of a black Lamborghini. Police pulled over the Lamborghini in Silver Spring outside of Washington DC. The driver was dressed as a superhero- the Dark Knight to be exact with a cape, mask, and all the necessary items to pretend that you are batman. Police were not amused and wanted to question him about his license place which was a batman logo. Police knew that the plate is not approved in Maryland, only in Gotham.

[caption id="attachment_300" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="San Jose DUI"][/caption] The driver, a man named Lenny B Robinson, dresses like a superhero and visits sick children at hospitals. Mr. Robinson was able to show the police a proper plate for the car. Further, a video of the enforcement stop shows police officers shaking Mr. Robinsons hand and taking photos of batman and his ride. In the end, batman was not ticketed and will be able to go back to fighting crime.

Call us if you're not as lucky as batman and happen to get a ticket 510-463-1643

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