David Viens was found guilty of second degree murder for killing his wife of 17 years. He will be sentenced in November, and he faces 15 years to life. Mr. Viens was a chef at a restaurant he owned with his wife in Lomita. During the trial a friend of Dawn Viens explained there had…
Continue reading ›In the state of California sex between one individual and a person who is under the age of 18 years is known as ‘Unlawful Intercourse’ under Penal Code section 261.5. This crime is commonly known as ‘statutory rape.’ Presumably, that description came about because regardless of whether the underage person gives consent, it is still…
Continue reading ›In Connecticut a woman realized there was a prowler attempting to enter her home. She called her brother who lives nearby for help as she lives alone. According to the LA Times, Jeffrey Giuliano arrived at his sister’s house with a loaded firearm. The prowler was a “masked individual who confronted him with what appeared…
Continue reading ›One of the most confusing issues in criminal law concerns liability under conspiracy or aiding and abetting theory. Put succinctly, if someone helps another in the commission of the crime but does not actually commit the crime, both people are still guilty of the offense. For example, if two people agree they will work together…
Continue reading ›Home confinement also known as Supervised Electronic Confinement (SEC) or Electronic Monitoring is an alternative to jail in Orange County as well as other counties in California. If an individual must serve time for an offense home confinement is the least intrusive, least troublesome method of satisfying the court. Home confinement usually consists of having a device placed…
Continue reading ›San Juan Capistrano is looking into passing ordinances banning sex offenders from city parks. City Council members want to allow such an ordinance but are concerned over the legal issues that might ensue and future lawsuits against the city. City attorney Omar Sandoval proposed two options for the city that would restrict registered sex offenders…
Continue reading ›Will Bruzzo has been successfully representing members of the United States Military for almost 20 years. In two recent cases where he was representing Marines charged with ingesting a controlled substance (UCMJ Section 112a) the legal proceedings prior to trial showed that there were serious problems with the urine testing procedures being used at the Navy Drug Screening Lab…
Continue reading ›A professor at UC Irvine is in custody following his arrest at a park near University High School. On July 24 a patrol officer noticed Rainer Reinscheid at the park trying to start a fire. There was extra patrolling in the area because there had been a series of fires at the park. He did post bail…
Continue reading ›Carlos Bustamante of the Santa Ana City Council pled not guilty to several felony and misdemeanor charges. The allegations are that he sexually assaulted seven women at the Orange County Public Works Department. This happened over a period of eight years and the alleged victims were subordinates in the same department. Bustamante has denied these…
Continue reading ›The Los Angeles Police Department’s robbery and homicide division are investigating three stabbing incidents. One incident occurred in Santa Monica the other two in Los Angeles. Three homeless people were stabbed by one suspect. According to the Los Angeles Times, police said they were searching for David Ben Keyes who has been missing from Santa…
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