Will Bruzzo’s Blog

The Orange County District Attorney has been resolving criminal cases by having the Defendant give their DNA in exchange for dismissals of usually minor cases. This program in Orange County has only been in effect for the last couple of years and had generally been very beneficial to Orange County Defendants facing minor criminal charges…

There are two sources in California law for Restraining Orders: Family Code Section 6203 and Code of Civil Procedure 527.6. The family code section pertains to Restraining Orders between family members, and is generally used by husbands and wives against each other as well as people involved in a dating relationship; the Civil Procedure Code allows…

A California Court has found that BB Guns, that is air powered guns that shoot ball bearing type projectiles or pellets, may be considered deadly weapons under Penal Code Section 245(a) (1) [Assault with a Deadly Weapon]. Previously, the conventional wisdom was that BB guns were not thought of as equal to firearms, but this holding…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…