NEW LAWS FOR CALIFORNIA and 
                         WHAT IT MAY MEAN TO YOU

BY MARY de la PEÑA, Esq. 

Author of A Layman’s Guide to Criminal Defense

www.criminaldefenders-delapena.com

www.marydelapena-author.com

Now that it is the New Year, 2016 has brought some interesting changes in the law that may affect you and yours. Many of them change police procedures by either giving them more power, or, in some instances, restricting what they can do. In any case, here they are:

CAMPUS POLICE:

If you are a student, or if you go on campuses throughout the state, be aware of the fact that Campus Police can now operate with powers much like street cops. They now are allowed to wear body cameras—meaning, smile, you could be on campus camera!

Also, one of the things that irritates me most—campus police can now use “pretext phone calls”. Those are when they get the “victim” to call you and ask you “Why did you do that to me?” Or “Do you know what you did to me?”  Or the worst, “Aren’t you sorry for what you did?” All of these are meant to trap the unsuspecting individual into apologizing, which is considered a “confession” or “admission”. And, if it is you, you might just say something stupid like, “I thought you wanted it”. 

So, beware. Keep your mouth shut! And, if someone calls who is accusing you of doing something wrong--JUST HANG UP! Nothing good comes from talking to that person. You never know who may be listening!

DIGITAL PRIVACY:

One of the good laws that protects you and your privacy is a law that was passed requiring law enforcement to get a warrant if they want to search your phone, computer, I-pad, or any of your electronics. What this means is that an officer can’t just grab up your phone and start scrolling through it to look at your text messages or your pictures.

What that means for you? If a cop asks to see your phone, just say, “NO!” Do not give them permission to search your phone. Make them go through the process of getting a warrant. If they don’t have enough probable cause to get a warrant, don’t help them out by giving them the device. Don’t do their job for them, even if they threaten you with the old, “I’ll just get a warrant”. Let them do it.

GUNS:

If you get a BB gun for your child, remember, it must be clearly marked with color coded bands. Under no circumstances allow your child to remove that colored band. Remember, their life is in your hands. Police many times shoot first, and ask questions later.

ANIMALS:

Do not buy a puppy or kitten at a Swap Meet, street vendor or corner market. Anyone selling an animal must have a special permit and obey safety standards for that animal.

This is it for this year. I wish I could give you more, but stay tuned. The courts are busy this year interpreting the new sentencing laws, and maybe good news will come your way.

If you want more information on diversion for petty theft offenses and other laws, call our office at

(909) 483-0300 or e-mail us at delapenalawoffice@verizon.net. 

TIPS for PASSIVE MARKETINGby MARY DE LA PENA

As many of you know, currently I am taking an Advanced Media Marketing for Authors class offered through Tom Bird and his Publish Now Program. One of my many "homework" assignments is to blog, which of course I LOVE!

However, sometimes things come across my path I feel I need to share with everyone, whether they are author or not. Below is one such example. I hope you enjoy it and get some important tips! 

SIMPLE TIPS FOR ATTRACTING BOOK BUYERS

By Mary de la Peña, attorney and author of

A Layman’s Guide to Criminal Defense; An Immigrant American Hero

Visit her website at marydelapena-author.com

A great lady I know, Jan Fowler, author and radio host, shared with me three simple tips to turn everyday communications into book sales. These tips came from a guest she had on her show, John Eggen, who is a best-selling author in his own right.

Here are these great simple tips:

·         Turn Every E-mail into a Client Magnet: Create an e-mail signature line that announces you are authoring a book. Then place the title in the signature line for all your e-mails using these exact words: “Author of the forthcoming book, (insert title and subtitle here)”. It’s that simple. [as a side-note from me, I’d add a link to either the buy page at Amazon, or to your own website’s buy page]

·         Turn All Your Introductions into Business Magnets: In all of your prepared introductions add the title of your book and sub-title. This would include introductions made by others, or by you, in all of your public presentations, marketing materials, Website, bio and media kit. (This is a proven method as tested by Kathleen Holland who used it and booked an additional $48,000 in fees in just the first four months)

·         Put Your Elevator Speech or Audio Logo on Steroids: Add news about your forthcoming book into your elevator speech or audio log and automatically attract more business. An example of this is to do an audio intro on your website, make sure to highlight your book! Again, this is a proven method of attracting business and insuring your credibility. John Cannon started using this method when writing his first book, and he increased his “first meetings” with intended markets by 30-40%!.

These are all easy tips, and available to you at no cost! No go forth and increase your book sales!

ARE RED LIGHTS IN YOUR REARVIEW MIRROR

A DETENTION?

BY

MARY DE LA PEÑA, ESQ.

AUTHOR OF A LAYMAN’S GUIDE TO CRIMINAL DEFENSE

delapenalawoffice.com  

marydelapena-author.com 

Have any of you ever been stopped by the side of the road and suddenly an officer pulls in behind you, turned on their red-lights, scaring you to death because you have something in your car you shouldn’t—hmm like too much alcohol or even illicit drugs?

What the Hell, you think? Why are the police stopping me, and what do I do now?

The legal question for your attorney, not you, because you must always be respectful and polite or face going to jail because you are a jackass, is whether or not you were “detained” and had to “submit to authority”, making the contact you had with the police “non-consensual”.

Those are a lot of words that may mean nothing to you, so let me explain, then tell you what your recourse can be.

First, the question for the courts is whether or not you were “detained”, meaning did the officer have you in custody, and did you feel “free to leave”? Of course you didn’t feel free to leave. Is the court crazy? What person in their right mind thinks it’s okay to leave when a cop has their red and blue lights flashing in your rearview mirror?

That was the very issue facing the California Supreme Court in a decision they handed down on August 6, 2015 in a case entitled People v. Brown (Shauntrel Ray Brown) 2015, Cal.4^th, when an officer lit-up a car parked in an alley and found a very intoxicated Mr. Brown. The short answer is “yes” a detention takes place when the officer activates their emergency lights, but then the question is whether or not what happens next is consensual requiring that the officer be able to state that they had a reasonable suspicion a crime had occurred and the person stopped committed it. Without that, all the evidence surrounding the stop can be kept out of court with a motion to suppress.

Sounds easy, right?

Wrong. After handing down what appears to be a very simple, bright line approach to the case of Mr. Brown, the court then went on to weasel around it by saying what was “reasonable at the time” based on the totality of the circumstances. Unfortunately for Mr. Brown, he was in the alley where a call had just come in from a citizen saying a fight was in progress and someone had a gun. That sent the police to that area, and Mr. Brown was in the same area.

Of course any police officer worth their salt would stop Mr. Brown and ask him about the fight. Again, unfortunately for Mr. Brown, he was on his ass drunk! He smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech, and just was too drunk to answer the officer’s questions. Of course the court held that because of the call of the fight, and because Mr. Brown was in the same alley, under the circumstances present at the time of the officer activating his lights, the officer had a justified reasonable suspicion that required and investigative stop.

What does that mean for you?

It means that any reasonable person would not feel free to leave when an officer activates his emergency lights. It also means that your attorney should explore suppressing the evidence obtained as a result of the detention, and you must explain loudly clearly that you did not feel free to leave, and if you said “yes”, the officer could search, it was because you thought you had to say “yes” or go to jail. This makes the contact “non-consensual” and may lead to the suppression of the evidence. More importantly, speak loudly and clearly, but respectfully, into the officer’s recorder that you do not want them to search you or your vehicle.

Remember two things from this:

1. ·         Don’t be a jackass on the street because you could get shot;
2. ·         Just because an officer asks to search, you don’t have to let them.

Always, on the street, stay safe and submit. Let your attorney assert your rights so you stay alive to fight your case in court.

SHOULD I RUN, OR SHOULD I STAY?

By M.J. de la Peña, Esq.

Author of A Layman’s Guide to Criminal Defense

 delapenalawoffice.com  marydelapena-author.com

When faced with a felony charge and a client out of custody on an O.R. release or, God forbid, bail, sometimes criminal defendants think about running from the court. It seems to be most prevalent with those facing drug charges or domestic violence.

My advice? DON’T DO IT!

As many of you may know, California recently reduced many drug felonies to misdemeanors. However, in a recent case just handed down by an Appellate Court in Yolo County, the court said that if a defendant is faced with a felony and runs from the court, then is caught, even if the felony is reduced to a misdemeanor, the defendant can be sentenced on the felony failure to appear!

WHOA! Really?

Absolutely! What that means is that the defendant, Jesse David Perez, (People v. Perez, August 6, 2015, Cal.App.4^th) was sentenced to a prison term because he had a willful failure to appear, even though he would have only faced a county jail sentence on the drug charge. That means that if you run, or willfully fail to appear on a felony, even if the underlying case is dismissed or reduced to a misdemeanor you could ultimately still be sentenced on the felony failure to appear which is 16 months, 2 years, or 3 years in prison.

The only question then is what is a “Willful Failure to Appear”? That means you just simply do not go to court, or worse yet, you run from the proceedings and a warrant goes out for your arrest.

My advice—Don’t Run! Stay and let your attorney work for you!

LOOKING AT MY CHOICES AGAIN

by Mary de la Pena, esq

marydelapena-author.com delapenalawoffice.com

I am trying to be a good patient—really I am! I’m staying away from alcohol, mostly, except for maybe a half glass of wine two or three times a week. And, I am not only back in the pool exercising, but I am eating lots more fruits and vegetables—and a donut has not passed my lips in weeks!

See, Doc? Really, I’m trying!

This was the conversation I was having with my very concerned internist who had been my family’s doctor for more than two decades. But, somehow he wasn’t buying it.

Hmmm, could it be the backsliding? You know, the backsliding of going back to court and dipping into the adrenaline stream—should I tell him?

I hesitated just long enough for him to guess.

“How’s the law practice going?” he asked, staring hard into my eyes.

When I just shrugged, he sighed, which in his vernacular is the same as a scolding. He sighed again, then just said, “It’s your life. Your choice.”

What could I say? Is it really my choice? Can I really abandon my clients who need me? And, what about my law partner husband who still choses to practice? What about him when he needs help?

These are the choices any professional needs to face when having to make the decision to retire or stay in the arena. But, are they real choices, or are they a product of ego?

Ego—that funny thing inside professionals that lead us to believe our clients can’t make it without us, or our spouses would rather see us work ourselves to death than spend a long happy life together because they need the money we make.

Whoa, dude, maybe I need to re-examine what is really going on. Is it the need for the powerful rush of adrenaline that is making me return to the courtroom, or is it my need to believe I am indispensable?

Hmmm, maybe I need to look at the choices again—focusing on my writing and living the rest of my life in peace, or riding the wave of adrenaline. A choice not as easy as it appears.

Again, stay tuned. . .

ADRENALINE—MY DRUG OF CHOICE

The power surged through my veins and woke up my sleepy brain like a tidal wave over a helpless island. It washed away my sluggishness and awakened my killer instinct—it was war! And I intended to win it!

Unfortunately for me, my heart very quickly thereafter started a rapid tattoo in my chest and though my brain was awake, the rest of me felt the earth shift beneath my feet. I knew I would sliding down into unconsciousness if I didn’t quickly get a deep breath! It could only end in an embarrassment if I didn’t immediately get control over my body.

I was once again in court—the forbidden place my doctor ordered me to resist until he could get a diagnosis as to why my heart was doing a tap-dance in my chest every time I began to engage in battle. Silly doctor, I knew the cause—ADRENALINE—my dearest friend, and now sworn enemy.

Any lawyer who spends their days in court knows the steady diet of a special drug to which we all become addicted—adrenaline. It boosts our power and makes us into “super lawyer—ta da ta da!” while taking away our appetites, driving us to eat sugars and fats, and making us crave caffeine. After more than twenty-nine years in the arena is there any doubt that I was addicted to adrenaline?

But, now, the long decades of depending on my favorite drug and its attendant diet choices were taking its toll. I could no longer exercise my way out of its grip, and could no longer tolerate its affects. It was destroying me, and possibly my heart.

It was time to quit—but cold turkey? Could I really quit, walk away forever? Or could I manage my adrenaline and still got to court? I don’t know. That is the question and I begin my quest to either conquer my addiction, or walk away from my profession forever. . .

As they say—stay tuned. 

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DYING CATS and ANGELS 

by MARY DE LA PENA [aka M.J. HATCH] 

 marydelapena-author.com  mjhatch.com

As a mystery writer and criminal defense attorney I deal with death on an almost weekly, if not daily basis. However death is always in the abstract, not real, only something on paper. Today, I witnessed death up close and personal.

I was on my way to court in the city of Riverside, California when I saw something in the roadway that did not make sense. It was moving, and was not a color that I associated with a blowing plastic bag or paper. As I slowed down I realized it was a cat that had more likely than not been hit by a car, but was not yet deceased.

Horrified, I drove for another block before realizing I could not let that poor animal remain on that busy street and be hit again, or worse yet, cause an accident as other drivers hopefully swerved to avoid it much as I had. I did a quick U-turn and drove back to the scene. Another quick U-turn and I pulled my car to the side of the road where the cat struggled. With no cars coming I immediately jumped from my car and ran to the cat, picked it up and took it to the grass on the parkway by the side of the road.

As soon as I picked up the cat I knew it was probably a feral cat and was definitely in its death throws. The cat’s fur was dirty and his body was thin, with the trauma to its head most likely mortal. One of his eyes was dislodged from its socket, and his skull was partially crushed. But yet, he struggled to survive, his instinct was to run, but the signals to his legs only strong enough to cause them to stretch and contract. It broke my heart, yet I could not leave him alone to die.

I whispered quietly to the cat, and stroked his fur, imagining that I was the first human hand that had given him this sign of affection and security. To my amazement he began to purr, his last breaths coming with his brave attempt to prove he was still strong. Seeing that his death was near I found myself crying, and then praying that God would take this blessed animal and bring him into His loving arms. With the prayer sent to Heaven, the cat’s breath came slower, the contractions in his legs stopping, with one last breath expelled as a purr, he transitioned to God.

Seeing his blood on my hands, and knowing that the cat was now beyond pain or hunger or fear, I felt my tears stream down my face, my strong impersonal persona of criminal defense attorney crumbling. Yet, even with my tears I heard the voice without a voice tell me that I had acted in his stead this morning. I was this animal’s angel in death to help him transition with at least one loving hand on him as he passed.

We never know when we will be called to be that angel. Just know that every living thing needs love and a loving hand when it passes. Just remember it is truly blessed when you are the one called upon and know you have the strength.