St. Paddy's Day 2016: Avoid the Paddy Wagon

Saint Paddy’s Day 2016 falls on March 17, which is a Thursday. All across the United States, many people will be drinking in celebration of the patron saint of Ireland. When celebrations involve the consumption of alcohol, numerous individuals find themselves involved with law enforcement. When law enforcement intervenes there is a good chance that…

Attorney Jeff Hammerschmidt Comments on California's Gun Confiscation Program

Attorney, Jeffery T. Hammerschmidt, comments on California’s gun confiscation program in the following article by Eyewitness News: “Eyewitness News Investigates a controversial state gun confiscation program that went online back in 2007.  It’s mission is to take guns away from criminals and those with severe mental illness.  Recently, the program launched a local man into…

Major Changes to Law Regarding Juvenile Offenders

January 25, 2016, marked a change for juveniles convicted in the United States when both President Obama and the Supreme Court published pieces recognizing the difference between juvenile offenders and adults, and reformed two practices of the incarceration of juveniles. President Obama wrote an opinion piece in the Washington Post about juveniles being subjected to…

New Year, New Laws in California

Here are a few more new laws that Governor Jerry Brown signed in effect January 1,2016: 1. SB 358 Equal Pay Under the equal pay law the gender wage gap has been eliminated. SB 358 adds to the existing California Equal Pay Act (EPA) and requires male and females be paid the same wages for…

New Year brings New Gun Laws in California

Governor Brown signed several proposed legislation into law that became effective January 1, 2016. A few of those new laws are being highlighted: 1. SB 178 California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (CalECPA): CalECPA requires law enforcement to obtain a search warrant before gaining access to your electronic devices such as cellphones or computers to retrieve…

Halloween 2015: Don’t End Up Dressed As An Inmate

California’s Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) has scheduled “Halloween California Avoid DUI Task Force Enforcement Campaign” for October 30-31, 2015. The campaign provides local law enforcement agencies with grants to increase efforts in preventing and enforcing driving under the influence. It is likely that the state will see an increase in the number of DUIs…