California Criminal Lawyers

Ray Fountain www.fountainandhattersley.com 626-793-4111 – Call Now for a free consultation. Specializing in Criminal Defense cases, DUI, Murder and all criminal type cases.

A 32-year career prosecutor in the Los Angeles County DA’s Office reveals the inside story of how the criminal justice system really works, and debunks many media-created myths about the system. The book documents many years of liberal media bias against the system. This is a story that needs to be told because the public only knows what the media tell us.

It is also the author’s personal story, a high school dropout raised in a liberal household who grew up believing the media myths about the criminal justice system. He joined the ACLU and became a prosecutor only to learn how the police and prosecutors operated. His goal was to take this knowledge into his private law practice and defend those he believed were the real victims of society: minorities, the poor, the downtrodden and yes, the criminals. The author discusses his emotional attachment to his liberal views and tracks his slow conversion from a liberal Democrat to a moderate conservative.

The Criminal Justice Club reveals many startling facts about the criminal justice system, facts that are unknown to much of the public. For examples:

How few crimes are ever solved by the police: the chances of a reported serious crime in California leading to a prison sentence for the perpetrator are about 5%, which is about the national average;

Why California, for thirteen years (1965-1978), paid its 58 counties $4,000 for each convicted felon who was not sentenced to prison;

The real reason California’s death row inmates wait about twenty years from conviction to execution–while the delay in other states is far less;

The lack of truth in sentencing: how little prison time convicted criminals really serve for felony crimes in California and around the country. The median prison term actually served by convicted murderers in the United States in 2001 was eight years, eight months–up from 5 1/2 years in 1988-even though the media correctly reported the sentence the judge gave the murderer in court: life in prison or a maximum sentence of life. The media rarely reports the likely parole dates of convicted felons.

About 630,000 illegal aliens enter our nation’s jails and prisons each year for crimes committed in this country;

The consequences of the Los Angeles Police Department’s hiring of a person to be a police officer who had been arrested five times for felony crimes, and who had been convicted of attempted burglary–to meet affirmative action goals;

Reveals whether career criminals really suffer from low self-esteem;

Answers the question so often asked of criminal defense attorneys: How can you defend a person charged with murder, rape or child molestation when you believe, or know, your client is guilty?

The author discusses many of his courtroom experiences, some humorous, some gratifying, some heartbreaking and some frustrating.

The Criminal Justice Club is guaranteed to entertain, shock and educate the reader.

The Criminal Justice Club: A Career Prosecutor Takes on the Media–and More

On April 20, 2010, Governor Schwarzenegger endorsed California Assembly Bill 1844, named “Chelsea’s Law,” designed to strengthen criminal penalties for sexual offenders. The bill was introduced shortly after it was disclosed that John Albert Gardner III, who pled guilty in April 2010 to the brutal rape and murder of two San Diego teenagers, had been convicted in 2000 of molesting a 13-year-old girl. Gardner spent five years in prison for that offense, but considerable outrage was expressed over the fact that he was no longer on parole at the time of the murders, despite numerous parole violations.

The bill includes three main provisions.

1.    A one-strike provision for the most serious crimes against children younger than 18 ? putting even first-time offenders behind bars for life without the possibility of parole

2.    The required lifetime parole with GPS monitoring of certain offenders ? those committing sexual crimes against victims younger than 14 years old ? after their release from prison

3.    A convicted sex offender would be charged with a misdemeanor and a parole violation if found near a park where children frequent, resulting in a return to prison

The proposed measure met opposition from the California Public Defenders Association, and a challenge to the bill is expected in the California Senate.

Laws that substantially increase criminal penalties are often the result of reactions to horrific crimes. Criminals rarely consider the consequences of their actions or stop to reflect before committing even the most egregious offenses. With the prison population expanding, many argue that resources should be utilized to prevent such crimes from occurring at all. For example, results of California’s three-strikes law have shown a negligible effect on overall recidivist rates.

Supporters of enhanced sex offender or sexual predator legislation often point to the reputedly high recidivist rates for sex offenders, arguing that treatment and rehabilitation are useless or largely ineffective. Many offender programs lack funds, however, and without well-funded studies that might result in effective treatment programs for sex offenders, there may be little else to address the causes of the most horrific crimes.

For more information on Chelsea’s Law and how it may affect a case you may be involved in, contact an attorney.

Originally published here.