San Jose Criminal Defense Law Blog

Legendary baseball pitcher Roger Clemens is asking a federal judge to dismiss the federal charges against him. Clemens faced the felony charges of perjury after allegedly lying to Congress in 2008 about whether or not he had taken performance-enhancing drugs, also known as human growth hormones, during his career.

Clemens' attorneys claim that going to trial on these charges violates his constitutional right that protects him from double jeopardy. Double jeopardy protects individuals from being charged and tried with the same crime more than once. Clemens already went to trial on the same charges back in July, but the case was dismissed when government lawyers showed information to the jurors on the case that had already been barred from the courtroom by the judge overseeing the case.

Law enforcement officials believe that illegal drugs continue to be a major problem in California prisons, and they have been attempting to crack down on illegal substances in the state's correctional facilities. Recently, four weekend visitors to one California prison were accused of being drug mules and are facing criminal charges as a result.

The first visitor to be arrested at the California State Prison in Corcoran arrived shortly after 8 a.m. on Saturday. Apparently, the prison Investigative Services Unit had been monitoring the woman and had been listening in on her conversations with the inmate she was visiting. When she arrived, authorities produced a search warrant. They searched her, her car, and the hotel room she had been using. Allegedly, they found 3.7 grams of marijuana. She is now facing conspiracy and drug charges.

Allegations of sex crimes in California carry heavy punishments, and many state and local lawmakers have tried to make the punishments so severe that they last a lifetime, even when an offender serves his time in prison and is released.

Many people are familiar with the sex offender registry, which requires sex offenders to register their addresses with the government. However, a few cities and towns in California have enacted laws that prevent a convicted sex offender from living within certain areas. One of these laws has recently been challenged by a 45-year-old Elk Grove man, who alleges that such restrictions violate the California state constitution.

A San Jose man and his brother are facing the maximum number of felony charges possible including torture, mayhem, assault and making criminal threats. But why would these men commit the crimes that they are accused of? Because the man that they are accused of assaulting was guilty of molesting the San Jose man's stepdaughter.

The man who was allegedly assaulted recently pleaded no contest to two felony counts of having sex with a child. He is facing 22 years in prison with the possibility of release after 19 years. On the other hand, the brothers who were vindicating the young girl are now facing life behind bars.

Everyone knows that you can face criminal charges if you get behind the wheel of a car or ride a motorcycle while intoxicated. But, can you get a DUI while riding a bicycle?

The answer is yes and no. Riding a bicycle while under the influence of alcohol and drugs is a crime in California, but it is not the same crime as DUI, or driving under the influence. The punishment for DUI in California can be quite severe, including heavy fines, license suspension or revocation, and the possibility of jail time. Repeated DUI arrests or DUI resulting in an injury can result in felony charges.

Many crimes that happen on the Internet are classified as felonies and fall under the federal government's jurisdiction. Recently, federal authorities arrested fourteen people in various states across the country, accusing them of "cyber attacks" allegedly intended as revenge against the PayPal website owned by eBay for banning WikiLeaks as one of its clients.

The attack allegedly took place about eight months ago at various times, during the month of December 2010. The FBI says it has certain evidence that the crime was led by a group of hackers calling themselves "Anonymous," although it was unclear whether any of the arrestees were being accused of membership in that group.

Federal charges brought in San Jose theorize that the defendants deliberately jammed PayPal's website with bogus information requests to make the website temporarily unavailable to the public at various times over the course of several days.

After seeing jurors in the Roger Clemens federal perjury trial exposed to inadmissible evidence, the presiding judge declared a mistrial two days into testimony.

Clemens, a former all-star pitcher, faced felony charges of making false statements, perjury and obstruction of justice in for statements he made in a federal investigation of Major League Baseball players and steroids.

In an era of budget constraints, California's government and the Internal Revenue Service are trying to get every tax dollar that they can. As a result, state and federal authorities are devoting an ever-increasing amount of law enforcement resources to tax fraud investigations.

Like other white collar charges, tax fraud charges often carry the possibility of long prison sentences and hefty fines. Both the rich and poor can commit tax fraud. However, when a rich and famous person is accused of tax fraud, the amount of money involved can be very high and law enforcement authorities may be tempted to seek a stiffer punishment to serve as a deterrent for other people. In addition, the severity of a person's tax fraud sentence can be influenced by the amount of money involved.