The answer to the rhetorical question posed in the title is yes. How can this be? The answer lies in the effect that a prior conviction for vehicular manslaughter can have on any further sentence for any DUI. To read about the facts and specifics of how this can come above, click on the following link.
http://www.greghillassociates.com/is-a-sentence-of-25-years-to-life-proper-for-non-injury-dui.html.
In the area of sex offenses, lawmakers are keenly interested in monitoring registered sex offenders and especially sexually violent predators. The interest is to protect the public because such crimes leave such deep scars and can terrorize the public. But how far can the government go? Just lock up everyone convicted of a sex offense for life? How about having every sexually violent predator report to police every 90 days for the rest of their life? Click on the following link to find out if this is valid.
http://www.greghillassociates.com/sexually-violent-predator-reporting-to-police-every-90-days.html.
In shoplifting and burglary cases, police or loss prevention officers will often tell our client that “everything was caught on tape,” suggesting there is a videotape of the crime being committed. Often, this claim is not true. However, our client may confess in reliance on the seeming inevitability of the conviction. The client may then want to see the tape, but the prosecutor tells us no tape ever existed. The client may become convinced that it was lost. If this were the case, would a case be dismissed when the police of the prosecutor misplace such evidence? Click on the following link to find out.
http://www.greghillassociates.com/dismissal-when-police-and-prosecutor-fail-to-preserve-video.html.
If someone is arrested for a third DUI within ten years of the arrest date on a first DUI, the person is generally aware that punishment is going to more than on a first or second DUI. But what is the minimum punishment? How long is the DUI class? How much jail is involved? What is the fine minimum? How long is probation? For answers to these questions, click on the following link.
http://www.greghillassociates.com/what-punishment-do-i-face-for-a-third-dui-jail-time.html.
If one has been arrested for a crime that he or she did not commit, it only seems fair if all records of the arrest are destroyed to remove any suggestion that that person committed the offense. Do such records include fingerprints? Find out in a case where a woman accused of a crime was found factually innocent, but the police refused to destroy her fingerprint records. How did the appellate court rule on the police position? Click on the following link to fine out.
http://www.greghillassociates.com/must-fingerprint-records-be-destroyed-if-court-grants-pfi.html.
In many cases, our client may attach great meaning to a comment the judge makes or even just the color of the judge’s skin. The client then tells us that he or she believes the judge is prejudiced against him or her and wants us to request a change of the judge. In law school, this is called judge shopping and is generally scorned as something that only happens in third-world countries. If requested early in the case, upon learning of when the judge is assigned, a party indeed may request a different judge. However, this is rarely done. To read about a more common scenario with this issue, click on the following link.
http://www.greghillassociates.com/can-i-disqualify-the-judge-if-i-think-he-or-she-is-prejudiced.html.
In reviewing conditions of probation for a juvenile, one most often evaluate the quantity of community service, the types of classes or doctor’s visits a juvenile must make and whether the juvenile has certain travel limitations and / or a curfew. The conditions are usually meant to enhance rehabilitation of the juvenile and not punish the juvenile. Can a judge order a juvenile to wear a GPS tracking device at all times? What if it is as an alternative to custody? Click on the following link to find out facts that might allow such a condition.
http://www.greghillassociates.com/legal-that-a-truant-juvenile-be-tracked-by-a-gps-device.html.
It is often a shock to our clients when we tell them that police advocate lying to suspects if such false statements will elicit a confession from the suspect. We see this most often in police lying that “we have a video of you doing it” or “we have a witness who identified you as the robber.” Does such a lie, followed by an admission, mean the admission is improperly obtained and the judge must dismiss the case? To read the answer, click on the following link.
http://www.greghillassociates.com/the-cops-lied-to-me-and-i-confessed-case-dismissed.html.
If you or a loved one faces a second DUI within ten years of the first one, there is often a vague feeling of, “I know punishment is going to be more than in the first.” However, just how much more? Will jail time be required? What about the length of the alcohol awareness classes? Is a second time DUI a felony? For answers to these questions, click on the following link.
http://www.greghillassociates.com/what-punishment-do-i-face-for-a-second-dui-jail-time.html.
Field sobriety tests, also called “roadside gymnastic tests,” are about much more than a person’s ability to walk a straight line. They are, for the most part, chosen and agreed upon by police departments for their ability to approximate one’s level of intoxication, whether by alcohol or drugs, and thus the ability of someone to safely operate a vehicle. They test far more than physical abilities such as balance and coordination. Like what and why? Click on the following like to read more.
http://www.greghillassociates.com/what-do-dui-field-sobriety-tests-fsts-actually-show.html.
Greg Hill & Associates (310) 782-2500 