Sacramento Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

If you've been charged with a misdemeanor, one of the advantages of hiring a criminal defense lawyer is that in most cases your attorney can appear for you in court and represent your interests without you being present. Whether you appear depends on the circumstances of the alleged crime and what is being decided at each court date. You and your attorney should determine the best course of action. But having this option allows you to go to work, attend to the needs of your family, and take care of the other issues that we all face on a daily basis.

Having your attorney appear for you for misdemeanor charges can be advantageous if you've been arrested in Sacramento, Yolo, or Placer counties but live elsewhere. For example, we've had clients - including some from outside California - who were arrested while visiting the Sacramento region. They contacted us after they returned home, gave us permission to act on their behalf, and let us handle their defense without their having to return to the area.

It's important to keep in mind, however, that if your misdemeanor case goes to trial, you are well advised to appear in court during the trial, even though your are not required to do so. Again, discuss this with your attorney.

In addition, if you've been charged with a felony, you are required to appear at all of your court dates.

California law has two standards for determining if a person is driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. One identifies a specific threshold of blood alcohol content above which a driver's ability to safely operate a motor vehicle is considered impaired. The other standard, however, is a general statement declaring it illegal to operate a motor vehicle while "under the influence of any alcoholic beverage or drug." It's important for drivers to understand the difference between these two provisions of the law, as well as how they work together.

Vehicle Code 23152(b) states that it is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol content of 0.08% or higher, which is determined by a breath or blood test or combination of the two. [VC 23153(b) also specifies a 0.08% threshold but pertains to DUI with injury.]

But if you've been cited for DUI stemming from consumption of alcohol, in addition to a violation of 23152(b) [or 23153(b) if there were injuries] you've probably also been charged with a violation of 23152(a) [or 23153(a) for DUI with injury]. These are the codes that state that it is illegal to drive while under the influence. Violations can be based not only on breath or blood tests but also on the officer's observations of your behavior while driving, as well as your performance on field sobriety tests (FSTs). Thus these charges involve judgement calls by officers in the field.

Note that because there are no blood level standards that define impairment for use of drugs - including marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, or the wide variety of prescription medications - someone charged with driving under the influence of drugs will fall under 23152(a) or 23153(a).

Proposition 19, which would have legalized recreational use of marijuana in California, was defeated by voters in Tuesday's election 53.8% to 46.2%. This means that marijuana use remains illegal in California, though a recent change to state law does significantly reduce the penalties.

If it had passed, Proposition 19 would have made it legal to: possess up to an ounce of pot; use it in a non-public venue such as one's home or a public venue licensed for marijuana consumption; and grow pot at one's residence in an area up to 25 square feet. It would have also permitted local governments to authorize the retail sale of up to an ounce of marijuana to people 21 years of age or older, as well as impose local taxes on those retail sales.

Because of the defeat of Proposition 19, possession and use of marijuana is still against the law. However, the passage in October of SB 1449 changes possession of less than an ounce of marijuana from a misdemeanor to an infraction as of January 1, 2011. This means that the penalties for less than an ounce will be a fine of up to $100, no jail time or probation, and no conviction on one's criminal record. Essentially, possession of a small amount of pot will be treated like a minor traffic violation or littering. Bear in mind, though, that possession of more than an ounce comes with substantially harsher penalties, especially if the charges include trafficking or sales.