Legal Links & Research
CRIMINAL LAWYERS CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEYS
At Takakjian, Sowers & Sitkoff LLP we are result oriented, seeking, above all else, to help our clients stay informed and achieve their objectives in the most timely, economical and successful manner. The philosophy of the firm emphasizes an aggressive defense yet a caring response to our client's needs, as well as an extensive and creative approach, enabling our clients to successfully benefit from the firm's experience and long-term local presence.
New California Laws for 2009
Vehicle Code - New "Zero tolerance" Law
No Alcohol for DUI Probationers - Driver License Suspensions
Starting in January 2009, the law will change for individuals who have recently been convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). The law applies to individuals currently on probation for drunk driving or for driving with too high of an alcohol level. If the police stop and lawfully detain the individual and the person has a measureable amount of breath alcohol of 0.01% or higher in their system, then their DMV driver license can be suspended for one year and their vehicle can be impounded. And since "No Alcohol" is usually a condition of their court probation, a probation violation can be filed with the court which can result in significant jail time!
According to the California DMV, (AB 1165 Maze) A change in the driving under the influence (DUI) law also creates a new authority for DMV to administratively suspend the driver's license for one year under a zero tolerance standard. The new law authorizes law enforcement to issue a notice of suspension and impound the vehicle of a person who is driving with a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.01 percent or greater while on court-ordered post-DUI probation.
No Text Messaging while Driving
SB 28, it is likely that you have heard that text messaging while driving is now an infraction. As of January 1, 2009, it is an infraction ($20 for a first offense and $50 for later offenses), to use an electronic wireless communication device, such as a PDA or cell phone.
GPS Devices on Windshield
SB 1567, will now require that GPS devices that are attached to a windshield must be placed in the lower right corner or in the lower left corner of the vehicle windshield. GPS devices may still be mounted on the dashboard as long as they do not block the view of the highway.
Proposition 9 - Victims' Bill of Rights Act of 2008 - Marsy's Law
Expands Legal Rights of Crime Victims to participate in court proceedings
Requires money collected from a defendant to first be paid as restitution to the crime victim
Restricts Early Release of Inmates by jails
Changes Procedures for Granting and Revoking Parole
We hope that the following legal links may be helpful to you. If you know of a web site that we should add to our list or if you find a dead link, please contact us so that we may share those resources with our other clients and the public.
LEGAL LINKS
LEGAL RESEARCH LINKS
ABA Lawlink - legal research selected starting points
http://www.lawtechnology.org/lawlink/home.html
ACLU: American Civil Liberties Union - Freedom Network http://www.aclu.org/
California Law - Easy site to look up all 29 Codes and Constitution listing of other state and federal sites
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html
California State Court Information - Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal Opinions, rules and forms
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/
CalLaw - The complete daily briefing on California law and the Courts
http://www.callaw.com/
CataLaw - Links to legal subject areas by topic or region. http://www.catalaw.com/
Cornell University Legal Information Institute – Daily U.S. Supreme Court decisions and the Constitution of the United States. http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.table.html
Findlaw – A comprehensive site arranged by subject and incorporates primary federal and state information, including cases and statutes and court forms. http://www.findlaw.com/
FIRST GOV - Federal site for searching, locating, ordering and acquiring government and business information with links to all federal government sites. http://www.usa.gov/
Heiros Gamos - A comprehensive law and government portal
http://www.hg.org/
ILRG - Internet Legal Resource Guide - Categorized index of 3000 legal web pages
http://www.ilrg.com/
Jurist: The Legal Information Network – University of Pittsburgh School of Law site directed to law professors and students.
http://www.jurist.law.pitt.edu/
LLRX.COM – Launched by librarians, this site offers valuable but obscure information, as well as legal content tied to current events. http://www.llrx.com/
Municipal Codes for California Cities: http://california.lp.findlaw.com/ca01_codes/municode.html
RefDesk.com - The single best source for facts on the nethttp://www.refdesk.com/
Thomas - U.S. Library of Congress legislative information
http://www.loc.gov/
United States Code
http://uscode.house.gov/usc.htm
Federal Government Agencies
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms – A.T.F. http://www.atf.treas.gov/
Drug Enforcement Administration – D.E.A. http://www.dea.gov/
Office of National Drug Policy http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/
Federal Aviation Administration – F.A.A. http://www.faa.gov/
Federal Bureau of Investigation – F.B.I. http://www.fbi.gov/
Federal Judicial Center - http://www.fjc.gov/
Federal Sentencing Guidelines – http://www.ussc.gov/1998guid/tabcon98.htm
Federal Sentencing Table – http://www.ussc.gov/1998guid/Sentable.htm
Federal Courts – http://www.uscourts.gov/
Food & Drug Administration – F.D.A. http://www.fda.gov/
Department of Health & Human Services http://www.hhs.gov/
Immigration & Naturalization Services – I.N.S. http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis
Internal Revenue Service – I.R.S. http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – N.H.T.S.A. http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/
Securities Exchange Commission – S.E.C. http://www.sec.gov/
Securities Investor Protection Corporation – S.I.P.C. http://www.sipc.org/
U.S. Courts – Central District - California/
United States Sentencing Commission
United States and California Courts
Supreme Court of the United States http://www.supremecourtus.gov/
The Federal Judiciary - United States Courts
http://www.uscourts.gov/
California State Court Information - Supreme Court and Courts Of Appeal opinions, court rules and county court locations
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov
Administrative Office of the Courts Center for Families, Children & the Courts. A new web site that provides information on family and juvenile law and the legal process.
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/programs/cfcc
California Courts of Appeal
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/courtsofappeal/about.htm
Appellate Counselor - Judicial Profiles - Capsule biographies of Justices on California and Federal Appellate Courts
http://www.appellate-counsellor.com/judges.htm
Los Angeles County Bar Association - Legal Links
http://www.lacba.org/showpage.cfm?pageid=33
Kern County (Bakersfield Municipal) Court
http://www.kern.courts.ca.gov/
Los Angeles County Unified Courts
http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/
Orange County Courts - locations and maps
http://www.occourts.org/locations.asp
Riverside County Superior Court
http://www.riverside.courts.ca.gov/
San Bernardino County Courts
http://www.co.san-bernardino.ca.us/courts/
San Diego County Superior Court
http://www.sdcourt.ca.gov/portal/page?_pageid=53,1&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
San Luis Obispo County Court
http://www.slocourts.net/
Ventura County Superior Court
http://www.ventura.courts.ca.gov/
California & Local Government Agencies
California Alcoholic Beverages Control Board – A.B.C. - http://www.abc.ca.gov/
California Department of Corrections - http://www.cdc.state.ca.us/
California Department of Fish & Game - http://www.dfg.ca.gov/
California Highway Patrol – C.H.P. - http://www.chp.ca.gov/
California Department of Justice - http://caag.state.ca.us/
California Department of Justice - DOJ Firearms Division - Assault Weapons Registration Informationhttp://caag.state.ca.us/firearms/regs/sb23indx.htm
California Medical Board - http://www.medbd.ca.gov/
California Department of Motor Vehicles – D.M.V.
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/
The California Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Divisions_Boards/DJJ/About_DJJ/FAQs.html , formerly known as the California Youth Authority (CYA), is a division of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Kern County Sheriff’s Department - http://www.co.kern.ca.us/sheriff/
LAPD – Los Angeles Police Department - Jail and custody questions - obtaining police information - How to get a copy of a criminal record
http://www.lapdonline.org/faqs
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department - LASD Online Arrestee Booking Information,
http://www.lasd.org/
Orange County Sheriff’s Department - http://www.ocsd.org/
Riverside County Sheriff’s Department - http://www.co.riverside.ca.us/sheriff
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department – http://www.co.san-bernardino.ca.us/sheriff
San Diego County Sheriff's Department - Who's In Jail - Inmate Log
http://www.sdsheriff.net/wij/wij.aspx
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department - http://www.slosheriff.org/
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department - http://www.sbsheriff.org/
Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo Emergency Contacts http://www.rain.org/~medmall/resources/community/emergency_local/
Ventura County Sheriff’s Department - http://www.vcsd.org/
Associations
American Bar Association
http://www.abanet.org
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice - http://www.cacjweb.org/public/
California Public Defenders Association - http://www.cpda.org/
California Legal Aid Association - http://www.calegaladvocates.org/
California Bail Agents Association - "How Bail Works" Summary of release options
California State Bar
http://www.calbar.org
Los Angeles County Bar Association
http://www.lacba.org
Orange County Bar Association
http://www.ocbar.org/
Riverside County Bar Association http://riversidecountybar.com/
San Bernardino County Bar Association http://sbcba.org/index.htm
San Diego County Bar Association http://www.sdcba.org/
Ventura County Bar Association http://www.vcba.org/
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