Habeas Review and Miranda Robert C. Phillips Deputy District Attorney (Ret) June, 2019             One of the procedural tactics available to a defendant convicted of criminal violations in state court is a federal habeas corpus review.  In a death…

The federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeal (in the State of Michigan) ruled in a recent case that for a parking enforcement officer to apply a chalk mark to the tire of a parked car, and then return later and find that the vehicle had not been moved…

In the last California Legal Update (Vol. 24, #2, Jan. 23, 2019), I briefed the federal district court opinion of In re Search of a Residence in Oakland (N.D. Cal. Jan. 10, 2019) __ F.Supp.3rd __ [2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5055], emphasizing a…

Passwords, Biometric Features, and Fifth Amendment Self-Incrimination: Robert C. Phillips DDA (Ret) February, 2019             An interesting debate has surfaced recently concerning a criminal suspect’s Fifth Amendment self-incrimination rights as…

DISPOSITION OF PAWNED PROPERTY January 1, 2019 ROBERT C. PHILLIPS Deputy District Attorney (Ret.)   Introduction:          The Problem: Mishandling of pawned property by law enforcement carries with it certain civil liability pitfalls. When stolen…

On June 28th , the California Supreme Court issued an interesting (albeit not worth briefing) decision, reversing the Fifth District Court of Appeal where the lower court had invoked Civil Code § 3531 to invalidate a statute that mandates what’s…

The Booking Questions Dilemma; An Update Robert C. Phillips Deputy District Attorney (Ret.) October, 2018               The rule has long been that routine booking questions asked of an in-custody suspect for the purpose of obtaining background,…

Warrant Affidavit Writing Made Easy: Create an Outstanding Warrant Application Every Time By Michelle M. Heldmyer Attorney-Advisor (Instructor), FLETC ALG Even for the most experienced law enforcement officers, writing an affidavit can be a…

The Rule in Kellett[1] RC Phillips, DDA (Ret) Sept. 2018 Kellett is a California Supreme Court case that holds that if a defendant commits a crime that can be charged in different ways, the prosecution must file all the charges together in the…

Misinterpreting the Value of the Beheler Admonishment Robert C. Phillips DDA (Ret) August, 2018             Since first imposed on law enforcement, when in 1966 the United States Supreme Court first announced the rule of Miranda,[1] police…