JAMES M. CRAWFORD
Criminal Defense & Appeals Attorney
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My Latest Blog Posts
Recent blog posts appear below. You can also read about my FEATURED VERDICTS or see MEDIA COVERAGE of my cases too.
California Increases Penalties for Soliciting Minors Online
California has amended its laws to impose stricter penalties for adults soliciting sex from minors aged 16 and 17, with specific exceptions. Learn how this change might affect you.
California cracks down on organized retail theft
New California laws target organized retail theft by introducing stricter penalties and holding online marketplaces accountable. Here’s what you need to know.
Law Change: Proposition 36 Brings Major Sentencing Overhaul to California
California voters have approved Proposition 36, introducing stricter penalties for repeat theft and drug offenses. Learn how this significant change might affect you or your loved ones.
Ajay Dev Exoneration Highlights Dangers of Wrongful Conviction
After serving 16 years of a 378-year sentence, Ajay Dev’s conviction was overturned due to compelling evidence suggesting his accuser fabricated the charges. This case underscores the importance of thorough legal representation.
Law Change: SB 483 invalidates certain enhancements and priors
SB 483 is a bill that provides retroactive relief and is time-sensitive. It declares that certain enhancements and priors imposed before recent changes in the law to be legally invalid. This means that individuals who have been sentenced with these enhancements in the past can now have their sentences reevaluated and potentially reduced.
Law Change: Updates to California’s determinate sentencing laws
Recent changes to California’s Determinate Sentencing Law include requiring judges to acknowledge various types of trauma when selecting a sentence, creating new affirmative defenses for victims of human trafficking, intimate partner violence, and sexual abuse, and creating a post-conviction procedure for resentencing based on trauma.
Law Change: AB 1228 and violations of supervision
AB 1228 changes the rules for releasing people who are being supervised by the criminal justice system (probation, MS, PRCS, parole) and have been arrested for suspected violations of their supervision. The new law requires the court to release these individuals on their own recognizance (O.R.) pending a revocation hearing, unless the court finds clear and convincing evidence that conditions of release are necessary to protect the public or ensure the person’s appearance in court.
Law Change: SB 81 expands use of mitigating circumstances
SB 81 is a new law that changes how enhancements are handled in criminal cases. Enhancements are additional punishments that can be added to a sentence based on specific circumstances, such as the use of a weapon or the commission of a crime while on probation.
Law Change: AB 518 reduces possible imprisonment time
AB 518 is a new law that changes how punishments are determined for crimes that can be punished under multiple laws. Under the previous law, if someone committed a crime that could be punished under multiple laws, they could only be sentenced for the longest possible term of imprisonment.
Law Change: AB 333 changes how gang enhancements are used
AB 333 is a new law that changes how gang enhancements are used in criminal cases. It removes looting, vandalism, and identity theft from the list of crimes that can be used to prove a pattern of criminal gang activity. This means that just because someone commits one of these crimes, it does not automatically mean they are part of a gang.