A: The first prohibits all drivers from using a handheld wireless telephone while operating a motor vehicle. (Vehicle Code (VC) §23123). Motorists 18 and over may use a hands-free device. Drivers under the age of 18 may NOT use a wireless telephone or hands-free device while operating a motor vehicle(VC §23124).

A: No. The law does provide an exception for those operating a commercial motor truck or truck tractor (excluding pickups), implements of husbandry, farm vehicle or tow truck, to use a two-way radio operated by a "push-to-talk" feature.

A: NO. Drivers under the age of 18 may not use a wireless telephone, pager, laptop or any other electronic communication or mobile services device to speak or text while driving in any manner, even hands free. EXCEPTION: Permitted in emergency situations to call police, fire or medical authorities. (VC §23124).

ARE YOU IN HUMAN RESOURCES?  ARE YOU A MEMBER OF A CLUB, CHURCH OR OTHER ORGANIZATION?

I want to come speak to you and your colleagues/friends about what to do if you, a friend, loved one or colleague gets in trouble with the law.  It can be a brown bag lunch, a coffee break or any type of meeting.  I'll speak on the subject for a bit and then take questions.  I am NOT charging for my time, but will either make an audio recording or take notes on the event and of course make cards and pamphlets available.  I wish to give back to the community while I gather material for a book.

Please do not hesitate to contact me whether your group is 5 or 500.

Sincerely,

Daniel

info@danielperlmanlaw.com

Daniel is on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight on a segment "Lawyers Telling Lawyer Jokes" tonight at 11:30 on NBC.

If you see it, let us know what you thought!

Sweeping this nation obsessed with poker, is a keen interest in home games with a rake.  This growing interest is by law enforcement, and for the poker player it is not a good thing.

Depending on the state you live in, the laws vary on what types of gambling are legal and what are not.  In many states, a poker game without a rake in someone's home is perfectly okay, so long as the winners walk away with 100% of the stakes.  If there's a rake however (a rake is the common term for a percentage of the pot or stakes that the "house" gets to keep), not only can the person hosting the game get in trouble, but so can the players themselves.

According to a recent article in The Chicago Tribune, players are being ticketed, game operators are being arrested, and chips, tables and even chairs and computers are being confiscated.  The story is primarily about Texas, but similar events are taking place throughout the country.  From your buddy's garage game to the VFW hall, there's a growing crackdown on these games.

Now purists will say that it's un-American to interfere with innocent poker…Or conspiracy theorists will say that it's the gambling industry that's pushing law enforcement to make people only comfortable playing in a casino.  A well informed person would understand that it's only games with a rake that are being targeted.  This is because, under most state's laws, taking a rake is effectively running a gambling house, even if it's just one evening a week; and running a gambling house is illegal without a license.

Now, if you really feel strongly about this, and you wish to continue running a game with a rake, you probably ought to read the law, consider applying for a card club license and perhaps lobbying your local representatives to change the law before you resume hosting games.  And if you continue to host a rake game without a license, you may want to warn your guests that what you are doing is illegal and may subject them to a citation, arrest and loss of property.  After-all, this is America and one unhappy guest may decide to sue you, or worse.

For those of you who play in home games, there are so many out there that do not involve a rake.  Find one or twenty of those and gamble responsibly while avoiding potential raids by local law enforcement.

In most states, running a home game without a rake among family and friends is not illegal.  But there are different sets of laws for players and operators and in some states players may not get in trouble while operators will.  With rare exception, operators of poker games with any kind of admission fee or rake are breaking the law.  In California, no game of any kind is legal unless licensed by the gambling commission.  While this may be true, I have only seen and heard of games being broken up with the "house" is taking some kind of cut of the action or charging an entry fee.

Watch out for the river and don't die by the rake.

A good summary of unofficial poker laws by state can be found here
http://www.homepokergames.com/homepokerlaw.php

No, I'm not referring to the next big reality show on FOX, but then again, who knows?!…  Rather, I'm referring to how charged language is, and how dependent the law can sometimes be on the way words are used.

The law favors escorts due to semantics, plain and simple.  Escorts use words to legitimize their business venture in the eyes of the law.  A prostitute will sell some form of sex for a specific price.  As in "$100 for a X."  This is clear evidence of solicitation/prostitution and people in the Hollywood courthouse for example are always in trouble for this.  I can't count how many "john's" I've had to fight for in working out a deal arising from just such a situation.

An escort on the other hand says, "I'll provide you with company for the next three hours for $500 an hour" and what remains unsaid is what will happen in those three hours.  And it's not entirely unsaid.  Escorts will be quite specific, in that there's no contract for sexual activity.  IF sex takes place, it's because both parties have decided that they want to do it.  The only thing that is being paid for is the time together. 

While these two scenarios often have identical results, it's the sophistication of the language used that keeps an escort in business and a prostitute in jail.  Of course the authorities are wise to this semantical play, but since there are many escort services that do not sell physical intimacy, a turncoat or upset customer must often instigate an investigation or sting operation.

It is important to note, that at least in Los Angeles County, local law enforcement frequently runs stings on ads for sex and drugs on Craigslist.  Beware of posting or responding to ads on sites like Craigslist and as I discussed in a previous blog entry, the way that law enforcement is apt to treat someone they have on the hook; using them for bait in other stings.

Putting this online is difficult for me... You see, even though I'm a defense attorney, I believe that most of the time the police are on the right side.  I have friends in several law enforcement agencies including LAPD, LASD and SMPD and feel confident that they play the game straight up.  I speak with other officers and deputies daily in court and generally I find them to be solid individuals and officers/deputies. 

The flip side though, the one where I find a cop who is part of the sub-culture of abusing their power happens too often for comfort.  While I am not involved with the LAPD shooting last night of a suspected "serial burglar" as FOX NEWS called him, clearly using the buzz words handed out by a police spokesman, it did make my "spidey-sense" tingle. 

Here's what they say happened...Allegedly, the man exited his vehicle and pointed a replica firearm at the officer (we don't know if the officer was in uniform, but we do know he was driving an unmarked vehicle and had not initiated a stop), the officer fired approximately four times killing the "suspect". 

A task force is sorting things out presently.  The reason I am suspicious of this spin, is that I have run into several cases in the past couple years where it seems likely that officers/deputies carry, discuss the use of, or actually do plant a weapon (or sometimes drugs), on an otherwise innocent person.  I do hesitate to bandy such accusations on the internet, but by the same token, it is happening and this incident made me wonder, could it be true here?  Why would someone brandish a replica firearm at law enforcement?  Why does that make them a burglary suspect? Did the officer identify himself as such? What were their positions? It was the middle of the night and the victim had someone following him through the city.  Perhaps he was scared and had no idea it was an armed officer following him? I'm sure we'll get more information as the day moves on, but it scares me how this is playing out right now.

Regardless of how the story comes down on this incident, perhaps law enforcement agencies should conduct random searches of officer's duty bags and vehicles prior to them going on patrol, to help ensure that they are not carrying plantable evidence and weapons with them to be used when they make a mistake or stop someone without cause.

Again, I believe in law enforcement and regularly am in contact with men and women who are textbook examples of the heroes we need them to be, but it doesn't take many bad eggs to spoil the bunch as they say, and I've run into enough suspicious activity to give me pause.

E! Entertainment Television

True Hollywood Story: Britney Spears

8 p.m. PST Sunday (tonight)

I appear in five of the final ten minutes of the show.

So that's the question.  What should you do if you are pulled over by the police under suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol?

There are of course many factors that will play into how you can and should handle the situation, and I will post details on this topic in the coming days.

First however, I want you to weigh in.  What have you been told?  What do you believe?  What did you do? There are many myths and legends from banaca to febreeze.  What's your story?

***IMPORTANT***

For your own protection, please do not share personal case information for an open case (one that has not yet concluded)

Craigslist and other internet personals/classifieds like on Myspace can be a risky proposition.....

You've all seen the ads "Looking for 420 and fun", or "who wants some hot sex tonight in LA?"

Craigslist, Myspace and other online communities either directly or indirectly provide a setting where people of all kinds can meet to exchange ideas, products and themselves.  Most of this activity is legal, but quite a number of people engage in transactions involving drugs and or sex. Regardless of your personal opinion on these topics, such activities are not legal and many people are finding themselves in tough jams.

 In the past couple of years, I've taken a number of calls from men and women who thought they were "safe" finding pot or sex on craigslist or other online forums, and instead they ended up caught in a sting operation by local law enforcement.  If it was a first offense, these would-be criminals were probably eligible for diversion programs that wouldn't mar their permanent record. When they were arrested however, the officers took them to the station and made them an offer along the lines of, "If you'll help us catch someone else, we won't charge you with this crime."

Now this sounds like a pretty attractive offer when you're standing there wondering who you're going to call to bail you out before you take a beating, whether you'll lose your job, how much you'll have to spend on a lawyer, etc.  Particularly for someone who's never been in trouble before.  The problem is, this offer isn't made officially or in writing, and in these individual cases that have found their way to me, they don't keep their word.  After these "informants" have willingly helped the police or sheriff set up some other poor soul, they are told that it wasn't a good enough bust and they need to help again.  If the "informant" disagrees, they are reminded that the charges can be filed at any time within a year.  It is usually at this time that the "informant" realizes they are being used, but what can they do now but hope the year passes and they will be free from the detective's clutches.   I've gotten calls from men and women sobbing that they'd helped set up two, three or more other unsuspecting people and still the sheriff's deputy or detective insists that they continue to make themselves available while holding the original case over their head. 

This may sound bad enough, but the worst part, again from what I've had related to me by clients and potential clients, is that no matter how much the "informant" has cooperated and how many other people they've helped lure into arrest, their own charges are still filed, and no notation exists to suggest that their deal ever existed.

So what should you take away from this and what should you do if you find yourself in this situation?

What you should learn from this, is that while these web communities are fun, informative and full of great information, people and products, keeping your behavior legal online is just as important as on the street corner.  No matter whether you believe drugs and prostitution should be legal.  Right now, they are not, and law enforcement is hip to places like Craigslist and Myspace being virtual street corners, and they are using them to bust people just as though they were at Hollywood & Vine (at least back in the old days).

What should you do if you find yourself caught in a sting?

While I generally want to trust the police, everything I've heard on this topic is that you shouldn't trust them when they make offers like I've described above.  Tell them you want to speak to a lawyer.  Remind them that they do not have a right to question you without a lawyer present (when you've asked for one), and do not start talking to them about anything else either. When you take this stance, they are not permitted to question you further.

If it's your first time getting caught and it was for "a little weed" or trying to hire a hooker, then you'll get a pretty soft offer from the City Attorney or D.A. when you finally get to court.  Depending on the circumstances, maybe even one where the charges will eventually be dropped by the court.  If you've been in trouble before however, or if the substance was something other than pot, you may be in a lot more trouble and calling a lawyer would be a pretty smart way to spend a few minutes even if you don't end up hiring them.

 ***IMPORTANT NOTICE***

Nothing in this blog entry or on this myspace page should be construed as legal advice.  These notes are merely the curious ramblings of your friendly neighborhood criminal defense attorney.  I am always happy to take your call or field your email and discuss your case in private, but please do not post real case information for an ongoing matter in a public place like myspace.

Good morning out there...

As I contemplate recent events, I am most entertained, and at the same time most saddened by what is an all too common occurrence.

I had a client who...oh, by the way I am a criminal defense attorney in the San Fernando Valley adjacent to Los Angeles...anyway, I had this client who had been mad at her significant other, downed a bunch of alcohol and then decided she needed a pack of cigarettes...No problem, as a market was "just around the corner"...but yet, she made a decision she now regrets- why walk when you can drive!  She made it to the market just fine, but upon returning home, she tried to turn into her driveway in-front of oncoming traffic, causing an accident.  Fortunately nobody was hurt, or she might still be in jail.  The police show up, and right in front of her own house she is arrested for driving under the influence (DUI or Duce as we call them for the vehicle code number that corresponds to DUIs - 23152(a) and 23152(b)).  Her blood alcohol level (BAC) was on the high side, and in her case, she was also driving without a license.  In the end, the otherwise upstanding young lady could have spent a year or more in jail.  While such an offense without injury rarely includes extended jail time, 10 or even 30 days in not entirely impossible to contemplate.

On the upside, she didn't even spend the night in jail.  But on the downside, she has a misdemeanor criminal record, three years of probation, and assorted other requirements on her time... and between damage to the other vehicle, court fines and costs, missed work, and my fees, her pack of smokes cost her approximately 14 large. 

Now, the moral is not that an attorney can help you in this situation...that's a given so long as you get the right attorney.  Rather, the moral is not to put yourself in the position of needing an attorney in the first place.  This young woman could have turned a few inches earlier or later and ended up injuring or killing one of the passengers in the other vehicle.  That pack of cigarettes could have put her in prison for a long time.

She assures me it'll never happen again... I hope her lesson can serve you too.