Crimes
Please click below for definitions of the various crimes:
For more information, please click here for a free Online Consultation or call (310) 841-6805.
Assualt and Battery
A battery (Penal Code, sec. 243) is, essentially, the willful use of force or violence upon another. This means, any physical contact with another person, to which that other person has not consented. An assault (Penal Code, sec. 240) is basically an attempt at a battery.
Murder / Violent Crime
Murder and violent crimes are:
Murder: Murder is the unlawful and unjustified killing of another human being with malice aforethought. (Penal Code §187) First Degree Murder- is any murder that is committed with premeditation and deliberation, all others are second degree murders. (Penal code 189)
Felony Murder Rule: Felony Murder Rule- In California, any killing that occurs in the commission of an inherently dangerous felony is treated as first degree murder. (Penal Code 189)
Inherently Dangerous Felonies:
- Arson
- Rape
- Carjacking
- Robbery
- Burglary
- Mayhem
- Kidnapping
- All other dangerous felonies
Punishment: 25 years to Life in Prison.
Death Penalty: If a murder is committed and one of the special allegations below proven, the state may ask for the death penalty: (Penal Code 190.2).
- Murder of a police officer, federal officer, or judge.
- Murder by destructive device such as a bomb
- Murder was committed while lying in wait
- Murder was committed for religious or racist motives
- Murder was committed in the commission of enumerated felonies.
Manslaughter:
- Voluntary Manslaughter is an intentional killing that occurred due to adequate provocation or a person's unreasonable attempt at self-defense. (Penal Code 192) Punishment: 3 to 11 years.
- Involuntary Manslaughter is an unintentional killing that occurred during the commission of a misdemeanor or due to gross negligence. (Penal Code 192) Punishment: 2 to 4 years.
- Vehicular Manslaughter is an unintentional killing that occurred during the commission of an unlawful act while driving a motor vehicle. Punishment: 1 to 10 years. Your attorney's Knowledge of sentencing guidelines and alternative sentencing procedures is vital in receiving the minimum sentence rather than the maximum.
Attorney Fay Arfa has been trained and has extensive experience in sentencing procedures which allows them to acquire the minimum punishment for her clients.
Gun Use Allegations: Any person that has in his possession or uses a firearm in the commission of a felony will be charged with this allegation and face an additional 3 to 10 years.
Kidnapping: Every person who forcibly or by any other means of instilling fear, steals or takes or hold, detains or arrests any person in one county and takes them to another county or state or country. Punishment: 3 to 8 years. If the victim is under the age of 14, punishment can be up to 11 years. Penal Code Section 208. Kidnapping for the purpose for a ransom/robbery or for rape is punishable by Life imprisonment. Kidnapping cases are complex and require a trained trial attorney with the skills and experience found in attorney Fay Arfa.
Robbery: First Degree Robbery Is the robbery of any person in an inhabited dwelling house, any bus or taxi driver, their passenger or any person who is using an automated teller machine. All other robberies are second degree robberies. Punishment for first degree: 3 to 9 years. Punishment for second degree: 2 to 6 years. Carjacking Carjacking is the felonious taking away of a vehicle's in another's possession or immediate presence. Penal code Section 215. Punishment for carjacking: 3 to 9 years. If someone is killed, the death penalty. Call Attorney Fay Arfa immediately if you or a loved one is accused of a serious crime.
Carjacking
Drug Offenses
Attorney Fay Arfa has over 17 years of experience handling various criminal matters including drug related crimes. In recent years there has been a sharp increase in the prosecution and penalties for these matters. With the three strikes law, mere possession of any type of drug can result in a 25 to life sentence.
Whether a case is filed as a felony or a misdemeanor depends on the type of drug and the amount in your possession. For example possession of less than 28 grams of marijuana can be filed as a misdemeanor. Drug diversion is an alternative to jail time and if the program is successfully completed, the charges are dismissed from your record altogether.
Drunk Driving Cases
If you have been arrested for DUI, you will have to deal with both the criminal justice system and the DMV. You must request an Admin Per Se hearing from the DMV within ten days of your arrest in order to protect your right to a hearing so that your driving privilege is not suspended.
The charge of driving under the influence actually consist of two charges: 23152(a)V.C. "driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol (or both)" and, 23152(b) V.C. "driving with a blood alcohol level of .08 or higher." The punishment is the same whether you plead to either offense.
If you are convicted of either charge, it counts as two points against your negligent operator count at the DMV. Conviction on either count is "priorable" for the next seven years. If you are arrested again for a DUI within that time, it will count as a second offense requiring mandatory jail time and a license suspension for one year.
Attorney Fay Arfa has the knowledge and experience to secure a favorable outcome for drunk driving related crimes, such as a dismissal altogether or a reduction to a lesser charge, or an acquittal.
Federal Crimes
The federal legal system is a distinct legal entity requiring an attorney well versed in the intricacies of federal law and procedure.
Federal courts are called District courts with a Judge appointed for life. Federal courts have jurisdiction over all cases involving federal law or involving litigants from different states.
In the criminal arena it most frequently involves alleged violations of federal statutes. The federal rules of evidence and procedure differ substantially from California law and procedure in some areas.
Attorney Fay Arfa is well acquainted with federal law and procedure. In addition Attorney Fay Arfa is very familiar with the rules and procedures in the local district courts . Her knowledge and familiarity insures that she will achieve the best possible result for you.
Internet Crimes
Currently Penal Code section 311 prohibits the possession of Obscene Material .This statute applies to all possessing and publishing for sale or distribution of sexual conduct by a minor. This statute was updated in 1999 to include storing images on hardware, software or any storage medium including CD-ROMS and any printing of a computer generated image. This charge attempts to stop the flow of "child porn" photography which can be placed by any person on the Internet or their related website.
Another popular law for law enforcement is the Sexual Exploitation of Minors found under C.P.C. § 311.3. This law prohibits a person from duplicating, developing, printing or exchanging an image or photo showing a minor engaging in an act of sexual conduct. This charged is aimed at the user rather than the distributer.
The new Stalking law found in Penal Code section 646.9 now applies to electronic mediums as well. If you repeatedly harass someone by using an electronic communication device and threaten him or her with reasonable apprehension of fear, you are stalking them. Therefore, if you repeatedly threaten someone while on-line and it would otherwise appear to be a legitimate threat causing fear, you have committed cyber stalking and can be prosecuted and sentenced to county jail or state prison. This would apply to phone calls, voicemails and emails.
Penal Code section 653(m) prohibits Contact by Electronic Communication with the Intent to Annoy. What used to only apply to telephone calls now applies to all electronic communication on the Internet. All bad faith telephone calls or electronic communication, which would apply to email, that are made in bad faith and are repeated to annoy are punishable by county jail or state prison.
There are also non-child related offenses such as Computer Hacking (Unauthorized access to computers, systems and data) prohibited by Penal Code section 502. These offenses include destroying and altering data including using another Internet domain name. This crime is a wobbler with fines as high as $5,000 and $10,000 plus penalty assessments.
Often internet crimes violate Federal Law since the Internet crosses state lines and is considered Interstate Commerce. As such, when an Internet crime is conducted, a person may be subject to Federal as well as state prosecution.
Juvenile Crimes
In California, the law has created a separate set of courts for juveniles under the age of 18. The law generally handles juvenile crimes as "civil" rather than criminal offenses. That means, juveniles charged with crimes are not entitled to a jury trial and do not go to jail. Instead, juvenile cases are handled by a single judge and juveniles may be placed home on probation, sent to a suitable placement facitlity, juvenile camp and/or the California Youth Authority. Generally, although punishment is an option, the juvenile law does emphasize rehabilitateion through intensive counseling, education, and guidance.
Today, however, juveniles who are age 14 or older and have committed a serious and/or violent crime may be subject to the adult penalties . The court, upon the request of the prosecutor, can transfer a child from the juvenile justice system to the adult justice system. When this occurs, a "fitness hearing" under Welfare & Institution code section 707 is held to determine whether the minor is suited for the juvenile justice process or would be more appropriately treated if transferred to the adult court system.
Trials and juvenile court proceedings are called adjudications. If a child is found to have committed a crime at an jurisdictional hearing, the judge decides how to deal with the juvenile at a dispositional hearing.
In most cases, a juvenile is entitled to have the juvenile records sealed and/or expunged. Usually, records can be sealed after five years from the termination of the juvenile court's jurisdiction or as soon as the juvenile becomes 18. Once sealed, the minor's records may not be opened for inspection unless ordered by the court.
Sex Crimes
Attorney Fay Arfa had successfully defended persons accused of committing sex crimes.
The following is a brief overview of possible sex crimes one can be charged with in California.
- Pen. Code, sec.288 - lewd act with child (child molestation under 14 years old)
- Pen. Code, sec.288a(b) - child molestation 14 years or older
- Pen. Code, sec. 261.2 - forcible rape
- Pen. Code, sec.261.5 - statutory rape (consensual intercourse under 18 years old)
- Pen. Code, sec.290 - obligation to register as a sex offender with the local police
- Pen. Code, sec.311 - possession of obscene matter
- Pen. Code, sec.314 - indecent exposure
- Pen. Code, sec.647(a) - lewd act in public place
- Pen. Code, sec.647(b) - solicitation of prostitution
- Pen. Code, sec.243.4 - sexual battery
- Welf. & Insti. Code, sec. 6600 (sexually violent predator laws that require involuntary commitment after sentence is served)
Long prison sentences and life-long sex registration requirements are just some of the consequences of being convicted of a sex crime in California.
Call Attorney Fay Arfa immediately if you or a loved one are accused of any sex offense.
Child Abuse
Penal Code section 273a , subdivision (1), which defines the crime of child abuse, makes punishable: "Any person who, under circumstances or conditions likely to produce great bodily harm or death, willfully causes or permits any child to suffer, or inflicts thereon unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering, or having the care and custody of any child, willfully causes or permits the person or health of such child to be injured, or willfully causes or permits such child to be placed in such situation that its person or health is endangered, . . ."
Child Molestation
Penal Code section 288 defines child molestation as:
a) Any person who willfully and lewdly commits any lewd or lascivious act, .
. .upon or with the body, or any part or member thereof, of a child who is under the age of 14 years, with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions, or sexual desires of that person or the child, . . .
Rape
Penal Code section 261 defines rape as an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a person not the spouse of the perpetrator, under any of the following circumstances: [P](2) Where it is accomplished against a person's will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the person or another.
Spousal Abuse
Penal Code section 273.5 defines spousal abuse as the willful infliction "upon a person who is his or her spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former cohabitant, or the mother or father of his or her child, corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition.
Theft Crimes
A person charged with the crime of theft is alleged to have unlawfully taken the property of another with the intent to deprive the owner of the property permanently. The crime of theft includes the crimes of larceny, embezzlement, larceny by trick and device, and obtaining property by false pretenses. California Penal Code Section 484 makes it unlawful for any person to feloniously steal, take, carry away, lead, or drive away the personal property of another. It is also illegal to fraudulently appropriate property which has been entrusted to you. Theft is also defrauding a any person of money, labor, real property, personal property by any false or fraudulent representation or pretense. Thus, the crime of theft can and does include many types of factual scenarios and circumstances.
Punishment for crimes of theft varies. Penal Code Section 486 defines two types of theft; petty theft and grand theft. Grand theft is committed when the money, labor, or real or personal property taken is valued at more than four-hundred dollars. (Pen. Code, sec. 487.) Anything less than four-hundred dollars is considered petty theft. (Pen. Code, sec.488.) Petty theft is a misdemeanor offense and is punishable by a fine up to one-thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the county jail up to six months, or both. Grand theft, either as a felony or misdemeanor, is punishable by for up to one year in county jail or state prison. (Pen. Code, sec.489.) In special cases involving grand theft of a firearm, theft is punishable with a minimum sentence of 16 months and a maximum sentence of 3 years in state prison.
Petty theft is a misdemeanor. A second arrest for petty theft may be filed and punished as a felony. (Pen. Code, sec. 666. )A second conviction for petty theft carries a maximum of one year in either county jail or state prison. Petty theft can also be filed as grand theft when several petty thefts are committed against the same victim and the combined loss is over four-hundred dollars. Thus, multiple arrests and convictions for petty theft are make the punishment more severe.
Call Attorney Fay Arfa immediately if you or a loved one are accused of any theft offense.
White Collar Crimes
White collar crimes typically refer to a type of crime committed by business people, entrepreneurs, public officials, and professionals through deception, as opposed to street crimes which tend to involve force and violence (see the section on "Violent Crimes"). Examples of white-collar crimes include embezzlement, bribery, extortion, larceny, fraud (e.g., health care, tax), bankruptcy, telemarketing, insurance, and mail, securities and commodities law violations, environmental law violations, price fixing, racketeering, loan sharking, black market operations, obstruction of justice and perjury, and computer fraud.
Stalking
Stalking is defined "Any person who willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follows or harasses another person and who makes a credible threat with the intent to place that person in reasonable fear for his or her safety, or the safety of his or her immediate family.
Felonies and Misdemeanors
Penal Code section 17 defines the terms " felony " and "misdemeanor."
Subdivision (a) of that section reads: "A felony is a crime which is punishable with death or by imprisonment in the state prison. Every other crime or public offense is a misdemeanor except those offenses that are classified as infractions."
Subdivision (b) of section 17 acknowledges that some offenses are "punishable, in the discretion of the court, by imprisonment in the state prison or by fine or imprisonment in the county jail." These offenses may be either felonies or misdemeanors. They are known as alternative felony-misdemeanors or, more informally, as wobblers.
Subdivision (b) of Penal Code section 17 specifies the circumstances under which a wobbler becomes a misdemeanor: (1) when the court imposes a punishment other than imprisonment in the state prison; (2) when the court designates the offense to be a misdemeanor upon committing the defendant to the Youth Authority; (3) when the court designates the offense to be a misdemeanor upon granting probation without imposition of sentence; (4) when a complaint charging the offense specifies that it is a misdemeanor; and (5) when the magistrate declares the offense to be a misdemeanor at or before the preliminary examination or before filing an order holding the defendant to answer under Penal Code section 872.
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