If you haven’t been in a car accident yet, you should consider yourself lucky. Considering how much time we spend behind the wheel, the odds are good that sooner or later you’ll be involved in one. Because of the likelihood of getting into a car...

One of the more confusing criminal charges California has is the accessory after the fact. Many people don’t know that it’s possible to get into trouble for a crime that they weren’t involved with until well after the crime happened. California law stipulates that anyone who basically takes steps to hinder a criminal investigation could be charged with accessory after the fact. This means that if you help or conceal a loved one who has committed a crime, you will likely find yourself in hot legal water. An accessory after the fact charge isn’t something you should joke about. It’s a felony that comes with a potential sentencing that includes a three-year stay in one of California’s state prisons. Accessory after the fact charges are touched on in California’s Penal Code 32 (PC). It states that:
    “Every person who, after a felony has been committed, harbors, conceals or aids a principal in such felony, with the intent that said principal may avoid or escape from arrest, trial, conviction or punishment, having knowledge that said the principal has committed such felony or has been charged with such felony or convicted thereof, is an accessory to such felony.”

Kids and hot cars are never a good combination. Everyone knows that, yet there is still an average of 38 children who die each year after they’re locked into a hot car.In all fairness, nearly all of these cases are an accident. The child...

California has three different types of warrants. Each one serves a different purpose. Search warrants and arrest warrants are the ones that most people are familiar with, mostly because they play huge roles in various procedural shows. The third type of warrant is called a bench warrant. The majority of the warrants currently active in California are bench warrants. While a bench warrant means you can be arrested if the police find you, they aren’t the same as an arrest warrant. An arrest warrant typically means you’re suspected of committing a crime or wanted for questioning in regard to a crime. Bench warrants are typically issued because you failed to do something you were supposed to take care of. Common reasons bench warrants are sworn out include:
  • You failed to report to a court date (a bench warrant can be issued even if you were supposed to be on the jury or serve as a witness)
  • Failed to pay a court fine/traffic ticket
  • Fell behind on court-ordered child support
  • Failed to follow an order that demanded you vacate a property
  • Broke the terms of your probation
  • Etc.