Penal Code 1203.3 gives the court the discretion to grant a request for early termination of probation at any time during the probation period.

Before terminating your probation early, the judge will want to ensure that:

1. you have successfully completed the terms of your probation (such as fines, classes or restitution), and
2. there are circumstances that justify early termination.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

Depending on the circumstances of your crime…

• the earlier you terminate your probation, the earlier you can expunge your criminal record
• have your information removed from Megan’s List
• obtain relief from Penal Code 290 PC lifetime duty to register as a sex offender
• restore your California gun rights
• eliminate the risk that you could be charged with a probation violation

If you would like to terminate your probation, contact the Law Office of William Daley at (619) 238-1905 for a free consultation. With over 30 years of experience, William Daley is a San Diego criminal defense lawyer and San Diego DUI attorney who will fight to terminate your probation and get your freedom back.

California Vehicle Code 12500(a) states that:

A person may not drive a motor vehicle upon a highway, unless the person then holds a valid driver’s license issued under this code, except those persons who are expressly exempted under this code.

You may be charged with this offense if you are driving and:

• Have never obtained a driver’s license
• Failed to renew your driver’s license after it expired
• Established residency in California but failed to obtain a California driver’s license, or
• You are ineligible for a driver’s license in California

Driving without a license can be charged as a misdemeanor and will go on your criminal record and you may be placed on informal probation, spend up to six months in jail, pay a fine up to $1,000 and face a possible 30-day impound of your car. Please note that this code does not pertain to people who have a valid driver’s license but do not have it in their possession. It pertains to people who do not actually have a valid license at all.

Driving without a license under Vehicle Code section 12500 is not the same offense as driving on a suspended or revoked license which is prohibited under California Vehicle Code 14601. Driving on a revoked or suspended license is a more serious offense and has more severe penalties such as a higher jail sentence.

To avoid having this offense on your record, you need an aggressive attorney to fight to have this misdemeanor reduced to an infraction or dismissed. Call our office to speak with William Daley; an experienced San Diego criminal defense lawyer and San Diego DUI attorney. Call (619) 238-1905 for your free 30 minute consultation today!

If there is a warrant, to properly handle it, you must turn yourself into the issuing court, with or without an attorney, and try to negotiate a recall of the warrant[s] and a plea bargain on the new Failure to Appear charge. You’ll try to negotiate bail reduction or OR release. You’ll then try to negotiate a plea bargain or take to trial the outstanding charge that caused the warrant. Turning yourself in voluntarily will result in a better outcome than being brought in cuffs to court after arrest on the warrant. On misdemeanors and infractions, your attorney can appear in court without the defendant being present. Effective plea-bargaining, using whatever legal defenses, facts and sympathies there may be, could possibly keep you out of jail/prison, or at least dramatically reduce it.

Our office has been able to have warrants recalled in a short period of time, with little or no additional penalties for our clients. Remember, when a warrant is actively issued in your name, you could be arrested and detained anytime.

How do I find out if there is a warrant for my arrest?

Most Warrants issued by the San Diego County Superior Court are available online.  You can visit the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department web page and do a name search at http://apps.sdsheriff.net/warrant/waar.aspx or contact the Sheriff’s Office at (858) 974-2110.

The online database is updated 4 times a day (4:10 AM, 12:10 PM, 5:10 PM, and 10:10 PM) so recent changes may not always be reflected.

Call our office today to speak with William Daley, an aggressive San Diego criminal defense and San Diego DUI lawyer with over 30 years of experience defending his clients and fighting their charges. Call our office today at (619) 238-1905 for a free consultation.

For additional information, visit our warrant recall page: http://www.lawofficeofwilliamdaley.com/Criminal-Defense/Warrant-Recall.shtml

At a DMV hearing, a DMV officer plays the role of judge, jury, and prosecutor. The DMV officer determines:

1. whether you were driving,
2. whether the arresting officer had reasonable suspicion to stop you,
3. probable cause to arrest you, and
4. whether your blood-alcohol level was .08% or more.

If your California DUI attorney can prove that one of these four elements is missing, then you win the hearing and your license is not suspended. If you hire an attorney, your attorney will appear for you at the DMV hearing, and you can avoid the inconvenience and embarrassment of going to the DMV hearing or appearing in court in front of the judge during your criminal case.

Within 10 days of your DUI incident, the DMV will suspend your license if you or your DUI attorney do not request a DMV hearing.  The Law Office of William Daley will schedule your DMV hearing for you and fight to keep your license, as well as fight for you in your criminal case.

Call our office today to speak with William Daley, an aggressive San Diego DUI lawyer with over 30 years of experience defending his clients and fighting their DUI charges. Call our office today at (619) 238-1905 for a free consultation.

California Penal Code 470b PC states,

“Every person who displays or causes or permits to be displayed or has in his possession any driver’s license or identification card of the type enumerated in Section 470a with the intent that such driver’s license or identification card be used to facilitate the commission of any forgery, is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year.”

Possessing or using a fake driver’s license or I.D. card could be charged as a misdemeanor or felony, depending on the case circumstances and your criminal history.

If you are convicted of violating Penal Code 470b as a misdemeanor, you face up to one year in a county jail and a maximum $1,000 fine.

If you are convicted of this offense as a felony, you face 16 months, or two or three years in the California state prison and a maximum $10,000 fine.

To avoid having this offense on your record, you need an aggressive criminal defense attorney to fight to have this charge reduced to a misdemeanor or dismissed. Call the Law Office of William Daley at (619) 238-1905 for your free 30 minute consultation. William Daley is an experienced California criminal defense and DUI lawyer with over thirty years of experience working to fight for his clients.

Penal Code 186.22 PC is part of the “California Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Act” or “STEP Act” which is California’s street gang enhancement law.

The California street gang sentencing enhancement law has two parts:

1. Penal Code 186.22(a) PC states that it is a crime to participate in a street gang and assist in any felony criminal conduct by the gang’s members.
2. Penal Code 186.22(b) PC is the actual gang sentencing enhancement. This part of the law states that anyone who commits a felony for the benefit of a gang will receive a mandatory prison sentence in addition and consecutive to the penalty s/he receives for the underlying felony.

Depending on the circumstances of the offense, Penal Code 186.22(b) PC could mean an additional two to fifteen years, or even twenty-five years to life, in prison. Even if you’re not a gang member and even if you aren’t the individual who was most directly responsible for committing the underlying felony, you can still be charged with this offense.

In order to receive a gang sentencing enhancement, the prosecutor must prove, in addition to your guilt of the underlying crime, that:

1. You committed or attempted to commit the crime for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal street gang; and
2. When you committed the crime, you intended to assist, further, or promote criminal conduct by members of the gang.

Note that you don’t have to be an “active participant” in a gang at the time you committed the crime to be given a gang sentencing enhancement.

California takes offenses involving gang activity very seriously and you need an aggressive California criminal defense attorney who knows how to defend a person from gang-related charges. Call THE LAW OFFICE OF WILLIAM DALEY at (619) 238-1905 to set up a free 30 minute consultation. William Daley is an experienced criminal defense and DUI lawyer with over thirty years of experience defending his clients and getting their charges reduced or dismissed.

Under California Penal Code 240 “assault” is considered a misdemeanor. In order to convict you of this offense, the prosecutor must prove the following:

1. That you willfully acted in a way that would likely result in the application of force to another
2. That you were aware that your act would likely result in that application of force, and
3. That when you willfully acted you had the ability to follow through with the act that would cause that contact.

If you are convicted of assault, you may face the following penalties:

• California misdemeanor probation for up to three years
• Up to six months in the county jail
• A maximum fine of $1,000
• Successful completion of a batterer’s program
• Community service

*Note that an assault or battery on a California police officer (or other “protected person”) will trigger an increased sentence.

You do not have to make contact with another person in order to be found guilty of assault. You need an aggressive criminal defense attorney to fight to have this charge reduced or dismissed. Call The Law Office of William Daley at (619) 238-1905 for a FREE consultation.

Drivers younger than 21 years old face two kinds of alcohol-related offenses, and both affect their driving privileges: possessing alcohol, and violating the Zero Tolerance Law.

POSSESSION OF ALCOHOL

If you’re younger than 21 years old, you can’t possess alcohol in your vehicle unless the container is full, sealed, and unopened. You also must either:

• Be with a parent or legal guardian, or
• Be working for a person with an off-site liquor license.

Breaking this law leads to:

• Vehicle impoundment for 30 days
• Fines of up to $1,000
• License suspension for one year

ZERO TOLERANCE LAW

California won’t tolerate any amount of alcohol (specifically, 0.01% or higher) for drivers younger than 21 years old.

The first time you’re charged with drunk driving, you face:

• License suspension for one year
• The educational portion of DUI school
• Hundreds of dollars in fines

Your DUI attorney and judge will inform you of the longer suspension periods, higher fines, and more stringent DUI programs you face if you have a second or subsequent offense.

If you have been charged with a DUI and need an experienced California DUI lawyer, call the Law Office of William Daley at (619) 238-1905 for a free consultation.

Source: dmv.org

The major difference in a misdemeanor vs. felony rests with the penalty and the power of imprisonment. The dividing line between felonies and misdemeanors is whether a person may be punished for a certain length of time or in a specific type of prison.

In states that maintain the death penalty, all crimes punishable by death are felonies. In general, a crime is a felony if it is punishable by more than one year in jail, or by imprisonment in a state prison or penitentiary.

A misdemeanor is generally a crime that is punishable for a year or less in a county or local jail.

Some states, such as California, have alternative felony/misdemeanor crimes, also known as wobblers. A wobbler is a crime that can be charged as a felony or a misdemeanor based on the circumstances. A wobbler can also be charged as a felony but reduced to a misdemeanor by the sentencing court pursuant to a statute. Hiring an experienced defense attorney increases your chances of  reducing your charge and penalties.

Most states also have infractions, which are acts that are against the law, but only punishable by a fine. Traffic violations are the most common examples.

Some crimes can be either a felony or a misdemeanor based on an additional element or aggravating characteristic. For example, simply punching someone in a bar fight might be misdemeanor battery, but punching them while using brass knuckles might be a felony based on the use of a weapon. Or, possession of a small personal amount of marijuana might be a misdemeanor, while possessing twenty pounds of pot might lead to felony charges based on the volume of the drug.

Being convicted of a felony, as opposed to a misdemeanor, can have serious consequences. This is why it is crucial you find an aggressive criminal defense attorney to fight for you. In addition to the longer punishment, a person convicted of a felony loses the right to possess firearms or obtain certain licenses, such as a hunting or a fishing license. In some states, a convicted felon loses the right to vote. A felon is required to disclose his status when applying for jobs. A repeat felon can face much harsher punishments, especially in states that maintain three-strikes laws.

The Law Office of William Daley specializes in criminal defense for both felony and misdemeanor charges. Call us today at (619) 238-1905 for a free consultation.

Penal Code 647(f) states that you may be charged with California’s “drunk in public” law if you were willfully intoxicated in public to the point that you:

1. were unable to exercise care for your safety or the safety of others, OR
2. interfered with, obstructed, or prevented others from using streets, sidewalks, or other public paths.

A “drunk in public” charge is a misdemeanor in California and, if convicted, you may have to pay a fine of up to one thousand dollars and/or serve six months in county jail. This conviction will go on your permanent record and can be seen by future employers or anyone else running a background check on you. Hiring an experienced San Diego criminal defense lawyer is essential to fighting your case.

If you have been charged with being “drunk in public,” an aggressive criminal defense attorney can fight to have your misdemeanor charge either dismissed or reduced. Contact the Law Offices of William Daley at (619) 238-1905 for a FREE consultation.