- Divorce
- Child SupportIf you are a California gun owner, your divorce is likely to include important gun-related issues in addition to the usual issues of division of property and debts, spousal support, and if you have minor children, child support, custody and visitation. Gun-related issues may arise before, during and after your divorce and because California gun laws are some of the most restrictive in the entire USA, your attorney should be experienced and prepared to safeguard your guns and your gun rights.
- Child Custody and VisitationWhat other legal problems can firearms cause in a divorce setting? If you are a gun owner and there is a dispute over child custody or visitation, your ex-spouse may attempt to use gun ownership against you. Most people, including judges, have strong feelings when it comes to guns. If you cannot avoid an anti-gun judge, you might offer proof that you have a gun safe and that both you and your children have successfully completed formal firearms safety training. Another potential divorce issue is the division of marital property. Firearms which you acquired prior to marriage as well as those obtained by gift or inheritance, should be deemed your separate property and should be awarded to you without offset to your spouse.
- Paternity
- Spousal SupportFamily law cases include many important legal issues such as divorce, legal separation, division of property and debt, child custody and visitation, child and spousal support, business valuation, health and life insurance, tax consequences, paternity, and pensions. How your attorney handles these matters may affect you for many years to come.
- Legal Separation
- Criminal DefenseFirst, they are arrested with the further expense of bail and the cost of hiring a criminal defense attorney.
- Traffic ViolationsOf a traffic stop. Avoid unsafe driving, particularly speeding, changing lanes without signaling, following too close, and erratic steering. Imprudent driving often provokes a thorough inspection of the vehicle, its contents and the driver.
- FraudMany California crimes can be charged either as a felony or as a misdemeanor; this type of offense is often referred to in the California criminal justice system by the slang term "wobbler". Some examples of "wobblers" include possessing or receiving stolen property, insurance fraud, possession of methamphetamine (for personal use as opposed to possession for sale), second degree burglary, and many other common crimes.
- Burglary
- MisdemeanorsOur firm handles all cases in a professional and competent manner from misdemeanor to felony matters in all California & Federal courts.
- AssaultOn January 1, 1991, with no individual notice, thousands of California gun owners with certain misdemeanors on their records became subject to felony prosecution as a new law purported to ban them from legal possession of firearms for a ten year period following conviction. Many of these old misdemeanor convictions, such as simple assault or battery, did not involve the misuse of a firearm. Since 1991, the list of misdemeanor convictions which result in this ten year ban on firearms possession has been continuously expanded. Some of these "ten year misdemeanors” involve violence while others do not. Examples are the unlawful sale or grossly negligent discharge of firearms.
- MurderThis same pattern of high profile murder followed by the immediate calls of anti-gun politicians and the media for “effective, reasonable gun control” repeated itself just recently. Just remember the “news reports” following the tragic shooting at Columbine High School and the Valley Jewish Community Center.
- HomicideIt depends on the facts and circumstances of the incident.• If the investigating officers feel that your self-defense use of firearms may have been unlawful, you will likely be arrested and the police will submit their report to the District Attorney for review.• You may then be charged with violations ranging from misdemeanor brandishing a firearm to felony homicide.• Also, there have been criminal prosecutions in California where the defendant lawfully used a firearm for self-defense but was then charged with carrying without a CCW license.
- Restraining OrderRestraining orders are, without question, necessary in some circumstances, however they are often abused. An individual can become the subject of a restraining order with little or no advance notice. Under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, your spouse, family member, cohabitant (any person, of either sex, with whom you share, or formerly shared a household), even a girlfriend or boyfriend that you never lived with (only a past or present dating or engagement relationship is required) can apply for, and obtain, a restraining order, often with little difficulty. There is another procedure for use by persons who do not have one of the above relationships with the subject individual. These orders are often obtained on the basis of exaggerated or false accusations of threats or violence. These orders may be, and are regularly obtained, without an attorney. These orders may be, and often are, obtained without notice to you because the person seeking the order convinced the Court that if you had been given advance notice, that would increase the chance that you would commit violence or harassment. These orders can remain in effect for up to five years and, even then, can be extended after notice and a hearing.