San Jose Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

The Mercury News has reported that a 17-year old San Jose boy will be tried as an adult in the armed robbery of family living in Campbell. Stanford Hauser was arrested with two other young adults after the group robbed the household of 25 branches of what is described as medicinal marijuana plants. The Mercury reported that Hauser was armed with an AK-47 and allegedly made threats to members of the family.

Hauser is being charged in adult criminal court with armed robbery with an additional gun enhancement. Robbery carriers a prison term sentence of three, six or nine years. With the gun enhancement he could be facing an additional ten years in the state penitentiary. To further complicate matters, Hauser may be facing additional charges of making criminal threats and assault with a deadly weapon.

Although Hauser is a minor at age 17, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office has decided to treat and try him as an adult. The factors that go into treating minors as an adult for criminal prosecution vary, but usually include: the age and social background of the juvenile; the nature of the alleged offense; the extent and nature of the juvenile's prior delinquency record; the juvenile's present intellectual development and psychological maturity; the nature of past treatment efforts and the juvenile's response to such efforts.

Little is known about Hauser and his prior criminal history, but the nature of the offense alleged is severe. As the Mercury News correctly points out, Hauser is the twelfth minor to be charged as an adult this year.

Under state law adults are prohibited from furnishing a minor with alcohol. The state is also prepared to pass a law holding parents responsible for underage drinking and driving. Santa Clara County has similar provisions. However, San Jose is next in line, as Councilwomen Nancy Pyle has proposed an ordinance that would hold parents liable for underage drinking that takes place in their home.

The law is in response to an accident that occurred on September 21, 2010, where the driver was 18-years old and intoxicated. His passenger, Roshan Rahbari, was killed and driver arrested. However, there was no allegation that the driver's parents furnished alcohol, or that the drinking took place in their home.

These laws are sometimes referred to as "social host" regulations. Morgan Hill, Saratoga and Monte Sereno all have similar provisions on the books. In these jurisdictions the ordinances hold parents responsible whether they knew about the drinking or not and punish them with fines. So, if Mom and Dad go on vacation and leave their 18 year old at home, they are responsible for any drinking that occurs in that house.

However well-intentioned these laws are, most surveys report no drop in the amount of alcohol teens consume both in and outside the home. Of course if the county and other cities are any gauge, San Jose will profit from a new source of revenue.

An unidentified San Jose police officer was placed on administrative leave after pretending to arrest a 14-year old boy. According to the Mercury News the boy was in a dating relationship with the officer's daughter, who learned they were sexually intimate. In an attempt to frighten the young boy the officer came to his home and placed him handcuffs. The officer informed the minor (in front of his stricken parents) that he was being arrested on the charge of rape.

The Cop told reporters that he merely wanted to scare the boy and teach him a lesson about sexual promiscuity. When contacted the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office said they were investigating whether the officer committed any crimes. Investigating? I can come up with half a dozen off the top of my head, including false imprisonment and battery on a minor. This officer won't be prosecuted, I'm thinking.

The boy's mother told reporters: "He came over in full uniform and parked his motorcycle in front of our house; he didn't come over in jeans and shirt," said the boy's mother. "He didn't come over as a parent. He came over as somebody who had the authority to do whatever he wanted with us."

To make things even worse for a beleaguered family, after they reported the incident to Internal Affairs, the police arrested the boy for unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. Yes, the DA can prosecute the male in these cases even though he too is underaged. However, the DA rarely does so.

No word if the teenagers are still a couple.

Below is a cellphone video of the incident taken by the kid's parents. They have retained a lawyer, but no word what they intend to do.

A Livermore woman is facing child rape charges in Alameda County. To be true, that is an understatement. Christine Hubbs, who attended her arraignment before Judge Walker in Pleasanton, is facing 67 separate charges, all alleging she had sexual relations with two boys. That's right, five-dozen charges of the same offense.

Hubbs was arrested this past Thursday, after one of the boy's mother reported possible illegal conduct. The mother is said to have found a nude picture of Hubbs in her son's cell phone. The alleged activity took place between December 2008 to January 2010. The unidentified minors were 14 at the beginning of the alleged activity.

It is further alleged that Hubbs gave gifts and money to the minors during the relationships. It is not known if other minors are being questioned.

Of course 67 counts seems an audacious number. Any good defense lawyer will make hay of the number of incidents alleged by two teenage boys, living in a culture that emphasizes sexual activity and promiscuity. Too many young boys make such daring claims, that one has to question the veracity of these two "victims." No doubt, they have become very popular with their friends and at school.

Certainly, sending a nude picture is inappropriate and illegal, but this does not equate to sex. We should watch this case proceed very closely. Something just doesn't smell right here.

I am a little late in getting to this, but there has been so much to do and write about. On June 8, Deputy District Attorney Jeff Rosen defeated incumbent Delores Carr for the coveted position of top D.A. This came with cheers and happy shouts from defense lawyers and even many prosecutors. Carr came into office vowing to rid it of corruption and manipulation. Unfortunately under Carr's tenure, things got far worse. Suppression of evidence, withholding key witness and downright lying had become all too prevalent in the office for the voters to tolerate.

To give one example, a deputy D.A. used false semen evidence to persuade a jury that the defendant was guilty of rape. In fact that was the "evidence" used by the police to coerce the defendant to confess. The DA latter used that "evidence" as authentic, which resulted in a conviction. No real semen was actually found.

In another example, the DA failed to disclose vital medical records that would have been mitigating for the defense. That DA might very well lose his license.

Carr even ordered all Deputies to boycott one certain judge because she tends to grant "too many" defense motions.

The office has been maelstrom of deceit and unfair practices. Some D.A.s refused court orders. Others ignored evidence. And all the time Carr stood by her people (the guilty ones I mean)

We hope in Jeff Rosen the office will truly be cleaned up and seek justice, not power.

Good Luck Jeff!

On May 7, 2010, San Jose Police arrested a 12-year old boy on suspicion of selling illegal drugs, namely ecstasy. The boy is a student at Piedmont Middle School and was found in possession of $50. The Police were notified after an 11-year old girl reported to the school administrators that she had digested a pill after purchasing it from the boy. Four students were taken to a local hospital for observation and testing.

Police and school officials will not release the name of the boy because of his age, but it is reported that the suspect received the pills from his brother aged only 13. It is not known how many pills were sold in all, but authorities are aware of 13 children who purchased the ecstasy. The boy has been expelled from school, which will report the incident to all parents of the 980 student school.

Ecstasy is a entactogenic drug, which is a type of psychoactive drug that induces distinct emotional reactions. Some of these reactions are intense feelings of love, euphoria and emotional connectiveness. The unintended side-effects (like many similar drugs and medications) is neurotoxic damage to the central nervous system and chemical imbalances in the brain. Although some studies have suggested that Ecstasy-like medications could be useful to treat depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, use of it remains illegal.

Ecstasy is also highly associated with dances and music clubs. It is also associated with teens and young adults. Unfortunately, the drug increases the body's metabolic and heart rates. With a dancer's heart rate already elevated, ecstasy use runs the risk of heart failure, even in teenagers.

Continue reading "Pre-Teen in San Jose Selling Drugs" »

On Thursday, four Milpitas teenage boys were arrested on charges of attempted arson. The ages run from 18, 17, 15 and 14. The boys are also being charged with carrying an incendiary device; namely a Molotov Cocktail. It is not clear what the teens intended to set on fire and no reason has been put forward as to the motive. The eldest of the group, Kyle Schielke was booked into the Santa Clara County Jail, awaiting arraignment. The other boys, all minors, were taken to Juvenile Hall. The 14 year old is a runaway from San Jose.

Schielke will go through the normal court process at the Hall of Justice in San Jose. The other boys will face different treatment from the Juvenile Court. Actually, the minors will have said to be detained, rather than arrested. The District Attorney's Office then files a Petition (as opposed to a criminal complaint) listing the alleged charges. Once the case is adjudicated and a sentence handed down, the juvenile's records are sealed and can be expunged once they reache the age of 18. Of course, the process is much more complicated than that, but I am sure Mr. Schielke is wishing he had been born a few months later.

Continue reading "San Jose Teen Picked Up For Attempted Arson" »