In California, a corporation can be criminally prosecuted for failing to protect its employees and consumers from a dangerous product or workplace. Two sections of the state’s laws allow District Attorneys to pursue convictions: the California Labor Code at sections 6243-6436 and the California Penal Code at section 387. The relevant section of the California Penal Code, called the Corporate Criminal Liability Statutes, took effect in 1991. Prosecutors are still determining how to effectively utilize these statutes. Usually, they tend to charge corporations and their officers under violations of the Labor Code.

The Labor Code requires that a corporation comply with the regulations of Cal/OSHA, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health. Cal/OSHA is a state office under the California Department of Industrial Relations. If a corporation willfully, knowingly, or negligently violates a Cal/OSHA regulation, the officers responsible for the violation can be incarcerated up to three years and fined up to $250,000. The corporation can be fined up to three million five hundred thousand dollars ($3,500,000). There are higher fines for repeated violations. Cal/OSHA has numerous regulations. One that directly touches on the safety of employees requires that a failure or refusal by the corporation have created a real and apparent hazard to employees.

The Corporate Criminal Liability Statutes require that a corporation notify its employees and appropriate state agencies within 15 days of a serious concealed danger present in a product or workplace. The corporation must have actual knowledge of the danger. A serious concealed danger is one that would cause an individual to suffer great bodily harm, serious exposure to a hazardous substance, or death. Under the Corporate Criminal Liability Statutes, individual officers can be incarcerated up to three years and fined up to $25,000. Corporations can be fined up to one million dollars ($1,000,0000).

The point of corporate criminal liability is to require corporations to monitor the dangerousness of their products and services, and develop safety measures. The state has additional sanctions to shut down businesses that pose threats. If the corporation needs a business license to operate, Cal/OSHA can refer the case to the appropriate state licensing board for review. If the corporation contracts for government projects, Cal/OSHA can refer the case to the California Labor Commissioner to consider barring the corporation from being eligible for public works projects. Lastly, Cal/OSHA can issue an order prohibiting use (OPU) to stop the business from operating.

Expunging a criminal record through California’s procedures allows you to expunge a record of offenses for which the state of California has prosecuted you. You cannot use California’s process to expunge your record of offenses for which you have been prosecuted by other states, the federal government, or military courts.

To begin the process, you need to obtain a copy of your criminal record or detailed information about your conviction or convictions. You can get this information from your attorney, parole or probation officer; the court where you were convicted; the local police department, or the California State Department of Justice’s Criminal Records Division.

Your next step depends on the type of offense of which you were convicted, whether you are still on probation, and your sentence. If you are still on probation, your attorney can file a petition for early release or termination from your probation and then file a petition to have your conviction dismissed. If you were convicted of a felony and were not sentenced to a term in state prison or under the authority of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, your attorney should also file a petition to have your felony reduced to a misdemeanor and your conviction dismissed. Some convictions are not eligible for dismissal. If you were convicted of a felony and were sentenced to a term in state prison or under the authority of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, your attorney should file a petition for Certification of Rehabilitation and Pardon.

This petition is filed with the court where you were convicted. You may list multiple convictions you wish to have expunged from your record.

For over three decades, our office has offered professional help in filing for any of these petitions, including a petition for Certification of Rehabilitation and Pardon. Typically, you must wait a number of years to file the Petition for Certification of Rehabilitation and Pardon. Living a crime-free lifestyle serves as proof that you have been rehabilitated and should be pardoned. Your wait period is determined by the type of offense of which you were convicted and how long you have been a California resident before filing.

After a petition for Certification of Rehabilitation and Pardon is filed, the court holds a hearing to determine whether your petition will be granted. The state agency which prosecuted you is present at the hearing. If your petition for Certification of Rehabilitation and Pardon is granted, you are automatically eligible for a Governor’s Pardon.

California’s penal code allows a parent or guardian to be charged with a misdemeanor if their child is a chronic truant. This law took effect on January 1, 2011. It has backed law enforcement officers conducting truancy sweeps. The new law reportedly assists in minimizing gang violence. A concern is that the law targets students above the age of 6 in grades 1 through 8, not high school students.

The law states that a parent or guardian can face a $2,000 fine and a term of up to one year in jail. In order to be defined a chronic truant, the child must be absent from school for ten percent or more of the school days in one school year. A child can also be punished for their truancy if they are a minor through the institution of juvenile delinquency charges.

Parents can face additional fines for a child’s truancy, but these fines fall under civil statutes. If a child is absent three or more times in a school year, they are deemed to be a habitual truant. A parent can be charged in civil court with an infraction under California’s Education Code for failing to compel the child to attend school. The fines range between $100 and 500. If a parent fails to comply with a judge’s order to enroll or re-enroll a child in school, they can face a charge of civil contempt and a fine up to $1,000.

California is making an effort to stop children from becoming chronic truants before criminally charging parents. Schools are required to notify parents if a child is deemed to be truant. If a child is found a habitual truant, a school is mandated to make a conscientious effort to have one of its employees meet with a parent. In addition, a child may be referred to a School Attendance Review Board (SARB), county probation department, probation officer, or district attorney. This referral is intended to constitute an intervention on the part of the state to inform the child of the penalties of being truant. It is also to encourage the child to attend school. Penalties enforced by these agencies may include the requirement to complete community service hours and a suspension or revocation of driving privileges for the child. In addition, a child may be charged a fine of up to $100, for which a parent may be jointly liable.

California has strict criminal penalties for causing or watching a dog fight. Protect yourself by knowing the consequences for dog fighting. Also, learn which items could cause you to be suspected of dog fighting.

The California Penal Code states an individual does not have to be the legal owner of a dog to be criminally charged. All individuals who own, possess, keep, or train a dog to fight another dog can be charged with a felony.

It is also a felony to permit dog fighting on one’s property. It is a misdemeanor to watch a dog fight. California’s code allows a person to be imprisoned for dog fighting. An individual can be fined up to $50,000 for a dog fighting-related felony and up to $5,000 for a dog fighting-related misdemeanor.

If your dog gets into a fight with another dog, it is your responsibility to try and stop the fight in a humane, safe way. Avoid taking actions that would endanger another person or their property. If a crowd gathers around a dog fight, work to stop the fight. Then disperse the crowd.

To avoid a dog fight, do not keep dogs in conditions that would encourage them to fight. Feed dogs on a normal schedule. Do not train dogs to become territorial or aggressive. Do not train dogs extremely roughly or abusively.

Most dog fighters keep a number of special items in their home or on their property. You should avoid owning these items. The list of items includes shock collars, guns, treadmills, and pry bars. Pry bars are plastic or wooden sticks that look like hammer handles. They are used to break up a dog fight. Treadmills are used to exercise certain types of dogs, such as Siberian huskies. Technically, is not illegal to keep items such as pry bars and treadmills. Dog trainers also use these items. When treadmills and pry bars are found in connection with other special items, however, a law enforcement officer may suspect a person of dog fighting.

Do not keep suspicious amounts of performance-enhancing drugs, such as steroids. These are used to help dogs fight more aggressively. Do not keep excessive amounts of antibiotics. These are used to heal dogs after fights. Lastly, avoid having features such as a large, deep, walled pit on your property. This type of pit is commonly used as a training and performance ring by dog fighters.

Photo by Greything

More states want to use familial DNA, the DNA of a suspect’s close family member, to identify alleged offenders. California and Colorado already use this method when genetic material is the best evidence they have to link an individual to a crime scene.

The use of familial DNA raises concerns about medical privacy, the invasion of the human body, and racially disparate impact. Opponents of the use of familial DNA, which include the American Civil Liberties Union, argue information could be leaked to health insurance companies to deny individuals coverage. They also say DNA could easily be taken from an individual without their consent or knowledge. Opponents further state that because more blacks and Hispanics are arrested and incarcerated than Caucasians, there is a greater chance that a black or Hispanic individual would be linked to an alleged offense.

The first step to using familial DNA to catch a suspect is to take DNA samples from the crime scene. Law enforcement officers then send the samples to a lab to be mapped. When the map returns, they attempt to match it against maps that are already in state and federal databases.

Typically, there will be a match if a suspect’s biological parent, sibling, or child has a DNA sample in a state or federal database. This usually occurs when a suspect’s close relative has been arrested or consented to provide a state or federal agency with a DNA sample.

One of the more notable local cases involving the use of familial DNA occurred in Santa Cruz. Elvis Lorenzo Garcia was arrested in March of 2011 for the alleged rape and robbery of a coffee store employee in March of 2008. In 2008, detectives collected DNA evidence from the coffee shop. The DNA did not have a match in the state’s database. The Santa Cruz Police Deputy requested a familial DNA search.

The request was accepted by the California Department of Justice. In November 2010, the police found that familial DNA from Garcia’s father matched the DNA from the coffee shop. Police watched Garcia’s father closely, but eliminated him as a suspect. Between November 2010 and January 2011, police then watched Garcia. They recovered a hairnet and a Gatorade bottle from Garcia’s trash. The DNA from the objects in Garcia’s trash matched the DNA from the coffee shop. The police were then able to obtain arrest and search warrants for Garcia.