At what point in a criminal investigation may law enforcement officers no longer use the “Perkins technique?” In Illinois v. Perkins, the U.S. Supreme Court held that statements deliberately elicited by an undercover officer posing as the defendant’s cellmate were not inadmissible under Miranda, even though no warnings had been given. Rationale: If the prisoner is

The following is the text of a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard: (WASHINGTON) — The Coast Guard would like to remind small passenger vessel operators of the critical requirement to ensure crewmembers performing safety-sensitive duties are properly enrolled in a drug and alcohol testing program and also of the importance of maintaining accurate

A family continues to mourn the tragic loss of their teen son, who died in December 2012 playing the sport he loved. The family firmly believes that if LAFD paramedics had arrived to the soccer field earlier, their son would still be alive today. Jesus Alonso Zambrano, 16, was in the middle of a club

Santa Catalina Island, Calif.— A memorial was held this weekend for Laurel Silver-Valker, a master scuba diver and mother of two who was abandoned at sea while diving for lobsters. Laurel Silver-Valker, 45, of Tustin, was last seen on Dec. 29, 2015, after plunging into the ocean off the coast of Catalina island. Silver-Valker was a

You have been involved in a car accident and your car is totaled (this means that the car costs more to fix than it is worth).  If the insurance company offers you a settlement on your total-loss claim, the following six (6) items are things your insurance company definitely does not want you to know

Employee Warning: Charging Your Phone At Work Could Get You Fired Recently, a client contacted our firm regarding a wrongful termination case.  The client works for a large company.  The client’s battery on his iPhone was low so he plugged his phone into his company computer to charge it. While the phone was charging, the company’s IT

WHAT IS AN ADULT ADOPTION? An adult adoption is when an adult adopts a person who is over eighteen (18) years old and not related to the. Adult adoption may be done for various reasons including: to establish intestate inheritance rights; to formalize a step-parent/step-child relationship or a foster parent/foster child relationship; to restore the

The child custody mediation process is one in which parents attempt to work together to devise a parenting plan that is mutually acceptable to both parents. This parenting plan may be quite structured (specifying day-to-day timeshare as well as holidays, vacations, and other special issues). The most important aspect of custody mediation is that parents

In talking with clients looking to create estate plans, one of the main issues we regularly encounter is the misconception that estate planning is only for the rich.  This could not be further from the truth, and unfortunately, this pervasive misconception leads to complacency and a false sense of security. Our typical estate planning clients

Clients often ask what will happen to the mortgage on their property if their son or daughter inherit the home and money is still owed on the mortgage. Can the bank take the house back or does the bank have to honor the mortgage and continue lending to your son or daughter? Ultimately, the simple answer