Wallin & Klarich Criminal Defense Blog



After 25 Years in Prison, Death Row Inmate Finally Wins New Trial

Monday, May 14th, 2012

In 1985 a man was accused of murder. After lengthy appeals, it was determined by the California Supreme Court that his public defender could have found eleven relevant witnesses who could have testified in the defense of his client. However, the California Supreme Court decided that this was not enough reason to grant the accused a new trial.

The man insisted to his public defender that he did not do the crime and asked that his lawyer properly investigate his defense. His public defender failed to do so, and the man was found guilty and sentenced to death.

Fortunately, the death row inmate was able to appeal his case by way of writ to the federal court system. Last week, the court of appeal voted 2 to 1 that the accused must be granted a new trial due to the incompetence of his public defender. The federal court of appeals decided that if the jury had heard the testimony of the defense witnesses (that the public defender did not bother to attempt to locate) there was a reasonable probability that the jury would have found the accused not guilty.

You have to wonder what is wrong with our system when a man can sit on death row for 25 years until a court steps up and says “wait a minute”, this guy did not get a fair trial because his public defender didn’t do his job. Doesn’t it make logical sense that we should not put people to death when they did not receive a fair trial? The federal court of appeals thinks so. Now we will have to wait and see if the United States Supreme Court takes up this case. A mans life hangs in the balance.

The moral of this story is that far too many people in 2012 are being represented by public defenders who are not capable of providing them an adequate defense. The vast majority of public defenders do all they can for their clients. However, with their caseloads exploding they are often just not capable of doing adequate investigation to help their clients.

If you or a loved one is facing a criminal charge it could impact the rest of your lives. The best decision is to contact the experienced criminal defense attorneys of Wallin and Klarich law firm for help. We will provide you with a free phone consultation about the merits of your case. Act now before it is too late. Call us toll free at 877-466-5245 We will be there when you call.

Illinois Police Officer Violates Man’s Constitutional Rights

Saturday, May 12th, 2012

Know your rights in case of an infraction. This case that we debated on Fox News is a great example of an officer abusing the constitutional rights we all have when it comes to traffic stops. In order to make a traffic stop an officer must have probable cause to believe that a violation of [...]

Read Full Article

Gang Banger Gets Life Without Parole in Connection With 2004 Murder

Monday, April 30th, 2012

A gang member was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in connection to the murder of a 21-year-old girl at a café in Cypress 8 years ago. Even though his Orange County murder attorney managed to spare his client the death penalty, that won’t spare this client from spending the rest of his [...]

Read Full Article

Anaheim Man Shot and Killed, Gang Unit Investigating the Crime

Thursday, April 26th, 2012

An Anaheim man was shot and killed late Wednesday night at an apartment complex, and now the gang unit has gotten involved in the investigation. This marks the fifth homicide in Anaheim so far this year. Very few details surrounding the case, but the experienced Orange County murder attorneys here at Wallin & Klarich know [...]

Read Full Article

Are California’s Public Defender’s Offices too Overwhelmed to Provide Adequate Legal Representation?

Tuesday, April 24th, 2012

The reality is that due to current economic times the public defenders offices are overflowing with cases. Only a very small percentage of those accused can afford to retain their own criminal defense lawyer. The public defenders caseloads have gone through the roof in most counties over the last few years. To compound the problem, [...]

Read Full Article

Controversial California Supreme Court Ruling Violates a Defendant’s Right to a Fair Trial

Monday, April 23rd, 2012

On April 19, 2012 the California Supreme Court held that in some cases a trial judge can make an order that an accused not be allowed to be told by his own criminal defense attorney about certain evidence against him. While this is hard to believe, it is true and it is yet another obstacle [...]

Read Full Article

Tustin Police Catch Potentially Prolific Prowler

Saturday, April 21st, 2012

A 22-year-old man was arrested in Tustin on prowling charges after he was caught on a female neighbor’s balcony in his bathrobe peeping into her window. Joseph Robert Rodriguez is apparently a prolific peeping Tom based on his own statements he gave to police and will likely be looking for a Tustin sex crimes attorney [...]

Read Full Article

Several Orange County Cities Amongst State’s Worst for Alcohol Related Traffic Accidents

Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

If you’ve ever wondered why there are so many Orange County DUI attorneys a recent statistic might just shed a little light on that subject. According to a study by the California Office of Traffic Safety done in 2010, Orange County cities are amongst the worst in the state with regards to traffic accidents where [...]

Read Full Article

Orange County Man Arrested for DUI and Vehicular Manslaughter

Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

An Orange County man will be seeking the services of a Los Angeles County criminal defense attorney after being arrested for DUI and Vehicular manslaughter in the death of a roadwork crewmember. Tatsuhiko Sakamoto (37) is charged with killing Connor Penhall (21) after Sakamoto drive through traffic cones and crashed directly into Penhall as he [...]

Read Full Article

Orange County Man Wins Appeal in Online Child Prostitution Sting

Friday, April 6th, 2012

An Orange County appeals attorney has gotten his clients conviction overturned in a controversial sex crimes sting run by Huntington Beach police. Gregory Ruiz Aguirre, 53, was arrested after responding to an ad posted on Craiglist by Huntington Beach police pretending to be a 13 year old girl. Aguirre later showed up at a Carl’s [...]

Read Full Article