Magazine Archive

  • Inside
  • April 2019
An Intense, Passionate and Misunderstood Area of Law

Welcome to the April edition of Contra Costa Lawyer Magazine! This edition will focus specifically on criminal law and mental health, an area of law that is perhaps the most misunderstood by the public. Despite — or maybe because of — the daily media, literary, and entertainment coverage that is given to the field, there...

Read Article
  • Featured
  • April 2019
Sex, Lies, and Video Tape: The Importance of Police Accountability

Background In 1963, the United States Supreme Court announced its landmark decision Brady v. Maryland.[1]  The case held that the prosecution has a duty to turn over exculpatory evidence to the defense provided it is material to the defense and favorable.  The case itself involved the prosecution withholding a letter in which Brady’s co-defendant confessed...

Read Article
  • Featured
  • April 2019
The Forest for the Trees: Seeing the Criminal Shade of the Emerald Triangle

The formerly illegal cannabis industry brought in vagabonds and settled folks, alike, all in search of the fast cash (a lot of it) generated by the illegal cannabis trade.  If you have not yet watched the Netflix docuseries “Murder Mountain” you should immediately place it in your queue.  This compelling docuseries follows the disappearance of...

Read Article
  • Featured
  • April 2019
Brady

  When I first passed the bar exam, I asked a legend of the Alameda County bench, Judge Stanley Golde (A.K.A. “The Maven”), to give me some advice on my future as a defense attorney.  Over several hours, he regaled me with war stories of how Al Davis asked him to keep Raider wide receiver,...

Read Article
  • Featured
  • April 2019
You Might Be a Dump Truck, if...

  You might be a dump truck if… the back of your business card is a mini version of a Tahl Form. You might be a dump truck if… you’ve pled hundreds of clients and didn’t know it was called a Tahl Form. You might be a dump truck if… “Plead as charged” …sounds just...

Read Article
  • Featured
  • April 2019
Elder Abuse by the Mentally Ill

  Sadly, it’s an all too common scenario.  Aging parents are the most common caretakers for their mentally ill children.  Many report inadequate medical services for the mentally ill.  When a crisis erupts, whether it be from a medication change or introduction of street drugs, violence ensues frequently.  The violence can range from pushing to...

Read Article