Criminal Law

In November 2014, Proposition 47, the Reduced Penalties for Some Crimes Initiative, was approved with the intention of reducing nonviolent and nonserious crimes to misdemeanor convictions. These reclassified crimes include drug offenses and low-level property crimes. Ideally, this would save California millions of dollars by consequently reducing the population of incarcerated inmates. Proposition 47 also supports using these available funds…Read More

Cops routinely conduct elementary chemical tests when they make drug arrests. This test often comes in a small plastic pouch that contains a vial of pink liquid. Offers will drop a tiny piece of what they suspect to be narcotics into the liquid. If the liquid remains pink, it rules out the presence of illegal drugs. However, if the liquid…Read More

Interviewer: How does Miranda work? You probably get a lot of people that say, “Oh, they didn’t read my rights. Can you get my case thrown out?” Paul Geller: I have people that say that all the time and there are certain circumstances, for instance in DUIs, where the court has said that your statement – prior to being place in handcuffs…Read More

Interviewer: Okay. Since you mentioned that it’s very hard to get out of the system once you’re in it, what do you say to someone for whom it’s their first offense, and maybe it’s not even that serious yet? They think, “Oh, it’s my first offense; it’s no big deal. I’ll just plead guilty and get it over with.” Paul Geller: I…Read More

Interviewer: You talk about the prosecutors, judges, and police being jaded and political. I’m not asking you to point fingers, but is there such a thing as “the mercy of the court” people just throw themselves upon or is that not true? Paul Geller: It can be true. I think the difficulty nowadays is that, in my opinion, judges who are viewed…Read More

Interviewer: Where would you say most of your cases are won? Are they won in trial or is it during the middle of the case or is it at the very beginning? Paul Geller: Every case is different. The sooner that the defense attorney, or myself in particular, can be involved, you are increasing your chances of a victory. Now, a victory…Read More

Interviewer: What are any other misconceptions that we haven’t covered yet that people have, because they watch too much TV, about the criminal justice system? Paul Geller: You know, sometimes people will say, “How can you represent these people? What if you really know they did it?” The majority of cases in the criminal justice system are not what you see in…Read More