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If you've witnessed a crime, know a crime victim or perpetrator, or investigators are at your door because you may be a material witness to a crime in the San Joaquin Valley, you need legal representation. In this emotional upsetting time, you know both of the individuals, but nothing of their argument or dispute? Even the police chief has come to your door. No one should face criminal charges alone.

In California, domestic violence is a serious offense that can carry significant penalties for the perpetrator, in addition to substantial injury to the victim. As a domestic violence lawyer, the Mitchell Law Group has considerable experience in addressing cases of domestic violence in Fresno County and across the Central Valley.

Recently, Californians voted in favor of the death penalty on two separate proposed measures. In the first case, Proposition 62, roughly 54 percent of people voted against repealing the death penalty and replacing it with life in prison without the possibility of parole. Instead, with just over half of the voters in favor of Proposition 66, Californians have voted to speed up the repeal process, so condemned murderers are executed, rather than dragging out their appeals, possibly for decades.

A research group examined known wrongful felony convictions in California over the course of 20 years and estimated that taxpayers lost roughly $282 million as a result.

Despite the overwhelming societal belief that men cannot be or are rarely victims of domestic violence, the actual statistics are overwhelming. Approximately 40 percent of severe physical domestic violence victims are men. Unfortunately, the percentage of men as domestic violence victims does not translate into the same level of support and legal options.

“Bail” is one of the most commonly used terms in legal proceedings. One hears it in every courtroom drama. However, what is bail and what is its purpose?

An arraignment is one of the first steps to follow an arrest on criminal charges. If you have been arrested, here are five facts about the arraignment procedure in California that you should know.

In criminal cases, there always seems to be some confusion about the use of lie detector tests, also referred to as a polygraph. These tests are given as an attempt to show when someone is giving a deceptive answer to a question. Criminal investigators and attorneys may administer this test for various reasons.

If you're going to be testifying in a criminal case, it's important that you prepare properly ahead of time. This is particularly the case if you are the defendant.

When you hire a domestic violence lawyer, they'll work on different levels to assure that when you're falsely accused, it's proven as definitively as possible. Here at Mitchell Law Group, we're here to work with you as your legal advocate in finding evidence proving you were not the aggressor when arrested for abusing your spouse.

A recent murder case in California that's made the news involves Marion "Suge" Knight, who co-founded Death Row Records. Knight faces accusations of deliberately running over two people with his pick-up truck and then driving away, making it a hit-and-run. Among the charges he faces are murder.

For some people, accepting a plea for a lesser charge is advantageous, particularly if the evidence against them would give them few opportunities to mount a strong defense in a court trial.

People who have been convicted of an online or offline sex crime still face many long-term consequences. It is crucial to contact a criminal lawyer when charged with any type of sexual crime.

Under California Penal Code 186.22, any person who commits a crime while involved with a known street gang, motorcycle gang, or neighborhood gang may be sentenced to an additional one to three years in jail. The legal name for this sentencing is gang enhancements.

If you use the Internet, there's already information about you online and on your computer that could be used as evidence in any number of crimes. To access information on a personal computing device, law enforcement agents generally need warrants. But in the meantime, there's nothing stopping them from checking out your public online activity and what it may reveal to them.

People take different forms of technology along with them when they drive, most typically cellphones and other mobile devices. While drivers should always take care to follow traffic laws and not let themselves get distracted on the road (as distraction could lead to fatal or otherwise serious collisions), they should be allowed to use these devices legally and responsibly.