Society and policy makers have long struggled with finding effective ways to protect the public from sex offenders. A sex offender is a person who has been convicted of certain sex offense crimes. Examples of sex offenses include:

• Sexual conduct with a minor
• Sexual assault
• Sexual assault of spouse
• Molestation of a child
• Continuous sexual abuse of a child
• Lewd and lascivious acts
• Indecent exposure
• Taking a child for the purpose of prostitution
• Sexual exploitation of a minor
• Incest
• Failure to register as a sex offender
• Violation of Sex Offender Registration statutes

Child Pornography

Indecent Exposure

Prostitution

Rape

Sexual Assault

Sexual assault generally refers to any crime in which the offender subjects the victim to sexual touching that is unwanted and offensive. These crimes can range from sexual groping or assault/battery, to attempted rape.

Domestic violence refers to physical harm inflicted on one member of a household or family, by another member of the same household or family (usually between spouses). Domestic violence (sometimes called "spousal abuse") usually involves repetitive physical and psychological abuse, and a "cycle of violence". Specific crimes charged vary based on 1) severity of the victim's injuries, 2) whether a minor was present, and 3) whether a protective or restraining order was violated.

California Penal Code §273.5 is defined as the infliction of some corporal injury on a person with whom the defendant currently has, or previously had, a domestic relationship. The offense is sometimes referred to as domestic abuse, spousal abuse or spousal battery.  Penal Code 273.5 PC requires that the defendant produce a traumatic condition for the victim. This means “a wound or other bodily injury, whether minor or serious, caused by the direct application of physical force.” This means that there must be some visible injury on the person’s body. The injury could range from a minor scratch, redness, swelling or bruising to a very serious injury such as a broken nose or a concussion.  Penal Code §273.5 is a ‘wobbler’.  This simply means that the District Attorney can file either misdemeanor charges or felony charges.  Felony charges carry a maximum possible penalty of four years of state prison.

California Penal Code §243(e)(1) is a battery committed upon a spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, parent of the defendant's child, fiancé, or anyone with whom the defendant has (or previously had) a dating relationship. Penal Code §243(e)(1), or domestic battery, is a misdemeanor and carries a penalty of up to one year of county jail.  Penal Code §243(e)(1) is similar to Penal Code 273.5, except that it does not require a "traumatic condition" to be present.

It is a crime for a driver to operate a vehicle while impaired by the effects of alcohol or drugs. The specific offense is called driving under the influence (DUI).  DUI laws make it unlawful for a person to operate a car, truck, motorcycle, or commercial vehicle if:

• The driver's ability to safely operate the vehicle is impaired by the effects of alcohol, illegal drugs, prescribed medications such as painkillers, or even over-the-counter medications such as antihistamines; or
• The driver is intoxicated at a level above established DUI standards, such as blood-alcohol concentration (BAC).

When a law enforcement officer makes a vehicle stop and suspects that the driver may be intoxicated, the officer will conduct a "field sobriety" test on the driver, and may ask for his or her consent to some form of chemical test for intoxication. 

YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED BY LAW TO SUBMIT TO FIELD SOBRIETY TESTS.

Field sobriety tests usually involve a police officer asking a driver to perform a number of tasks that assess any impairment of the person's physical or cognitive ability. Examples of field sobriety tests include having the driver walk a straight line, heel to toe; having he or she recite the alphabet backwards; and the officer's use of the "horizontal gaze nystagmus" (eye and penlight) test.   Chemical tests can be conducted during the vehicle stop, using a Breathalyzer that measures a driver's blood-alcohol concentration (BAC), or at a hospital, where urine and blood tests can be performed. California allows a driver suspected of DUI to choose which type of chemical test is administered, either blood or breath.  California has an "implied consent" law that requires vehicle drivers to submit to some form of chemical test, such as breath, blood, or urine testing, if suspected of DUI. The logic behind such laws is that, by assuming the privilege of driving a vehicle on state roads and highways, drivers have effectively given their consent to DUI testing when a police officer reasonably believes the driver is under the influence of alcohol or drugs. If a driver refuses to submit to such testing, implied consent laws carry penalties such as mandatory suspension of a driver's license, usually for a year. Often, license sanctions for test refusal are more harsh than those imposed after DUI test failure. A driver's refusal to submit to a chemical test may be used to enhance the penalties imposed if he or she is eventually convicted for DUI.  In addition to potential criminal penalties, a DUI arrest or conviction will have an immediate negative impact on driving privileges.  California laws allows the Department of Motor Vehicles to immediately suspend the driver's license of any person operating a vehicle with a BAC above a .08, or any driver who refuses to submit to BAC testing. The driver's vehicle may also be confiscated or impounded, and the DUI offender will likely incur significant administrative costs. This loss of driving privileges can normally occur even before a DUI conviction. California does allow a DUI arrestee to obtain a temporary license and request an administrative hearing at which he or she may argue against license suspension, or for restoration of limited driving privileges. 

YOU MUST REQUEST A DMV HEARING WITHIN 10 DAYS OF YOUR ARREST.

As with criminal penalties, the impact of a DUI arrest or conviction on driving privileges will vary according to the driver's history of DUI violations and the severity of the offense. An increasingly popular DUI penalty, especially for repeat offenders, is mandatory installation of an "ignition interlock" device on the offender's vehicle. This breath-testing device measures the vehicle operator's BAC, and will prevent operation of the vehicle if more than a minimum amount of alcohol is detected, such as BAC level of .02. Where this punishment is utilized, most states require the DUI offender to pay costs of installation, rental, and maintenance of the ignition interlock device. Rental fees alone can amount to as much as three dollars per day, so a DUI offender's expenses can add up quickly when an ignition interlock device is required.  

If you or a loved one are arrested for DUI, you need the assistance of an experienced DUI defense lawyer like Attorney Jeffrey S. Bullard. Unlike civil law cases, in which money or property may be at stake, people charged with DUI may face jail time and driver's license revocation. Attorney Jeffrey S. Bullard is a skilled attorney who can aggressively defend your DUI cases and will evaluate all the evidence, including the procedure and results of any field sobriety and chemical tests, to ensure that your legal rights are protected.

Expungement is a court-ordered process in which the legal record of an arrest or a criminal conviction is "sealed," or erased in the eyes of the law. When a conviction is expunged, the process may also be referred to as "setting aside a criminal conviction." The availability of expungement, and the procedure for getting an arrest or conviction expunged, will vary according to the county in which the arrest or conviction occurred. An expungement ordinarily means that an arrest or conviction is "sealed," or erased from a person's criminal record for most purposes. After the expungement process is complete, an arrest or a criminal conviction ordinarily does not need to be disclosed by the person who was arrested or convicted. For example, when filling out an application for a job or apartment, an applicant whose arrest or conviction has been expunged does not need to disclose that arrest or conviction. In most cases, no record of an expunged arrest or conviction will appear if a potential employer, educational institution, or other company conducts a public records inspection or background search of an individual's criminal record. An expunged arrest or conviction is not necessarily completely erased, in the literal sense of the word. An expungement will ordinarily be an accessible part of a person's criminal record, viewable by certain government agencies, including law enforcement and the criminal courts. This limited accessibility is sometimes referred to as a criminal record being "under seal." In some legal proceedings, such as during sentencing for any crimes committed after an expungement, or in immigration / deportation proceedings, an expunged conviction that is "under seal" may still be considered as proof of a prior conviction. When expungement of an arrest or conviction is an option in a county, in most instances a person's criminal record must meet certain standards in order to qualify for the process.  Whether or not a person is eligible for expungement will usually depend on a number of factors, including:

• The amount of time that has passed since the arrest or conviction;
• The severity and nature of the event for which expungement is sought;
• Events in the applicant's criminal record;
• The severity and nature of other events in the applicant's criminal record.

Depending on the county, special eligibility rules might exist for expungement of arrests or convictions that occurred while the offender was a juvenile, and arrests or convictions for sex offenses.  Where available to persons who have been arrested or convicted, expungement does not happen automatically, and is never guaranteed. A person seeking to have an arrest or criminal conviction expunged from their record must usually fill out an application or petition, and submit the paperwork to the proper criminal court for a judge's review and decision. In most jurisdictions, a fee must be paid in conjunction with the filing of the application. The expungement process can be complicated. For example, some jurisdictions require an applicant to serve papers on district attorneys, while others require the applicant to prepare the legal document which will be signed by the judge. In some cases, a court hearing is required, after which a judge will decide whether to grant the expungement.