January 2023 eNewsletter Issue no. 77
Just Say "NO" to Law Enforcement Requests for Vehicle Searches
We often see videos of traffic stops by law enforcement where there is a request for permission to search the driver’s vehicle. In this video, Managing Partner David P. Shapiro takes less than 30 seconds to provide you with the answer if the request/demand is made to you, and the reasons why. First, you are under no duty to consent to the search or, for that matter, to explain the reasons for your refusal. Your refusal, as David explains, may be accompanied by a statement to the effect that if they want to search your vehicle, they should get a warrant or come up with probable cause to do so. David notes that you truly can never know for sure who has been in your car, or what is in your car (and presumably what someone may have left, deposited or planted there). Simply stated, as David tells us: JUST SAY NO!
Reducing Felonies to Misdemeanors
Additional Benefits
Most people are aware that felonies, and the punishments associated with them, are generally more serious than for misdemeanors. In this video, Associate Attorney Ally Keegan discusses how in some cases you may be able to have an existing felony conviction reduced to a misdemeanor. Some of the lesser known benefits of doing so involve the effect on your gun rights. If you have an existing felony on your record in California, you cannot own or possess a firearm (or ammunition). This is a lifetime ban, unless you can somehow reduce the felony to a misdemeanor. As Ally explains, depending upon the specifics of the charge, reducing the conviction from a felony to a misdemeanor may turn a lifetime ban into a ban for a limited number of years, or, in other instances, eliminate the gun ownership ban entirely.

The second potential benefit discussed in the video is the effect on registration as a sex offender. Previously, if you were convicted of certain crimes that required sex offender registration, that was a burden that would stay with you for life. Under recently enacted changes to California law, a reduction of a qualifying conviction from a felony to a misdemeanor could (depending upon the offense) change a guaranteed lifetime registration requirement to a 20 year minimum, for example, or in some cases, to a 10 year minimum. The importance of this cannot be overstated, since being listed on the sex offender registry has enormous consequences to your everyday life, including your employment, where you live, and how you are viewed by society.

If you have questions about whether a prior felony is eligible for reduction to a misdemeanor, and how obtaining such relief will impact your future, contact our firm at 619-295-3555.
3500 Fifth Ave., Suite 304
San Diego, CA 92103
Phone: 619-295-3555
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This newsletter is for meant for informational and marketing purposes only, and should not be relied on as legal advice. Viewing and/or use of the newsletter, including sending email or submission of forms, does not create or constitute an attorney-client relationship. Any endorsement, testimonial or other statement contained in or referred to in this newsletter is not a guarantee, a warranty or a prediction of a particular result in your case. Our attorneys are active members of the State Bar of California and are admitted to practice law in any and all California state courts and in the Southern District of California federal courts.