Torrance Criminal Defense Lawyer

In our system of justice, a jury is integral to the proper process of finding the truth.  A jury panel is considered sacred and well protected, however, there are certain instances when a juror can be kicked off a trial.  In California, good cause exists to discharge an impaneled juror if you find that the juror

• Cannot perform the duties of a juror. A Judge can properly dismiss a juror during deliberations who is unable to comprehend simple concepts, forgot previous votes or discussions, and was not following the law.

• Has lost the ability to render a fair, impartial, and unbiased verdict. In one recent Long Beach Criminal case a Court was proper is discharging a juror who had prejudged credibility of prosecution witnesses and who was unable to cast aside her personal bias in weighing the evidence.

• Realizes he or she cannot fairly consider the case and asks to be removed. For example a judge properly discharged a juror during a criminal trial deliberations when juror requested to be removed from jury because she could not follow oath and instruction to consider imposing death penalty.

• Has become physically or emotionally unable to continue to serve as a juror due to illness or other circumstances, including the stress of being a juror.

• Has a family emergency, e.g., a death or serious illness in the juror’s immediate family. For example in one case, a juror had good cause to be absent from trial for indefinite period to care for elderly parent, judge properly replaced juror with alternate; Also, caring for sick or injured family member constitutes “good cause” for discharge such as was the case in one appellate decision where a juror’s father being ill and near death was “good cause” for discharge.

• Has a change of or loss of job that affects juror’s ability to perform duties.  A judge’s authority to discharge juror for problems related to juror’s employment is well understood.

• Repeatedly fails to appear at the court proceedings on time.

• Has declaration of a fact, based on his or her own knowledge, that could be evidence in the case.

The Court obviously has wide latitude to discharge a sitting juror, but should do so rarely, since impaneling an alternate or, in some cases, an entire jury can be a waste of judicial resources.  Therefore, most Courts frown upon a juror’s discharge.

There are many reasons why a Judge may excuse a potential juror from serving on a jury. Some are legitimate, others not, however, there are legal excuses that can be used to be excused from juror duty, here are the top 5 grounds for being excused and they all revolve around the legal category of “Undue Hardship”. In fact, according to the California Judge’s Benchguide, a Torrance Judge may may excuse a prospective juror from jury service on the ground of undue hardship for any of the following reasons:

1. No transportation. The prospective juror has no reasonably available means of public or private transportation to the court.

2. Excessive distance. The prospective juror must travel an excessive distance. Unless otherwise established by statute or local rule, an excessive distance is reasonable travel time exceeding one and one-half hours from the juror’s home to the court.

3. Extreme financial burden. The prospective juror will bear an extreme financial burden. In determining whether a Judge should excuse a juror on this ground, they should consider all sources of the juror’s household income, the availability and extent of income reimbursement, the expected length of jury service, and whether that service can reasonably be expected to compromise the juror’s ability to support himself or herself or his or her dependents or will so disrupt the juror’s economic stability as to be against the interests of justice. Some reduction in income is not a valid hardship excuse. In short trials, the fact that the juror’s employer does not pay employees who serve is seldom a valid hardship excuse. Courts should excuse a prospective juror only “when the financial embarrassment is such as to impose a real burden and hardship. Some civil trials can take weeks to be tried, criminal cases often are much quicker, however, a death penalty case could take months, therefore this is a valid concern form many prospective jurors.

4. Care of others. The prospective juror has a personal obligation to provide actual and necessary care to another, including sick, aged, or infirm dependents, or a child who requires the juror’s personal care and attention, and no comparable substitute care is available or practical without imposing an undue economic hardship on the juror or the person for whom care is needed. If the request to be excused is based on care provided to a sick, disabled, or infirm person, the Judge may require the juror to furnish verification that the person being cared for is in need of regular and personal care. The Court must excuse a mother who is breast-feeding a child for up to one year at her request and may extend the period on request.

5. Undue risk of physical or mental harm. The prospective juror has a physical or mental disability or impairment, not affecting his or her competence to act as a juror, that would expose the juror to undue risk of mental or physical harm. Many Judges may require a juror under the age of 70 to furnish verification of the disability or impairment, its probable duration, and the particular reasons for his or her inability to serve as a juror.

Recently, Judge Gray retired from the bench. This month he is due to return to sit on assignment in the Torrance Courthouse. It is always a pleasure to see good judges return to serve as needed after retirement. His years of judicial experience and years before that in private practice should not be wasted.

Dudley Gray was appointed to the then South Bay Municipal Court in January 1990 by then-Gov. George Deukmejian. He was presiding judge of the Torrance Court in 1992 and assistant presiding judge in 1991 and from 1993 to 1995 and made a Superior Court judge through unification in 2000. Prior to becoming a local Judge, Gray was a criminal defense lawyer in Torrance where he partnered with his father and brother, respected criminal lawyer, Jeff Gray. The Judge was a member of both the California and Idaho bars.

Dudley Gray received his law degree from the University of Idaho and an undergraduate degree in English from the College of Idaho. Dudley made the national news last year when he reversed a small claims case brought by Heather Peters, who alleged that her Honda hybrid got 30 miles per gallon rather than the 50 mpg the company advertised. The Torrance small claims court awarded Peters $9,867, but Judge Gray, hearing the case as an appellate court, ruled for Honda. According to news accounts, Gray said in his decision that mileage estimates were for comparison shopping among vehicles only, and that Honda had complied with Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Trade Commission regulations.

We all have had the unfortunate opportunity to appear in Court at some point in our lives. The case may have been for a simple traffic matter or a civil case involving a car accident or a small claims case for a landlord tenant issue, whatever the reason, the fact of the matter is that it is a scary situation and none of us know what to do. Fortunately, one local attorney gives us frank advise on the most popular ways to impress the court and the judge in any situation.

1. Always dress respectfully when you are called upon to appear in court. This does not mean that you need to go out and buy a 3 thousand dollar suit, but you must shpow respect to the Court. Dress as though you are going on a job interview. Do not wear anything flashy just dress conservatively

2. When speaking, always consider that there is a reporter trying to take down what you are saying. Do not overtalk the opponent or the judge, speak clearly, slowly and intelligently.

3. Never lie about anything. The simple fact of the matter is that the Court will usually discover any falsehoods that you may present. Be honest and truthful all the time.

4. Have a lawyer whenever you can. The law is complex, the Judge will not help you to learn the law, an attorney is there to assist you in Court on criminal offenses and traffic matters.

5. Be prepared, always bring all documents, letters, and any photographs that may help to present your case. You will not be given a second chance. The Court date is the time to bring all relevent material.

With the news this week that the terrorist suspects in the Boston bombings were caught largely due to the video of retailers along the street-front, the question arises how has video changed the way suspected criminals are apprehended?

In the Boston case, the video surveillance of retailers provided the most helpful evidence in resolving the case.  Cameras are everywhere nowadays and they are being used more and more in criminal cases.  In one recent Los Angeles case, a video camera outside a storefront caught cops lying in a police report about the details of the stop and arrest of a suspect.  The video was used in Court to show the police were less than honest in the case.  This case shows that not just criminals are caught, but also law enforcement themselves.

Division 2 in the Torrance Court recentlt saw the return of a respected Jurist, the Honorable Judge Sandra Thompson.  She was missed during her absence, and many waited patiently for her return to the bench.   Judge Thompson has been on the bench for many years, handling the criminal calendar for cities such as Hermosa Beach, Rancho Palos Verdes, Lomita, Manhattan Beach, Rolling Hills and RPV.  For many attorneys, her return was a welcome sight, her rulings have always been respected as fair and legally correct.  For those that have appeared in her Courtroom, litigants were sure to get a warm greeting and a bench officer that actually listened and cared about the cases she hears.

I am frequently asked by my clients if they should provide character reference letters to the Court or Judge hearing the case.  My response depends on the nature of the allegations and the individual background of the accused.  The Court oftentimes only sees the bad aspects of a person’s life as contained in the police reports, probation report and any other evidence submitted by the District Attorney.  With this in mind, in most cases, having the client’s friends, family, clergy, employers, neighbors, etc write letters that can attest to a client’s background is a good idea.  But with anything the decision has its negatives.

In any case where character letters are presented, the DA also gets to see the letters.  In some cases, the DA may send out an investigator to interview the person who prepared the letter.  At this interview, the police detective or investigator may share details of the current case and ask the author:  Did you know the person is accused of this or that?  Sometimes the accusations are enough to scare an author of a character letter from participating in the case further and could prejudice the client’s standing in his community.

In some cases, the accused may have other criminal offenses in his background that could be exposed to the letter writer to see if his or her opinion of the defendant would change if they knew about that case.  You can see how character letters may sometimes be a good idea, but sometimes they can cause more harm than good.  As a final note, Judges are often moved very little by a character letter, in most cases the letter is hearsay and the Judge has no way to determine the accuracy or reliability of the document.  Check with your attorney first before you or anyone involved in the case sends any letter to the Court or the DA.

Matthew Ruff is a Criminal Defense Attorney and DUI Lawyer in Torrance who has tried thousands of cases over the last 20 years.  His practice focuses on serious criminal and DUI cases in Southern California.