Violent & serious felonies answers
Assault, weapons, gang, kidnapping, homicide and other serious felony charges.
All 53 answers
Sorted by question. General information, not advice for an individual case. Search the whole library or choose another topic below.
Are Silencers Illegal in California?
California generally makes in-state silencer possession a felony. Check the statutory device definition, possession evidence and narrow official-duty exceptions.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan a California judge dismiss a firearm-use enhancement at sentencing?
California judges may dismiss certain firearm-use enhancements in the interests of justice. Learn which allegation, plea terms and mitigation record matter.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan a California preliminary hearing close for a threatened witness?
A prosecutor can seek limited closure during a witness’s preliminary-hearing testimony if life is at substantial risk and safer alternatives will not work.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan a Felon Have a Taser or Stun Gun in California?
California Penal Code § 22610 bars certain people with convictions from stun-gun purchase, possession, or use. The device and record matter.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan a gang expert repeat police reports to prove my California gang case?
A gang expert cannot freely repeat case-specific police-report claims as true. Check the source, hearsay basis, testimonial status and trial objection.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan a jailhouse informant's testimony support a conviction in California?
California requires corroboration for qualifying jailhouse informant testimony. Learn what must connect the accused to the offense and how benefits affect credibility.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan a juvenile adjudication count as a strike in an adult California case?
A juvenile adjudication can count as a California strike only when the age, offense, juvenile-court fitness and section 707(b) wardship conditions are met.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesCan a Partial Video Prove an Assault Charge in California?
A partial assault video may leave key facts outside the frame. Learn what to preserve and how California completeness and authentication rules differ.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan a person with a felony conviction own a BB gun in California?
A felony conviction alone does not make an ordinary BB device a California firearm. Check the actual device, probation order, and separate display or school rules.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan an attempted-murder jury consider attempted voluntary manslaughter?
An attempted-murder jury may consider attempted voluntary manslaughter when evidence supports heat of passion or imperfect self-defense. Both require intent to kill.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan an out-of-state conviction count as a strike in California?
An out-of-state prior needs a California serious or violent felony match. Learn which conviction records and element differences matter under current law.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan California take away my gun rights just for drug addiction, with no conviction?
California makes gun possession a felony for a person addicted to a narcotic drug, no conviction needed. See what must be proved and how federal law differs.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan cellphone location data place someone at a homicide scene?
Cell-site records, GPS, and app-location data have different limits. Learn what historical carrier records can and cannot establish.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan co-defendants use the same criminal defense lawyer in California?
When California co-defendants may share a defense lawyer, how conflicts and plea choices change the answer, and why each person needs independent advice.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan I ask for a separate gang-enhancement phase at my California trial?
A defense request can separate gang allegations from the guilt phase under Penal Code 1109. Learn the limits and why some gang evidence may still be admitted.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan I be charged with a gun found in a shared space?
A gun in a shared room does not by itself identify its possessor. Learn how California examines knowledge, access, and control in a firearm case.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan I be charged with murder for helping someone else?
California murder liability can involve distinct aiding, implied-malice, and felony-murder theories. Each has different requirements and limits.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan I Buy a Gun in California After My Charges Were Dismissed?
A charge dismissed before conviction does not itself create a conviction-based gun ban. Check the court order, other restrictions and DOJ record before buying.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan I keep my prior felony details from the jury in a firearm case?
A firearm-status stipulation can keep the type of prior felony from jurors, but they still learn the conviction fact. See what the trial court must address.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan I present evidence that someone else committed the California crime?
Evidence pointing to another suspect may be admitted when it can raise reasonable doubt and links that person to the crime. Gather the actual link, not speculation.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan medical treatment affect causation in a California homicide case?
Treatment complications can matter in a homicide case, but ordinary medical negligence does not necessarily break causation. Learn what records reveal the chain of events.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan someone convicted of murder seek resentencing under California Penal Code 1172.6?
Penal Code 1172.6 may allow resentencing for some old murder theories. See the eligibility conditions, records to gather, and what a petition does not guarantee.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan someone required to register as a sex offender have a gun in California?
Registration alone does not decide California firearm eligibility. Check the conviction, its date, probation or protective orders, and federal restrictions.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan the court pay for defense experts in a California capital case?
Penal Code 987.9 lets counsel for an indigent capital defendant seek reasonably necessary investigator or expert funds through a confidential court process.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCan two convictions from one act count as two strikes?
Two prior convictions are not always two strikes for sentencing. Learn the one-act rule and the 2025 Shaw decision on multiple victims.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCharged After Shooting a Home Intruder in California? The Facts That Matter
Learn what California's home-entry fear presumption covers, what facts can affect it, and what separate deadly-force questions remain.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCharged Under 18 U.S.C. § 111 After a Federal Officer Encounter?
Charged under § 111? Review the alleged force, covered person, official-duty connection and conditional penalty branch with counsel.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCharged With Federal Kidnapping? Check the Count and Federal Connection
Facing a federal kidnapping charge? Check the § 1201 count, federal connection, family and age facts, and evidence with counsel before a plea.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCharged With Federal Murder Under 18 U.S.C. § 1111? Check the Jurisdiction and Degree Allegations
Facing a federal § 1111 murder count? Review the alleged federal jurisdiction, unlawful killing, degree theory, and capital-case status with counsel.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerCharged With Federal Murder-for-Hire Under 18 U.S.C. § 1958? Check the Alleged Agreement and Channel
Facing a federal murder-for-hire charge? Review the § 1958 count's alleged travel or communication, economic consideration and result with counsel.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerFacing a Felony-Murder Charge in California? Check What the Count Actually Alleges
Read the listed felony, cause of death, accused person's role, and any separate special-circumstance allegation in a California felony-murder count.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerHow do I challenge a California firearm purchase denial caused by a wrong criminal record?
A California DOJ firearm purchase denial letter identifies the record and dispute instructions. Review the record, court disposition, and proper challenge route.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesHow is self-defense different from mutual combat in an assault case?
California treats agreed fighting and a defensive response differently. See which facts show consent, withdrawal, escalation, and reasonable force.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesIs bail possible when a California charge carries a life sentence?
A possible life sentence does not itself decide pretrial bail. Capital-charge rules, evidence and safety findings, and individual finances all matter.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerIs it illegal to carry a switchblade or a concealed knife in California?
California's switchblade law and concealed dirk-or-dagger law, including the exposed-and-locked rule for folding knives and the open-sheath exception.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerIs it illegal to possess an assault weapon in California even with a clean record?
Penal Code 30605 makes it a crime to possess a firearm that meets California's assault weapon definition, whatever your record, unless an exception applies.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerWhat does “GBI” mean on my California charging paper?
A GBI reference can describe an enhancement, force likely to cause injury, or a different battery injury element. Check the exact California count and allegation.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerWhat does a California Penal Code 33215 short-barreled firearm charge require?
Facing a California Penal Code 33215 charge? Check the alleged act, statutory firearm definition, and documented California exceptions or DOJ authorization.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerWhat does California have to prove for an attempted murder charge?
California attempted murder (Penal Code 664/187) requires a specific intent to kill, not just to injure. Proven premeditation raises 5, 7, or 9 years to life.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerWhat Does California Penal Code 29610 Mean for a Minor Found With a Firearm?
What does a California PC 29610 allegation require? Check the firearm, possession, five current exceptions and juvenile-case consequences.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerWhat does California Penal Code 626.10 prohibit on school or college grounds?
See how Penal Code 626.10 differs for K–12 schools and colleges, which items it lists, and what records matter when an exception is raised.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerWhat does Penal Code 186.22(a) require for active gang participation?
Penal Code 186.22(a) makes active gang participation its own California crime. See what prosecutors must prove, the wobbler penalty, and key defenses.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerWhat happens when I dispute a prior strike allegation?
A prior strike allegation must be pleaded and proved. Learn how California separates identity, conviction, disputed facts, and a Romero request.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerWhat if a prosecution witness gives testimony the prosecutor knows is false?
A prosecutor cannot let known false testimony go uncorrected. Learn what distinguishes a disputed memory from a Napue issue and what record counsel needs.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerWhat if a recorded murder confession is incomplete in California?
California law generally calls for recording qualifying custodial murder interviews in full, with exceptions and remedies. Learn what gaps to examine.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerWhat if autopsy findings conflict with eyewitness accounts?
Autopsy findings and witness accounts answer different questions. Learn how counsel can compare timing, injury findings, and what a witness actually saw.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerWhat if forensic testing used up the only homicide sample?
A consumed homicide sample cannot always be retested. Learn which lab records and preservation facts matter before assuming the result must be excluded.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerWhat is California's felony murder rule?
California's felony murder rule under Penal Code 189: the 2019 reform, which felonies qualify, the three routes to liability, and resentencing under 1172.6.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerWhat makes a kidnapping charge Penal Code 209 instead of Penal Code 207 in California?
Penal Code 209 aggravated kidnapping, for ransom or to commit robbery or a sex offense, carries life, well above simple kidnapping's 3, 5, or 8 years.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerWhat Must Prosecutors Prove for a California Penal Code 244 Charge?
A California Penal Code 244 charge requires actual contact with a listed substance and intent to injure flesh or disfigure. The evidence must prove each part.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerWhat should a family do after a California homicide arrest?
After a homicide arrest, families can help with counsel, reliable case information, and preserving lawful evidence. Learn what to check first.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerWhat should I do if I face an injury lawsuit and assault charge from the same incident?
A related injury suit may bring civil discovery while an assault case is pending. Preserve both case records and have counsel review statements and deadlines.
Read answer Violent & serious feloniesLegal answerWhen Does California Penal Code 31360 Bar Body Armor?
Penal Code 31360 bars body armor for specified people. See the violent-felony and California firearm-prohibition branches, and how granted relief works.
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