Maya Emig

Appeals offer convicted defendants an opportunity to have a higher court review the process that lead to conviction in order to ensure that this process was fair to the defendant.

Many defendants are eligible for a process known as expungement, under which an individual is released from all penalties and disabilities arising from conviction.

Recent changes in California law provide an opportunity for those who have been convicted of a crime to have their sentence reduced or even eliminated.

While many people might not realize it, prisoners still have certain rights guaranteed by both the California State and United States Constitutions.

If you took a plea deal in a criminal case and suffer from immigration consequences you may have legal grounds to vacate the plea.

Anyone who is in prison, or otherwise restrained in some way by the criminal justice system, can bring a writ of habeas corpus petition to challenge their imprisonment.

Parole is a period of supervision that follows an individual after their release from prison. Most inmates will automatically be released to parole after finishing their “determinate” sentence.

Effective November 5, 2014, proposition 47’s main purpose is to reduce certain non-violent and non-serious felonious crimes to just misdemeanors.

Effective November 8, 2016, Proposition 57 was approved and maintains a substantial effect on California’s Criminal Justice system as a result of overpopulation in prisons.

Young offenders can be tried as adults and sentenced to extremely long or even life sentences as young as 14. In 2013, California passed a law changing child sentencing practices for certain crimes.

Effective January 1, 2016, SB 261 extends the unique youth offender parole process created in SB 260 (above) to inmates who committed crimes between the ages of 14-22, but were tried as adults.