State Crimes

Law Offices of Miranda McCroskey represents individuals in all types of state crimes.

• Assault - Penal Code § 245
• Assault is a crime where the person accused of the crime puts the victim in reasonable fear of bodily injury; it is not required that the person charged with this offense actually have physical contact with the victim.

• Battery - Penal Code §§ 242 – 243
• A Battery occurs whenever one person touches another without consent. A Battery can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the amount of injury to the victim.

• DMV Hearings
• There are several different occasions when a DMV hearing may occur but the most common event is as a result of the driver being stopped for driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or above; another type of DMV hearing is a negligent operator hearing where the driver has accumulated 4 points or more against his record during a 12-month period.

• Domestic Violence - Penal Code §§ 243(e)(1) and 273.5
• Domestic Violence occurs when one person physically strikes another person without consent and the two people are married, in a dating relationship or otherwise romantically involved.

• Driving on a Suspended License - Vehicle Code §14601
• A person’s license can be suspended for a variety of reasons. A DUI can cause a license to be suspended or revoked; too many points (tickets) within a certain amount of time can cause a license to be suspended; failure to appear at court on a traffic ticket or failure to pay a fine on a traffic ticket can cause a person’s license to be suspended.

• Driving Under the Influence - Vehicle Code §§ 23152, 2315
• A person driving with a blood alcohol level of .08 or above may be charged with a DUI.  DUIs can be filed as a misdemeanor or felony.

• Drug Crimes - Health and Safety Code §§ 11350 and 11377

• Expungement - Penal Code § 1203.4
• A conviction may be expunged when an individual who did not go to state prison for the offense has successfully finished probation.  His guilty plea or guilty conviction shall be withdrawn and the case dismissed.

• Hit and Run - Vehicle Code §§ 20002-20003
• A hit and run occurs whenever there is an accident and the individual leaves the scene of the accident without exchanging information with the person they hit or contacting the police. Most of the time these are not considered serious offenses; however, if there is considerable property or bodily damage they can be charged as felonies.

• Juvenile Law - Welfare and Institutions §§ 602 et. Seq.

• Rape - Penal Code § 261
• Rape is defined as sexual intercourse against the will or without the consent of the other person. Notably, any amount of penetration during intercourse, even if very slight, is sufficient to be considered rape.

• Restraining Orders
• The Civil Code permits individuals to seek and have granted court orders which prohibits the restrained person from calling them, seeing them or even sending them letters.

• Sex Crimes - Penal Code §§ 261.5, 288, 288a, 314 and 647
• Sex crimes are some of the most serious crimes one can face. In addition to carrying very high jail sentences often times a conviction for a sex offense can require life time registration as a sex offender. Also, even first time offenders can go to state prison because of how seriously the court, the law and the district attorney take these cases.

• Petty Theft - Penal Code §§ 484-488
• The most common theft charge is Petty Theft; this can only be charged as a misdemeanor.  Generally speaking if the item(s) stolen are $400.00 or less then the matter can be charged as a Petty Theft.

• Grand Theft - Penal Code § 487
• A theft of item(s) of a value in excess of $400.00 can be charged as a felony and is known as Grand Theft.

• Vandalism - Penal Code § 594
• Defacing property with graffiti, causing damage to property or destroying property can cause one to be charged with vandalism. If the property damage is under $400.00 then the matter will usually be charged as a misdemeanor and the client subject to up to one year in jail.  A suspension of one’s drivers’ license often occurs.

• Warrants
• Warrants are court orders issued to all law enforcement requiring the arrest of a person who is wanted by the court. Sometimes law enforcement may go to the last known address of a person with a warrant in an attempt to find him. If law enforcement comes upon a person who has a warrant out for them, they will usually be immediately arrested and incarcerated until they come before the court that issued the warrant.