by erikbruce

Covid 19 and Concentration Camps

In February 1942, responding to fears of an invisible enemy within, President Roosevelt issued executive order 9066 condemning 120,000 persons of Japanese descent to ten concentration camps in the American interior. Nisei, native born United States citizens of Japanese descent, represented two-thirds of those interned.   By 1943, Nisei could win their release by pledging loyalty and taking a...

by erikbruce

Juveniles are Children

With the passage of Proposition 57 in 2016, California joined the national movement to treat minors who commit crimes as children and not adults. This effort recognizes that maturity in brain development typically lags significantly behind our physical nature. Recently, while representing a minor charged with first degree murder, we had the privilege of working with clinical psychologist Dr....

by erikbruce

Smell of Pot Not Enough

Do not get high and drive. Do not drink and drive. But know your rights when you are pulled over. A recent appellate court decision makes it illegal in California for police, once they have stopped your car, to search the entire vehicle simply because they smell marijuana. In years past, a passenger may have imbibed hours ago with the aroma sinking into their clothes then, after being in your...