An Attorney In San Jose Who Will Fight For You

The Halloween season begins the Holiday Season. As we all know, DUI arrests tend to rise during the holidays. There are numerous reasons why, but the greatest is stress.




When we are kids, the holidays are pretty stress free. Nobody is expecting anything from us and we know we are going to be getting a bunch of goodies.




But, then we grow up and the responsibilities and rigors of adulthood seem to quell those love of the holidays because they remind us of how expensive and stressful they can be.




Add to that, the office work parties, the neighborhood parties and all of the travel. The short of it? The Holidays are stressful. Whether your rich or poor, the holidays seem to offer up problems for people in all walks of life.




Whether you were arrested for DUI or something even more serious, you have a friend during the holidays and beyond. William Chestnut, Attorney. For more than 30 years, Attorney Chestnut has a distinguished record on both sides of the law and has a complete understanding of both and how they affect you.




Don't let the holidays get you in a rut. If you go to that office party, carpool with a designated driver, or take a taxi, or uber. But, if you do happen to find yourself on the wrong end of the law, you know who to call.

The Need For Sentence Reform

When coming out of prison, people need many things, but the critical ones are safe housing, drug treatment and jobs. Theoretically, $2 billion dollars allocated to prison inmate reduction and sentence reform is ironically being given to county jails, which have seen their own overcrowding only get worse as they have absorbed thousands of inmates from state prisons. So far, counties have allocated an average of just 12 percent of their realignment funds to re-entry programs.

Where does this leave someone who has to reenter society? If there are no jobs, no treatment facilities and no proper reentry programs, the revolving door of California's
prison system perpetuates.

Until major sentencing reform is even discussed, a competent attorney who understands ALL aspects of the law from both sides; is your best defense when facing the justice system. Your best chance to preserve your future is to act in the present. Call the Law Offices of William Chestnut for a consultation. We are here to fight vigorously for you.

Ruling On GPS Tracking Upholds Rights Of Suspects

At any given time, countless numbers of California motorists are using GPS technology to get where they want to go. That same technology has also been used by police to track individuals without their knowledge. Back in November, this blog made note of the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court had taken up the constitutionality of such actions. And recently, the court concluded GPS tracking amounts to a "search" as outlined in the Fourth Amendment.

The criminal defense system functions both to pass judgment on those who have been convicted of committing a crime and to protect the rights of those who have been accused of breaking the law. By declaring that GPS tracking amounts to a Fourth Amendment search, the Supreme Court insists that law enforcement uphold certain protections that the Constitution affords those targeted by the criminal justice system.

However, legal experts are continuing to debate to what extent the Supreme Court's decision upholds the rights of suspects. Though GPS tracking is now explicitly considered a search, many question whether or not law enforcement must obtain a warrant before affixing a GPS device to a suspect's car without his or her knowledge.

On the one hand, law enforcement is required to obtain warrants before performing most Forth Amendment searches. Some experts argue that because the Court did not specify that GPS searches constitute an exception to this rule, warrants are required for this kind of tracking.

On the other hand, the Court did not indicate whether GPS searches are considered reasonable or unreasonable. If such a search were to be considered reasonable, law enforcement might not need a warrant.

It is unclear whether or not the Court's recent ruling upholds the rights of suspects to a greater or lesser degree. Nevertheless, by declaring that GPS tracking of suspects is indeed a Fourth Amendment search, the Court has advanced the constitutional rights of the accused to some extent.

Scholars observe that further clarification will come as the court decides other, similar cases in the future.

Contact San Jose Criminal Defense Attorney William Chestnut at 408-298-6990 or at williamchestnutlaw.com for assistance with criminal defense matters.