LOS ANGELES CRIMINAL ATTORNEYS

A new study published by Robert Nash Parker

A new study published by Robert Nash Parker, a sociologist and director of the Presley Center for Crime and Justice Studies at the University of California at Riverside, argues that the California Three Strikes Law has had absolutely no impact on reducing violent crime is California.  In fact, all it has done is overcrowded California prisons, and increased spending to impossible levels.  Parker does not talk of morality or justice. His focus is purely statistical in nature.

Proponents of the Three Strikes argue that violent crime has dropped, and the law thus has achieved its goals.  To state otherwise is to fly in the face of statistics that show a decrease in violent crime.

Parker dismisses these arguments, however, stating that violent crime has dropped equally in states that have Three Strikes legislation and in those that do not.  The State of Washington, for example, has a very similar drop in violent crime as does The State of California. Yet California incarcerates 300 times more people than does Washington, but has a population that is only 5.5 times that of the other state.  Moreover, the drop in violence in California had started two years prior to the passing of the Three Strikes Law.  The real reason violent crime has declined in the country as a whole is the decline in alcohol consumption. 

Since the 1930’s statistical data suggests that a decline in homicide rates is preceded by a drop in alcohol consumption approximately two years earlier.  A rise in homicide rates is preceded by a rise in alcohol consumption approximately two year before.

So if Three Strikes is a failure, if violent crime is decreasing on its own simply due to lower alcohol consumption nationwide, do we need to continue with the status quo?  If we do, our prisons will overflow even more than now, and the money we spend on housing, feeding and guarding these inmates will go through the roof.  In 1985, California spent 11% of its budget on higher education and only 4% on prison funding.  Today, higher education receives 6% and prison spending has risen to 10% of the annual budget. We literally are throwing money away.

If the Three Strikes had actually worked, we could justify the argument that it’s continued existence is a necessary evil.  Given this new analysis by Parker, however, it makes absolutely no sense to keep Three Strikes in place.  The immediate savings to California would be somewhere around $1.3 billion.  That will pay for a lot of higher education as well as other state programs that need rescue. 

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Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys at Gurovich, Berk & Associates have been providing criminal defense services to individuals charged in criminal cases due to alleged crimes committed in Los Angeles, CA for numerous years. Criminal defense lawyers at this law firm have several offices throughout the greater Los Angeles area. This Los Angeles criminal defense law firm is proud to announce that the Gurovich, Berk & Associates have opened an office in the Downtown Los Angeles areas located at 355 South Grand Ave, #2450, Los Angeles, California 90071. Their Los Angeles criminal defense office is centrally located in the financial district in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles specifically to those clients who reside or work near the Downtown area.


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If you have been arrested for drunk driving and a related accidet, it is in your best interest to retain a knowledgeable, experienced and aggressive DUI lawyer in Los Angeles. A qualified DUI lawyer in our Los Angeles law firm can educate you as to your options, assist you in making critical decisions, investigate the factors that led to your arrest, and skillfully examine law enforcement personnel. A qualified DUI attorney in our Van Nuys criminal defense law firm will be in your corner aggressively defending your rights with the goal of successfully fighting your DUI charges. The DUI attorneys at Gurovich, Berk & associates, have investigated and litigated thousands of DUI cases in all the major cities Los Angeles county. Our DUI lawyers will scrutinize whether the Field Sobriety Tests (FST's) were administered correctly and use any mistake by law enforcement to our client's benefit in securing either a dismissal or a reduction of the charges. In addition, our LA criminal defense attorneys will scrutinize the chemical test results and will bring to light any possible testing or administration errors. Our Los Angeles criminfal attorneys will aggressively defend your interests so that you will receive the best outcome of your Los Angeles DUI case.


In dealing with a Los Angeles DUI case whether involving alcohol or controlled substances, you will need an experienced Los Angeles criminal attorney that will test the validity of the field sobriety tests and/or blood/breath tests in your case and work diligently to provide you with the best possible outcome of your Los Angeles DUI case. Los Angeles DUI lawyers at the Gurovich, Berk & Associates are familiar and experienced with the DMV along with all the criminal courts. Our DUI defense attorneys will aggressively defend your interests so that you will receive the best outcome of your Los Angeles DUI case.

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