by Andy Chen | Sep 16, 2018 | California, Criminal law, Individual, Law School Help
I’m guessing a lot of you know what carjacking is — namely, the stealing of a car from another’s possession. I might be wrong, but I think carjacking started happening in the 1980s or so in California when those wanting to steal a vehicle realized that stealing a parked vehicle with no keys was rather difficult. Stealing a vehicle that had been unlocked and started by the owner was much easier and all the thief had to do was threaten the owner. Anyway, in California, the criminal offense of carjacking is defined in California Penal Code section 215(a) which states: “‘Carjacking’ is the felonious taking of a motor vehicle in the possession of another, from his or her person or immediate presence, or from the person or immediate presence of a passenger of the motor vehicle, against his or her will and with the intent to either permanently or temporarily deprive the person in possession of the motor vehicle of his or her possession, accomplished by means of force or fear.” Clearly this is a mouthful, but if you break it down, the basic elements of a carjacking are: the taking by means of force or fear of a motor vehicle that is in the possession of another, including a passenger of the motor vehicle from the person or the immediate presence of that other, against the will of the possessor with the intent to deprive the possessor of their possession of said vehicle Each of these elements could, in theory, be the source of disagreement between the prosecution and the defense. For instance, the prosecution might say the vehicle...
by Andy Chen | Sep 13, 2018 | California, Enterprise
Many people nowadays have legal entities like corporations and limited liability companies. With the Internet, forming such entities is much simpler now than it was years ago when a lawyer was required for even the most basic of transactions. If you have formed a legal entity yourself, one situation you might encounter is what to do if your entity gets sued or otherwise finds itself in court. An individual generally has the right to represent themselves in court subject to obvious limitations, such as if the individual is a minor, has dementia, etc. However, a legal entity — such as a corporation or a limited liability company — generally cannot represent itself in court and must be represented by an attorney. There is no California statute that says this, but it is instead the result of many courts in California holding so over the last 40 or so years. The case I always cite to is the 1978 California Supreme Court case of Merco Construction Engineers v. Municipal Court. The cite, for the lawyers in the audience, is: 21 Cal. 3d 725. This rule of “entities must hire an attorney” applies even though your particular corporation or limited liability company is just you. The rule also applies even if the case your entity is involved in is super simple, completely frivolous, etc. California statutes provide for two exceptions to this rule that a legal entity cannot represent itself in court and must hire an attorney: First, a legal entity may be represented by a non-lawyer in a small claims court action. This is under Code of Civil Procedure section...
by Andy Chen | Sep 11, 2018 | California, Enterprise
Nowadays, it is quite common for individuals to form a legal entity (e.g. a corporation) themselves. Years ago, forming a corporation usually required a lawyer, but you can often form one online now with minimal effort and cost. One question that often arises after an individual forms a corporation is who can serve as an officer of said corporation. More often than not, however, the question is actually: Can the same person serve in all the different officer roles that a corporation in California has? The answer to that question can be found in Section 312(a) of the California Corporations Code, which states that a corporation’s officers fall in to four categories: A chairperson or president. In other words, this is the person who is in charge of the corporation, A secretary, A treasurer or chief financial officer, and Other officers as the bylaws may dictate or as the Board of Directors may designate. As to whether the same individual can serve in all officer roles simultaneously, the same person can serve in all the officer roles simultaneously unless the corporation’s bylaws or Articles of Incorporation forbid it. Thus, the same person could, in theory, be the president, secretary, and treasurer at the same time. In practice, however, it is generally a good idea for the secretary and president/chairperson of the corporation to not be the same person. As part of the corporation’s business, the secretary needs to attest to the president/chairperson’s signature on documents and it’s obviously circular to have an individual attest to their own signature....
