by Andy Chen | Aug 26, 2015 | California, Law, in real life, Statutes... and stuff
I was at my local Dick’s Sporting Goods a few weeks ago and, while perusing the firearms, came across this rather enormous sign. California’s gun laws are extensive. I’ll most likely describe the laws enumerating each specific bullet point in future blog posts, but the requirement that such a sign be displayed at all is in California Penal Code section 26835. Section 26835 states as follows: "A licensee shall post conspicuously within the licensed premises the following warnings in block letters not less than one inch in height: (a) "IF YOU KEEP A LOADED FIREARM WITHIN ANY PREMISES UNDER YOUR CUSTODY OR CONTROL, AND A PERSON UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE OBTAINS IT AND USES IT, RESULTING IN INJURY OR DEATH, OR CARRIES IT TO A PUBLIC PLACE, YOU MAY BE GUILTY OF A MISDEMEANOR OR A FELONY UNLESS YOU STORED THE FIREARM IN A LOCKED CONTAINER OR LOCKED THE FIREARM WITH A LOCKING DEVICE, TO KEEP IT FROM TEMPORARILY FUNCTIONING." (b) "IF YOU KEEP A PISTOL, REVOLVER, OR OTHER FIREARM CAPABLE OF BEING CONCEALED UPON THE PERSON, WITHIN ANY PREMISES UNDER YOUR CUSTODY OR CONTROL, AND A PERSON UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE GAINS ACCESS TO THE FIREARM, AND CARRIES IT OFF-PREMISES, YOU MAY BE GUILTY OF A MISDEMEANOR, UNLESS YOU STORED THE FIREARM IN A LOCKED CONTAINER, OR LOCKED THE FIREARM WITH A LOCKING DEVICE, TO KEEP IT FROM TEMPORARILY FUNCTIONING." (c) "IF YOU KEEP ANY FIREARM WITHIN ANY PREMISES UNDER YOUR CUSTODY OR CONTROL, AND A PERSON UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE GAINS ACCESS TO THE FIREARM, AND CARRIES IT OFF-PREMISES TO A SCHOOL OR SCHOOL-SPONSORED...
by Andy Chen | Jun 27, 2015 | California, Law, in real life, Statutes... and stuff
If you’ve never been to the Central Valley of California (where my Modesto office is), one thing you’ll quickly realize in the summer is that it gets hot. Like 110 degrees hot. All the time. I was at the Modesto Home Depot the other day and came across this sign reminding employers to provide drinking water for their employees — and, of course, to do that with a water cooler from Home Depot. I knew that California required employers to provide water, but I had never looked up what the precise law was. Having seen this sign and being a lawyer and very nerdy, I decided to look it up. It turns out that it isn’t statute that requires employers to provide cooling water to employees, but rather that it’s a regulation. Specifically, it’s Title 8 Section 3395 of the California Code of Regulations entitled “Heat Illness Prevention” issued by the Department of Safety and Health within the California Department of Industrial Relations. Lawyers often cite this as “8 CCR 3395.” Under Labor Code section 6308 and 6317, the Department of Safety and Health — otherwise known as Cal/OSHA — has the authority to enforce Section 3395. Section 3395(c) of Title 8 specifies what the providing of water: “Provision of water. Employees shall have access to potable drinking water meeting the requirements of Sections 1524, 3363, and 3457, as applicable, including but not limited to the requirements that it be fresh, pure, suitably cool, and provided to employees free of charge. The water shall be located as close as practicable to the areas where employees are working. Where drinking water is...
by Andy Chen | Jul 21, 2013 | California, Law, in real life, Statutes... and stuff
A few weeks ago, I was called upon by a former client to deal with the aftermath of a close friend passing away suddenly. The passing did not occur in a hospital so the deceased’s body was taken by the county coroner. If you were like me, you’ve never dealt with a situation like that before. One big question I had was how long does the county coroner’s office hold on to the deceased’s body? After a bit of research, this is what I found. Hopefully it will help you as well. The question of how long the coroner will keep the body is specified by California law in Health and Safety Code section 7104.1 which states the following: If, within 30 days after the coroner notifies or diligently attempts to notify the person responsible for the interment of a decedent's remains which are in the possession of the coroner, the person fails, refuses, or neglects to inter the remains, the coroner may inter the remains. The coroner may recover any expenses of the interment from the responsible person. In lay person’s terms, the coroner has 30 days in which to locate and notify the deceased’s family to come claim the body. As the Santa Clara County coroner was kind of enough to tell me, a county coroner is a law enforcement agency and has the same access to law enforcement databases and research tools to locate people that a police department or sheriff’s office might. The other big question I had was what happens if the deceased’s family is located, but fails to claim the body for whatever...
by Andy Chen | Jun 13, 2013 | California, Law, in real life, Statutes... and stuff
In this episode of Info Series, I’m talking about a problem that I run in to surprisingly often: Does a Power of Attorney or Durable Power of Attorney in California need to be notarized in order to be valid? I recently helped an elderly client execute a Durable Power of Attorney and the client had me present it to his nationwide bank as well as his previous employer from whom he is receiving a retirement pension. Both the bank and the employer tried to convince me that the Durable Power of Attorney needed to be notarized. Fortunately, I’ve looked this question up before and the answer lies in California Probate Code sections 4121 and 4122. Section 4121 begins by saying that “A power of attorney is legally sufficient if all of the following requirements are satisfied:” 4121’s subsections are listed as: a. The power of attorney contains the date of its execution b. The power of attorney is signed either (1) by the principal or (2) in the principal’s name by another adult in the principal’s presence and at the principal’s direction. c. The power of attorney is either (1) acknowledged before a notary public or (2) signed by at least two witnesses who satisfy the requirements of section 4122. Section 4122 lists the following requirements for witnesses: a. The witnesses shall be adults. b. The attorney-in-fact may not act as a witness. c. Each witness signing the power of attorney shall witness either the signing of the instrument by the principal or the principal’s acknowledgment of the signature or the power of attorney. Thus, under California Probate Code...
