Oct 22 2015

Law Office of Marc Grossman Named Best Parole Rights Firm in USA

Acquisition International Magazine is a global publication dedicated to providing news and information to elite corporations and businesses worldwide. Each year they compile statistics and information on outstanding businesses in dozens of countries to determine the best in each industry and hundreds of subcategories. In addition to the gathering of statistical information, AI surveys its readers and professionals to determine the award winner for each respective category. This year, more than 630,000 attorneys and other legal professionals were surveyed across the United States and The Law Offices of Marc Grossman was the clear winner in the category of Parole Rights Attorneys.

This award recognizes the Law Offices of Marc Grossman’s efforts over the past many years advocating for prisoners who are often unlawfully denied the opportunity for parole despite having served the requisite time and having been a model prisoner. Few law firms can claim to have done more for prisoners or parole rights than the Law Offices of Marc Grossman.

If you or a loved has been refused the opportunity for parole, wrongfully denied parole or is currently on parole but has been harassed or violated unjustly, call the “Best Parole Rights Law Firm in America,” the Law Offices of Marc Grossman. Call Now 855-LOMG-911 (855-566-4911) or request a FREE consultation through one of the contact forms on this website.

The official announcement and other details will be available in AI’s December issue.

Sep 02 2015

Attorney Frees Victim of Gay Bashing Convicted of Murder

Attorney Marc Grossman Wins Freedom Of Convicted Murderer After 20 Years in Prison

After more than 20 years in prison and several failed attempts for parole, Attorney Marc Grossman of Upland, California was able free a victim of gay bashing convicted of murder in 1986. Despite many state and federal court decisions concluding that Robert Rosenkrantz’s constitutional rights of due process had been violated by California’s parole system by continuing to deny him parole after he had served more than the minimum length of his sentence, first Governor Grey Davis and then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had repeatedly denied Rosenkrantz the opportunity for parole until attorney Marc Grossman was able to secure his release.

Gay Bashing Precipitated the Murder

Rosenkrantz was just out of highschool and barely 18 years old in 1985. It was a different time, when being gay was not an accepted social norm and coming out could expose you to bullying and other forms victimization especially if you were a high school student. One night in June 1985, Rosenkrantz was with a male companion in his parents’ beach house, when his younger brother Joey and a friend, Steven Redman, a classmate of Rosenkrantz, arrived to spy on him. Redman had suspected that Rosenkrantz was gay and now Redman knew first hand. Redman kicked in the door of the beach house and yelled, “Get the fuck out of here you faggots,” and then struck Rosenkrantz with the flashlight, breaking his nose. Joey, was carrying a stun gun and burned his brother’s hand while attempting to use it on him. Rosenkrantz ran out to his car and retrieved a BB gun. He used it to try to pin down Redman and Joey to prevent them from leaving the beach house. Joey and Redman called Rosenkrantz’s father and, when he arrived, they told him that they had seen Rosenkrantz with another man engaged in a sex act.

Rosenkrantz insisted to his father he was not gay and that the two were mistaken, but his father, angry, threw him out of the house. Rosenkrantz was distraught after having been outed in such a callous manner. He spent a few days living in his car, where he became more and more upset with the recent events. At some point he acquired an Uzi machine gun after which he confronted Redman and demanded that he take back what he had said to Rosenkrantz’s father. Redman refused and continued to taunt and ridicule Rosenkrantz calling him “faggot” and making other disparaging remarks. The teen was so angered by Redman’s actions that he shot him and killed him.

The Court Case

Prosecutors first sought a first degree murder, but understandably, the jury demonstrated empathy for Rosenkrantz, obviously recognizing that the teen was a victim of gay bashing. The result was that Rosenkrantz was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 15 years to life, plus two years for using a firearm.

Time in Prison

Rosenkrantz proved to be a model prisoner, compiling a perfect record, and earning two college degrees and a number of vocational certificates. He also completed every available therapy and counseling program and received stellar recommendations from prison officials in support of his applications for parole once he had served his minimum time.

Yet each time he attempted to be released on parole, he was ultimately rejected buy two different governors. Rosenkrantz’s parole appeals became notorious in the California gay community, where many people came to understand the nature of the provocation and strain under which Rosenkrantz was operating at the young age of 18.

After a long and difficult battle, the state and federal courts both decided that by continuing to deny parole based entirely on the nature of the offense was depriving Rosenkrantz of his right to due process of law. The governing statutes provided that a convict who has served the minimum time required under his sentence is entitled to release if his rehabilitation results in him no longer being a danger to the community. No one in the prison system presented a single piece of evidence that indicated Rosenkrantz posed an ongoing threat to the public. In fact, Rosenkrantz’s own efforts to become college educated and to learn new trades demonstrated his ability to be a productive member of society and worthy of being released from prison. The court saw that Rosenkrantz had accepted responsibility for what he had done, understood and acknowledged that it was wrong, and transformed himself to become a useful, non-threatening member of society and, therefore, should be released on parole.

This lead to the federal court and the California Supreme Court ordering Rosenkrantz to be released. Less than a week after the courts ruled in Rosenkrantz’s favor, he was released on parole to his parents who had long ago come to accept that their son was gay. Upon his release he started a career in information technology.

There video related to this post is excerpted from a KCAL 9 interview with Criminal Defense Attorney shortly after the release of Rosenkrantz. Today being homosexual, gay, lesbian, bi or transgender is widely accepted. While the actions that Rosenkrantz took as a result of having been a victim of gay bashing were wrong, one must recognize that had the same events occurred today, the outcome would likely have been much different.

Attorney Marc Grossman is a supporter of gay rights and has represented many gay, lesbian and transgender people in actions to protect their rights, to assist them in divorces and to represent them in their unique criminal situation.

If you have been a victim of gay bashing or if you have been harassed by the police or government official because you are gay, lesbian or transgender the Law Offices of Marc Grossman can help. If you are contemplating divorce, the Law Offices of Marc Grossman is one of the few experts in same sex marriage and same sex divorce. We invite you to call us at 855-LOMG-911 or complete one of the many contact forms that you will find on our website, wefight4you.com. We are here to help.

Aug 30 2015

Who Can I Talk To About My Criminal Case

Remain Silent

The most basic concept underlying the lawyer-client relationship is that lawyer-client interactions are privileged, or private. This suggests that legal representatives cannot reveal a criminal clients’ oral or written statements (nor attorneys’ own statements to clients) to anybody, including prosecutors, companies, friends, or family members, without their client’s permission. It does not matter whether defendants admit their guilt or insist on their innocence; Attorney-client interactions are confidential. Both court-appointed legal representatives and private defense attorneys are similarly bound to preserve client confidences.

Beyond the attorney-client relationship, you can compromise the privilege or your “right to remain silent” by doing any of the following:

1. Speaking in a Public Location

Suppose you discuss your criminal case with your lawyer in a restaurant, loud enough for other diners to overhear the conversation. Can they testify to exactly what you stated? Yes. Lawyer-client communications are personal only if they are made in a context where it would be affordable to expect that they would remain confidential (Katz v. U.S., U.S. Sup. Ct. 1967). A defendant who speaks to an attorney in such a loud voice that others overhear exactly what is said has no reasonable expectation of personal privacy and hence waives (gives up) the opportunity. Likewise, individuals who discuss their cases on mobile phone in public locations run the risk of losing confidentiality.

2.Jailhouse Conversations by means of Phone

Jailhouse discussions between the accused and their criminal lawyers are thought about confidential, as long as the conversation takes place in a private area of the jail and the attorney and defendant do not speak so loudly that jailers or other prisoners can overhear exactly what is said.

Exactly what about phone conversations, either in person (speaking on phones, separated by a glass partition) or using a pay phone? Defendants must be really mindful not to allow jailers and even other criminal prisoners to overhear exactly what they say on the telephone. These people occasionally eavesdrop, in person or on the telephone, and after that declare that they had the ability to overhear incriminating info due to the fact that the accused spoke in a loud voice. (Criminal inmates often aim to curry favor with district attorneys through such techniques.) If a judge thinks them, the opportunity is lost and a jailer or other prisoner can testify to an offender’s remarks.

In some cases, jailers warn an alleged criminal that phone calls are or might be monitored. That warning alone might indicate that telephone call between prisoners and their legal representatives may not be privileged. If a jailer monitors a call and overhears a prisoner make a destructive admission to the prisoner’s legal representative, the jailer can most likely affirm to the offender’s statement in court. Losing Your Right to Confidentiality: Welcoming Others to be Present.

For completely reasonable factors, the accused criminal often desire their father and mothers, partners, or buddies to be present when they seek advice from their attorneys. Does that mean that the discussion will not be thought about private?

The legal representative can keep the benefit by encouraging a judge that it was necessary to include the unfamiliar person in the conversation. If the 3rd party can shed light on the case or otherwise assist the criminal lawyer establish a method, that person’s presence would not damage the privacy of the discussion.

3. Sharing the Conversation with Others Later on.

A blabbermouth criminal accused of a crime waive (give up) the confidentiality of lawyer-client interactions when they divulge those statements to somebody else (aside from a spouse, since a different benefit exists for spousal communications; most states also acknowledge a priest-penitent privilege). The accused have no expectation of privacy in discussions they reveal to others.

The Bottom Line.

The only person that you should discuss your criminal case with is your criminal attorney. You must also be mindful of your surroundings and circumstances so that you do not inadvertently divulge damaging information about your case to third parties. You should not tell your friends or family about your criminal case either.

Aug 30 2015

How is Child Support Determined

How California Child Support is Calculated

California family court judges primarily look at two factors when calculating child support:

1. Each parent’s income

2. Time spent by each parent with the child/children

However, many other factors that can affect child support amounts including: child care expenses, mortgages, taxes, and other bills and obligation that affect the family’s financial situation.

Judges have very little discretion in setting child support amounts, they must all follow the same guidelines when calculating child support. This formula is complicated and the only practical way to calculate it is but use of court approve software. You and your spouse are required to provide accurate information from which the ultimate monthly amount will be determined. This information is subject to the judge’s approval as it is common for parents to distort their income or debt situation to tip the scale in their favor. However, an attorney from the Law Offices of Marc Grossman will fight to insure the correct information is obtained to determine your child support amount. With our help, the court will see through the charade and order a fair and reasonable amount of child support.

Whatever child support is ordered, it will continue until the child is 18. However, thing happen in life like the loss of job, your spouse starting a new job and other situation where you or spouse’s financial situation has changed. If something like that occurs, you should ask the Law Offices of Marc Grossman to assist you in modifying or re-calculating the child support amount. This can be done at almost anytime but should be done immediately if you are the one ordered to pay child support and your income drops or you cannot afford to pay the child support due to some change in your financial situation. This is because the child support amount continues to accrue at the last ordered rate until it is modified.

Aug 30 2015

Is It Time To File For Bankruptcy

For many people, filing for bankruptcy can give them a fresh financial start. But if bankruptcy is right for you depends on many factors and consulting with an attorney from the Law Offices of Marc Grossman may be the best the way to find out.

Will Bankruptcy Help?

You should evaluate all of your options before deciding to file for bankruptcy. What types of debt do you have? What are you trying to achieve by filing for bankruptcy? Kepp in mind that a bankruptcy does not discharge all types of debt (priority creditors). If you are trying to get rid a priority creditor but you are otherwise OK financially, a bankruptcy may not do you any good. In other situations, creditors may be willing to work with you so that you can avoid bankruptcy altogether.

Can You Qualify for Bankruptcy?

The most common bankruptcies are Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 and both have specific eligibility criteria. For a Chapter 7, you must be able to show that your income is below the means test threshold. For a Chapter 13, there are limits on the amount of debt, the amount of real property and your disposable income.

Are You Being Sued?

Creditors and other people may sue you to collect money that you owe them. If a you are being sued you should immediately contact the Law Offices of Marc Grossman. Bankruptcy will stop most lawsuits and stop garnishments and other levies and attachments but you must act quickly. Many times once your account has been levied it is a struggle to get it back. After filing for bankruptcy, an automatic stay goes into effect. The automatic stay will stop almost every collection action or lawsuit against you and eliminate the associated debt.

Are You Being Foreclose on or Repossess Your Property?

Secured debt like a house or car may be foreclosed on or repossessed if you fall behind on payments. However, in most cases filing for bankruptcy will stop all such actions at least temporarily. Your attorney from the Law Offices of Marc Grossman can often use this time to negotiate with your lender to save your home or car. Not every home or car can be saved but the sooner you call your lawyer, the better the chances are that you can save your property.

How Much Property Do You Own?

In most cases you will not lose any personal property by filing bankruptcy. However, there are limitations on the value of the property that you can retain. The law provides exemptions for many different categories of property. The Law Offices of Marc Grossman will discuss those exemptions with you and assist you in determining if your property exceeds the exemption. You may determine that filing for bankruptcy isn’t appropriate for you at this time.