Caselaw

Caselaw is the set of reported (published) decisions of state and federal appellate courts. Appellate courts decide cases which are presented to it when one or both parties to a court case appeal. In a criminal case, the defendant or prosecution may appeal a decision or issue which it believes has been incorrectly decided by a lower court.

In a felony case, a party who has had a case or issue decided against it and who believes an error was made may first appeal to the California Court of Appeal. If the party is not satisfied with the decision of the Court of Appeal, they may Petition for Review to the California Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal is required to decide a case which has been appealed when the prosecution or defense has contended a legal error was made and the error was prejudicial. However, the California Supreme Court has discretionary review, which means it need only decide those cases which it believes should be decided because they present legal issues it believes are important or to resolve contradictory decisions of the Court of Appeal. Very few cases are heard by the United States Supreme Court because it also has discretion to review a case it believes presents an important issue of federal law not California law.

In our legal system, criminal and civil trial judges decide the law applicable to a case by interpreting statutes and applying precedents which record how and why prior cases have been decided. Typically, a Trial Court will use California jury instructions to resolve many legal issues. Our system follows the doctrine of stare decisis, which means a lower court is bound by the decisions of higher courts. A lower court may not decide a case or legal issue in contradiction to a binding precedent.

Experienced Domestic Violence Lawyer

The stakes are high in a California domestic violence case. A criminal conviction for domestic battery or criminal threats in California may result in jail, large fines, mandatory domestic violence counseling sessions which meet weekly for one year, mandatory alcohol education classes, personal conduct orders, stay away orders, temporary restraining orders, and other punishment. For that reason, it is critical that that a person charged with domestic assault, domestic battery, criminal threats or stalking have only a qualified domestic violence defense lawyer to handle the case from the earliest possible moment.

Robert Tayac is recognized as being among the top domestic violence lawyers in California and represents clients in criminal cases related to domestic violence, assault and battery, and applications for and responses to restraining orders. Attorneys, investigators and experts working with this highly specialized law office represent clients in the Northern California criminal courts located in San Francisco, San Mateo Marin, Alameda, Santa Clara, Contra Costa, Sonoma and Napa counties.

Additionally, lawyers of this law firm represent clients seeking or defending against temporary restraining orders and no harassment orders before the superior courts of San Francisco, San Rafael, Redwood City, South San Francisco, Napa, Oakland, Palo Alto, Walnut Creek, San Jose and Santa Rosa. The firm accepts only California domestic battery cases, California temporary restraining order actions or California driving under the influence cases.

Contact The Office

The stakes are high in a California domestic violence case. An arrest for domestic battery, domestic assault, criminal threats or stalking in California may result in actual jail, large fines, mandatory 52 weeek batterer's treatment program, mandatory alcohol education classes, and other punishment. For that reason, it is important that you have only a qualified California criminal defense lawyer handling your domestic violence case from the beginning. If you or someone you know has been or may be accused of domestic violence, we invite you to read the information contained in this website and welcome you to call our office and discuss your case with a domestic violence lawyer.