Strange Laws from California
When people think about laws, they often think about sensible rules that make sense. However, it is important to remember that laws are made by people, and this means that some real nonsense can be made into actual laws that govern the people. This is true of every country, state, and city. California is no exception.
The Golden State is home to its own bits of weirdness thanks to some odd laws. Many of these laws were created long ago, and as such, show their age. Others are a little more recent, and while it may be possible to see what the lawmaker was going for, the wording of the law isn’t quite right.
Why Are These Even Laws?
California became a state on September 9, 1850. Over the last 170 year period, a lot of laws have been enacted and removed across the state’s 160,000 square miles. Some of the laws have made sense, such as don’t steal from people and don’t kill each other. Others are a bit stranger. Some of the weirder laws that are still technically active in California include:
- A person can only wear cowboy boots in Blythe if they own two or more cows.
- A person cannot wash someone else’s car without the owner’s permission in Los Angeles.
- Cursing on a golf course in Long Beach is illegal.
- Detonating a nuclear device in Chico will result in a $500 fine.
- Flying a kite higher than 10 feet is illegal in the city of Walnut.
- Garages in San Francisco are meant for storing personal vehicles and nothing else.
- In California, it is illegal for women to drive cars while wearing housecoats.
- In San Francisco, ugly people are not allowed to walk down the street.
- It is illegal to drive in reverse in Glendale.
- It is illegal to pour salt on Hermosa Beach streets.
- Men and boys are not allowed to dress as women in Walnut unless it is for a play, or they receive a permit from the sheriff.
- Peacocks always have the right of way in Arcadia.
- San Diego homeowners can be fined $250 for having their Christmas lights up after February 2nd.
- Vehicles without drivers cannot drive over 60 mph.
- Visitors of Fresno city parks are prohibited from bothering lizards.
- Women may not wear high heels in Carmel city limits.
What Are the Penalties?
With how easily broken some of these laws can be, some people may wonder what would happen to them if they did break any of these laws. Luckily, the enforceable laws are pretty unknown by most law enforcement agents. Even if they do know about these laws, no one in their right mind would fault someone for breaking these laws.
The only law on the above list that will result in penalties, and rightfully so, is detonating a nuclear device within Chico city limits. However, the consequences for doing so will probably be more than just a $500 fine. The person will have to pay $501, at least.
These Laws Are Still in the Books
What seems to happen with a lot of these odd laws, is that they just get laughed at and forgotten. No one in this day and age is going to fine someone for wearing cowboy boots when they don’t own a cow, or arrest a woman for wearing high heels. Most of these laws are so outlandish that a person has nothing to worry about. These laws serve only as jokes at this point.
What Is Money Laundering and Why Is It Illegal?
Everyone is aware of the obvious fact that committing crimes is illegal. What can often get people into trouble is not knowing which acts are considered illegal in the first place. This leads to people doing something they thought was okay and then winding up in trouble with the law.
For instance, people are aware that stealing money from someone else is bad. However, many people do not realize that just depositing illegally gained money into a bank account is illegal. While it sounds a little, silly, there is a good reason for this.
The Definition of Money Laundering
The act of depositing illegally gotten money into a bank account, or any other legitimate institution, is called money laundering. This is a reference to how the person depositing the dirty money, because it was obtained from criminal activity, is trying to “clean” it by putting it to use in legitimate institutions such as banks and other businesses.
This crime is made illegal under 2 California laws: Penal Code (PC) 186.10 and Health and Safety Code (HS) 11370.9. The reason for the two different laws is the distinction between how the money was obtained. HS 11370.9 is only concerned with money that was obtained through all drug crimes. PC 186.10 covers money from any other type of crime.
Both of these crimes require specific intent or knowledge of criminal activity. In other words, money laundering can only occur when a person is knowingly trying to “clean” the money by placing it into a financial institution.
Why Is Money Laundering Illegal
After learning what money laundering is, some people are left wondering why the act is even illegal. Why punish someone for depositing illegally obtained money? Shouldn’t the illegal act be punishment enough?
For California, money laundering became illegal to help combat organized crime rings. In these crime rings, the lower-ranking people were the ones who would commit the illegal activity and therefore they were the ones who faced the consequences. Meanwhile, the bosses were able to get away with the money and without any consequences.
Making it illegal to handle criminally obtained money made it possible to go after the bosses of criminal organizations.
Penalties for Money Laundering
Money laundering is a wobbler offense under both PC 186.10 and HS 11370.9, meaning it can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony. How exactly it is charged will be dependent on the person’s criminal record and the crime itself.
When either crime is charged as a misdemeanor, the person will face:
- Up to 1 year in county jail.
- A max fine of $1,000.
When PC 186.10 is charged as a felony, a person will face:
- 16 months, 2 years, or 3 years in county jail.
- A max fine of either $250,000 or twice the amount of the money that was laundered, whichever is greater.
The maximum fine for this crime can increase if this is not the first time the person was convicted of money laundering. Also, the maximum prison sentence can increase if the total amount of money laundered was greater than $50,000.
When HS 11370.9 is charged as a felony, a person will face:
- 2, 3, or 4 years in state prison.
- A max fine of either $250,000 or twice the amount of the money that was laundered, whichever is greater.
It’s an Odd but Important Crime
Money laundering is a bit of an odd crime. For starters, it doesn’t involve laundry in any way. Then there is the fact that people are being punished for putting money into a bank account. However, as strange as this may seem, it does make sense. Making this simple act illegal allows law enforcement agents to go after those in charge of different crime organizations. This way, everyone in the criminal organization can get punished, not just those doing the grunt work.
Laws That Minors Can Break but Adults Cannot
Everyone knows what crimes are and what would happen if they were to commit one. This is just something that people learn over time. However, there is something about laws and crimes that people know, without ever really considering. What a lot of adults may not consider, is that there are somethings they can do without fear of breaking a law, while a minor would face legal trouble for doing the same.
What Are Status Offenses?
According to the law, there are plenty of things out there that adults can do, but minors cannot. This leads to an interesting section of the law where things are considered illegal, but only for minors. This means these acts can’t be crimes, because adults can do them pretty much any time they want. This is why the term status offense exists.
A status offense is any activity that a minor could get in trouble for doing simply because of their age at the time of the act. It is estimated that 20% of all juvenile arrests are due to status offenses.
Some of the most common status offenses that a minor can be charged with include:
- Being uncontrollable by parents or guardians.
- Consuming alcohol.
- Consuming marijuana.
- Consuming tobacco.
- Possessing alcohol.
- Possessing marijuana.
- Possessing tobacco.
- Running away.
- Skipping school.
- Violating curfew.
It is easy to see how these kinds of things affect minors, but aren’t a big deal for adults. Most adults don’t have to worry about skipping school or following their parents’ rules anymore.
Why Status Offenses Are a Big Deal
When people began to look closer at status offenses, they noticed the alarming trend that minors who committed status offenses were more likely to commit more delinquent acts in the future. This has led to many states, including California, to adopt programs and strategies aimed at achieving the following:
- Preserving families.
- Ensuring public safety.
- Preventing young people from becoming delinquents.
This is one of the many reasons why, when minors get into trouble they receive lighter penalties. The goal of punishing a minor after committing a crime is to teach them that their behavior was wrong and that they don’t want to commit that type of behavior again.
Penalties for Status Offenses
The penalties that a minor will face for a status defense can vary greatly depending on the minor’s record and the status offense they are being charged with. Some of the common penalties that a minor will face for a status offense include:
- Being required to attend an educational program.
- Being required to attend counseling.
- Having their driver’s license suspended.
- Paying a fine.
- Paying restitutions for any damages.
- Removing the minor from the care of the minor’s parent or guardian.
This is just a small sample of what a minor can face when charged with a status offense, and some of these consequences are more common than others.
Minors Need Different Rules
It’s a bit of an odd thought to realize that minors can get into trouble for doing things that some adults do daily without having to worry about breaking a law. However, many of these status offenses make sense. Kids should be in school, furthering their education so that they have a better chance once they reach adulthood. It wouldn’t make sense for many of these things to be made into crimes for everyone, which is why they are status offenses that only apply to minors.
If You Need Bail Help, You’ve Come to the Right Place
Were you recently surprised by the arrest of a close friend or family member? Are you trying to rescue him or her from jail? If so, you’ve come to the right place. For over 30 years, Absolute Bail Bonds has helped thousands of Californians bail their friends and family members out of jail. Let us help you too.
Here at Absolute Bail Bonds, we know how intimidating and confusing the bail process can be for the first time. This is why our bail agents do everything that they can to help guide you through this. Whenever you need help, whether it is one in the afternoon or four in the morning, you can count on our bail agents to be there for you.
Once you start talking with one of our bail agents, they begin working with you. Just tell our agents your loved one’s name, birthday, and county of arrest. With that information in hand, our bail agents will be able to locate your loved one in the county jail system and begin filling out the paperwork for the bail bond.
Our bail bonds only cost 10% of the bail they are for, and we provide each of our clients with personalized payment plans. These payments plans further reduce the upfront cost of the bail bond, and come with 0% interest. This means that you only have to pay for the bail bond itself, and don’t have to worry about paying extra just to make the bond more affordable.
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- 24/7 Bail bond service
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If you were recently caught off guard by the arrest of a loved one, don’t panic, Absolute Bail Bonds is here to help. We have been helping Californians face bail since 1987 and we can help you to. You will always have a bail agent to talk to and answer your questions. On top of that, you will be provided with a bail bond and payment plan that you can afford.
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What Happens During the Booking Process?
There is a lot about getting arrested that most people don’t know. After all, most people don’t ever plan on getting arrested so why bother learning about something that will never happen. Unfortunately, an arrest isn’t something that can be planned, it just happens. Thousands of people get arrested every single day. Even if you don’t get arrested, one of your loved ones could be.
When a person is arrested, they aren’t sent straight to jail. First, they have to go through the booking process. During this time, information on the person is recorded and put into the system. This way the person can be identified in jail and the future if they ever get into trouble again.
The steps of the booking process are as follows:
- Recording a person’s name and other information.
- Taking a mugshot.
- Confiscating the person’s personal belongings.
- Taking fingerprints.
- Conducting a full-body search.
- Checking for warrants.
- Health screening.
- Checking for any affiliations.
- Taking a DNA sample.
When all of that information has been recorded, the person will be completely booked into the system. Once that happens, the person can be bailed out of jail, provided they have been granted bail. If you are ready to bail your loved one out of jail, then you should contact Absolute Bail Bonds in Los Angeles. We are always there for our clients, no matter what time it may be.
We provide all of the following for our clients:
- 24/7 Bail bond service
- 20% Discount
- Phone approvals
- 0% Interest payment plans
- No hidden fees
- No collateral with working signer
- Se habla Español
A person has to be completely booked into the system before they can be bailed out. Once a person has been booked into the system, you can bet that Absolute Bail Bonds in Los Angeles will be there for you. Our bail agent will be ready to go and will help get your loved one out of jail in no time.