Marsy's Law: Acknowledging Victims of Crime & Their Plight in CA's Courts

For many years, our state and others have operated using two primary yet distinct legal tracks: the criminal justice system and civil litigation. Criminal and civil courts both serve two important yet distinct purposes. Criminal court’s primary objective is to preserve justice in the area of crime by prosecuting criminals and perpetrators while civil courts offer a platform for individuals to bring suit for compensation against other individuals or parties that have wronged them, whether negligently or intentionally.

Marsy’s Law, also known as the Victims’ Bill of Rights, was a law passed by the people of California to provide and expand on rights and protections for victims of crime and their families in connection to the perpetrator’s criminal trial. Named after a young female student at University of California Santa Barbara who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend and whose family was forced to suffer through painful parole hearings years after conviction, Marsy’s Law was a constitutional amendment to the State Constitution which gives specific rights to victims of crime including:

• The right to legal standing to be heard and/or represented in the criminal trial
• Protection from the criminal defendant before, during, and after the criminal trial
• Proper information of all judicial proceedings concerning the criminal trial
• Financial and other appropriate restitution

In addition to many other provisions, the law also allows for parole boards far more significant influence on denying parole to certain inmates.

How does Marsy’s Law affect me and my family?

Marsy’s Law is a protection of victims of all crime—not just heinous acts of sexual assault or murder. This includes instances of drunk driving, which often crosses the glass wall of both criminal and civil court proceedings. At Cohn & Swartzon, our attorneys can act as “Marsy’s Law attorneys,” which means that we not only represent victims of injuries caused by crime in a civil court setting for the purpose of recovering compensation, we also advocate on behalf of those same clients in ongoing criminal proceedings concerning the person responsible for their injury.

Our job as your personal injury and Marsy’s Law attorneys is to ensure that your rights and interests are protected in all legal venues. In civil court, this means fighting for maximum recovery in your personal injury case and also ensuring that you and your family are properly and thoroughly represented by appearing on behalf and advocating for you in the criminal proceedings.

If you or a family member has been injured or killed because of someone else’s criminal actions, we want to advocate for your rights on all legal platforms. Contact our firm to learn more about your rights under Marsy’s Law and how our Orange County personal injury attorneys can help you.

FIFA's Headache: Parents & Players File Lawsuit Seeking Rule Changes

This summer, the entire globe enjoyed one of the most popular and cherished events across national borders: FIFA’s World Cup Championship, held this year in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. With Germany taking home the big trophy, soccer fans and players in the U.S. looked towards early Fall for their fix as the local season was set to start again.

Since then, there has been a great deal of discussion surrounding the safety of the sports as the rules stand and whether any changes could be made to protect the players. With the groundbreaking settlement last year involving more than 200 former NFL players, parents, athletes and advocates within other sports are now exploring the possibility of seeking compensation for permanent brain damage caused by sports injuries.

Specifically, a coalition made up of parents and players has filed a class-action lawsuit against futbol international governing body FIFA. The lawsuit concerns the tactics used by FIFA when handling the subject of player concussions and names several American soccer organizations including United States Soccer and the American Youth Soccer Organization. The class-action was filed on Wednesday, August 27, 2014 with the United States District Court in California.

Unlike similar lawsuits against the NFL, NHL and NCAA over concussions, the plaintiffs in the soccer lawsuit are not seeking financial compensation for damages. Rather, they are seeking non-monetary compensation in the form of rule changes on the part of FIFA and the other governing organizations. Their demands include reforms such as:

• Limits on headers for minor players under the age of 17
• Allowing temporary substitutions while a player is being checked for head injury
• Provision of medical testing, retroactive to players injured as long ago as 2002

The league is no stranger to disputes over concussions in the sport. In 2006 it introduced the red card for an elbow to the head among other changes made throughout its history to regulate player behavior more heavily. A spokesman for the organization had no statement to make that Wednesday, as the organization claimed it was still unaware of the suit. Legal experts in the field foresee the primary issue of jurisdiction being the deciding factor in the lawsuit, as FIFA is based in Zurich, Switzerland. The plaintiffs’ counsels are confident, however, that they can show that the organization is still vulnerable to liability because of the association with many American organizations.

NY Times reports the full story here.

Cohn & Swartzon, P.C. is an Orange County based personal injury law firm that helped injured victims of negligence and wrongdoing seek damages for their injuries and other losses. Learn more about the firm by visiting our website today.   

Jason Cohn Is Selected as a 2014 Top Attorney By Avvo

The team at Cohn & Swartzon, P.C. is proud to announce that Attorney Jason Cohn was recently selected as a 2014 Top Attorney by Avvo, which is a lawyer rating service that allows people to connect with qualified legal professionals in their area. Mr. Cohn, who also maintains a 10/10 “Superb” rating on Avvo, has been representing accident victims in Orange County for more than a decade. In that time, he and his partner, Saar Swartzon, have been successful in recovering more than $50 million in damages for the wrongfully injured victims that they represent. 

Not to mention, he has been recognized by a number of other professional organizations for his superior legal abilities, including:

• AV Preeminent™ rating from Martindale-Hubbell®
• Membership in the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum®
• Inclusion on the 2014 Super Lawyers® list

If you are searching for experienced legal counsel in Orange County, CA or a surrounding area, look no further than the dedicated team at Cohn & Swartzon, P.C. With more than 25 years of combined legal experience and an impressive track record of success, both in and out of the courtroom, the firm is more than prepared to fight for the level of compensation that you deserve. Visit their official website to learn more or contact the firm directly at (888) 480-3883 to take advantage of a free initial consultation.

To visit Attorney Jason Cohn’s Avvo profile, click here. 

Cohn & Swartzon Speak at the California State Bar Summit

Jason and Saar at the California Solo & Small Firm Summit

Jason Cohn and Saar Swartzon, the Orange County personal injury lawyers at Cohn & Swartzon, P.C., served as speakers at the State Bar's California Solo & Small Firm Summit. The summit was held from June 19-21, 2014 at Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa. Attorneys Cohn and Swartzon presented two sessions titled "The Business of Law" and "Anatomy of Personal Injury Case." Each of these sessions is worth a 1.0 general MCLE hour.

The summit—which is geared toward solo and small-firm law practitioners and their office staff—provides attendees with legal education classes, networking events and more. Those who take the courses can earn up to 10 hours of minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) credit. In the session titled "The Business of Law," Attorneys Cohn and Swartzon talked about what it takes to successfully run a solo law practice or small law firm as a business. They touched on topics such as creating the mission statement, dealing with financial internal processes, establishing the firm's culture, marketing, networking, etc.

They also advised attendees of the business pitfalls they should avoid. This session was held on Thursday, June 19 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. In the session titled "Anatomy of Personal Injury Case," Attorneys Cohn and Swartzon covered the various aspects of handling a personal injury case, from client screening to litigation. This session was particularly geared toward law practitioners who are not experienced in the field of personal injury law but who have an interest in this area. This session took place on Friday, June 20 from 1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

Attorneys Cohn and Swartzon are two highly qualified personal injury attorneys who have been successful in securing more than $50 million in settlements in verdicts throughout their careers. Because of their high level of legal skill and respect among their professional peers, they have earned numerous honors. Some of these honors include membership in the Million Dollar Advocates Forum® and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum®, selection for the 2014 Super Lawyers® list, AV® Ratings from Martindale-Hubbell® and Avvo Ratings of 10.0 Superb.

Contact Cohn & Swartzon, P.C. for a skilled personal injury attorney who can help you pursue fair compensation after you are wrongfully injured. We offer free initial consultations!