Greg Hill & Associates

10/18/2026

On this Day in Criminal History: On October 18, 2005, a U.S. District Court in San Francisco sentenced Victor Conte, founder of BALCO lab in Burlingame, to federal prison and house arrest for conspiracy to distribute steroids to professional athletes, including San Francisco Giants baseball superstar Barry Bonds. His distribution of steroids was first revealed by Scott Reid, a Palos Verdes Estates resident (and all-around good guy), while working for the Orange County Register.

Pursuant to a plea bargain struck with prosecutors, he entered guilty pleas in July 2005 to one count of conspiracy to distribute steroids and a second count of laundering a portion of a check. He was sentenced in October to spend four months in the federal Taft Correctional Institution in Taft, California, and another four on house arrest.

In December 2004, he participated in an interview with Martin Bashir on ABC's 20/20 program, where he admitted to running doping programs, which have broken Olympic records, as well as revealing that: "The whole history of the games is just full of corruption, cover-up, performance-enhancing drug use."

In the interview he implicated, among others, five-time Olympic gold medalist Marion Jones and her then-partner Tim Montgomery, Kelli White (who later admitted using performance-enhancing drugs), British athlete Dwain Chambers, and NFL player Bill Romanowski.

Victor Conte says he suspects that Usain Bolt and the Jamaican Olym...

10/17/2026

On this Day in Criminal Law History: On October 17, 1931, mobster Al Capone was convicted in Chicago of income tax evasion and sentenced to eleven years in federal prison. He was released in 1939.

Do you know why got the nickname ? We look at th...

10/16/2026

On this Day in California Criminal Law History, the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District (Division Three) (photo below) decided Tran v. Superior Court (2001) 92 Cal. App. 4th 1149, holding that a defendant who is otherwise entitled to a court-appointed attorney and payment of ancillary fees (i.e., expert witness fees) does not lose that right if someone else (i.e., a family member or friend) pays for an attorney.

This has arisen in our practice when we are retained to represent a person in prison who qualifies for augmentation of their court file (and C-file) for a Youth Offender Parole Hearing under People v. Franklin. The judge assigned to the case can then sign an order permitting the county to pay for a "Franklin expert" even when the family privately retained our office.

10/15/2026

On This Day in Legal History 56 Years Ago: On October 15, 1970, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act was enacted by § 901(a) of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970. It is codified at 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961 – 1968. It was signed into law by then-President Richard M. Nixon. This law has been used in many contexts, including to prosecute criminal street gang members and white collar criminals., including, most recently, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs. Greg Hill of our office had a copyright infringement case involving Mr. Combs' case, Sean John jeans, and took several trips to New York City for depositions of his employees there.

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) is a ...

10/14/2026

On this Day in United States Track and Field History, on October 14, 1964, Billy Mills unbelievably won the 10,000 meters in a wild sprint that remains one of biggest Olympic upsets ever. No one expected Mills to win except, perhaps, Mills himself.

📺 Re-live ALL the incredible action ➡️ https://go.olympi...

10/13/2026

On this Day in California History: On October 13, 1942, the Tanforan Detention Camp, on the San Francisco peninsula, closed. This detention camp was part of the mass incarceration of 97,785 Californians of Japanese ancestry during World War II. Today the site is a shopping center.

The free admission "Sansei Granddaughters' Journey: From Remembranc...

10/12/2026

This Day in U.S History: The U.S. Navy was born in 1775.

10/11/2026

On this Day in Los Angeles Legal History Eight Years Ago: On October 11, 2018, Rene C. Gilbertson was appointed a judge by Governor Jerry Brown after being elected in the primary election on June 5, 2018. She is currently assigned to the Norwalk Courthouse (photo below), but she spent several years in the Torrance Courthouse. Everyone appreciates her humble, patient and respectful approach to all people in her courtroom. She earned her bachelor’s degree and law degree from Wake Forest University in North Carolina and then was admitted to practice in California in November 1994. Her daughter Taylor is now a new Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles County in the Airport Courthouse. She has the same demeanor as her mom and will do well.

10/10/2026

On this Day in California Criminal Law History in 1967, the California Supreme Court (photo below) set forth the legal standard still applicable today for sufficient probable cause required to be shown at a preliminary hearing. The case was Rideout v. Superior Court (1967) 67 Cal. 2d 471, at p. 474, 62 Cal. Rptr. 581, wherein the state’s highest court held, “Evidence that will justify a prosecution need not be sufficient to support a conviction. Probable cause is shown if a man of ordinary caution or prudence would be led to believe and conscientiously entertain a strong suspicion of the guilt of the accused. An information will not be set aside or a prosecution thereon prohibited if there is some rationale ground for assuming the possibility that an offense has been committed and the accused is guilty of it.”

10/09/2026

On This Day in Legal History: On October 9,1949, 77 years ago, Harvard Law School begins admitting women.

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