Three Reasons to Consult with an Attorney About a Misdemeanor Charge
Many people associate the need for a criminal defense attorney with those charged with a felony. Thinking the need for legal counsel is not necessary when charged with a misdemeanor. But this is not true, and the consequences can be severe. The following are a few reasons to consider hiring a lawyer for a misdemeanor charge.
It may be possible to have the charges dropped
Depending upon the circumstance of the case, it is possible that your misdemeanor charge can be dismissed. This is especially true if the evidence against you is weak and you have not incriminated yourself in any way. But this is something that you will not be able to achieve yourself. An attorney will have a good idea of the district attorney's chances of winning at trial, and if the chances are weak, it is possible that the charge could be dropped. Sometimes the complainant or a witness will not want to waste their time in court on a violation of the law they deem minor.
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Trials are expensive and the outcomes are never certain. It is possible that a plea bargain can be made that will result in a reduced penalty. Keep in mind that a fine is only one possible penalty. A charge may carry the potential of a jail sentence. Depending upon the charge or charges against you and the laws of the state you are in, a judge is likely to have leeway in the sentencing. By pleading guilty without consulting an attorney, it is possible to get a harsher sentence than you
This is especially true in misdemeanor cases, where many defendants plead guilty. Civil commitment standards and the practice of deinstitutionalization have funneled many people who previously would have been civil patients into criminal courts. As a result, many defendants now evaluated for competency are charged with only minor misdemeanors (Winick 1995). Defendants arrested petty offenses, such as disorderly conduct or shoplifting, can usually plead guilty which usually results in a small fine. However, those defendants are found incompetent to stand trial, they could face months of incarceration in a jail or in a maximum security mental hospital.
When working with a court appointed lawyer you need to research and follow up on guidelines that carry with your charge. You have to learn how the court system works. Lawyers that are hired by the court to represent the low and middle-income people are lazy in doing their job. There are many reasons why court appointed lawyers don't do their best for their clients involving the court cases.
The court system is set up to deter the person specifically from a crime but also as a general deterrent to prevent the public from committing the same crime. With certain crimes, such as impaired driving, an accused may be given a stiffer penalty if found guilty than if taking a plea as the courts will want to prevent others from committing the same act and will give a harsh penalty as a warning to the public that the courts take this offence seriously. If an accused is a repeat offender, their sentence will become increasingly strict as their record lengthens. The courts will want to impose a specific deterrent and will give a harsher punishment as a means to cause the accused think twice about committing the act again. Therefore, pleading down to a lesser charge will help the accused to avoid the harsher
By using plea bargain may be an agreeing to many things. It is very common in a plea bargain with first time offenders that are being accused with a less serious crime to use plead deals, so they can only be sentenced...
If a suspect cannot afford an attorney the courts must appoint one for them, if they face a possibility of imprisonment. Until an attorney is assigned to their case and they have had an opportunity to consult with him, the police may not begin any questioning.
you plead your case, you generally end up paying the fine. This only leads to
The age of the offender determines whether they meet the requirements for a judicial waiver offense. With that said not every state offers all three of the methods a juvenile can qualify for a waiver. In the process of judicial waiver offense the judge takes the final decision on waiving a case. There are other factors that affect the judge’s final decision. Aspects like the criminal history of the offender or the severity of the crime are crucial for the waiver to take place.
The questions for the courts to ponder evolve around the mental state of the juvenile, the potential for physical violence when placed in an adult prison environment, as well as the emotional impact of incarceration with an adult population. Steinberg L, Scott E, 2003).
In today’s society there is a lot of crime going on that involves minors and the first thing that some people do is blame parents for the misbehavior. What if the minor lives in the home with an alcoholic mom, and a drug addict father, and the minor feels as though he/she is in the world alone. The definition of a minor is “an infant or person who is under the age of legal competence”. (http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/minor) The minor starts hanging with the wrong crowd to feel wanted and decides to rob a bank, he goes to jail, and is sentenced to prison. Now there are clearly things that contributed to the way the minor committed this crime but it does not make it okay either. He was not getting any attention at home so he
The ultimate goal of the jurisdiction of the Missouri Courts and the practices discussed in the readings was to decrease the amount of juvenile crime that has been taking place. The jurisdiction of the Missouri courts to hear juvenile cases presumes adolescence “seventeen years of age or younger dealing with guardianship, delinquency, abuse/neglect and protection” (Missouri Revised Statues, 2015). Under the Convention of the Rights for Children, there are articles in which children have the rights to “protection, parental guidance, freedom of expression, right to education, and juvenile justice” (UNICEF). When these rights are violated or non-existent conflict arises in young and older adolescence. They break laws, get anger, and refuse authority
Like many in Florida, you may believe that first time driving under the influence, or DUI, charges are typically misdemeanor offenses. If you have been charged with drunk driving, however, you may know that a DUI offense may by upgraded to a felony. Felony offenses typically carry much harsher penalties than misdemeanors. To help protect yourself from heightened charges, it is helpful to understand when drunk driving charges become felony level offenses in the state of Florida.
This tends to happen when an individual feels they are being watched, investigated, or sometimes they have already been arrested. There are many different reasons that an individual would hire a criminal defense lawyer. One of the many reasons is so that the criminal defense lawyer can help with counsel and represent the client when dealing with investigators, or the police. Another common reason for hiring a criminal defense lawyer is so that the lawyer can conduct an investigation of their own, and therefore have the ability to present substantial evidence that refutes the potential charges being pressed by the prosecutor. These are only some of the reasons a criminal defense lawyer is needed. There are many more reasons as well. I personally believe that some criminal defense lawyers have done an exceptional job at doing the very things their client hired them to do.
The youth’s lawyer will help defend them when needed. Once in court, the youth and their lawyer may be given evidence on their own behalf. Youth don’t have to speak in court because everyone is innocent until proven guilty. The judge will not hold the youth’s silence against them. After all the witnesses in the court have given their evidence the judge will make a decision whether they are guilty or not guilty. While this may be the first time the youth has attended court, the court clerk will call all the charges against you. From 1997 to 2015 students in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were tested for drugs and through hair samples and over 2,300 students were investigated positive. (Karissa Donkin, Discredited Drug Testing Used in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick." CBC News, New Brunswick.) Many of these students went to a court order for their actions but some others didn’t because other factors made up the lawyer’s decision whether to take the
In Tom Barret’s case, he ended up in jail three times for stealing a $2 dollar can of beer, and not paying the ticket for his action on time. As outrageous as it may seem, to the court that’s a very serious offense. Meaning that his actions were most likely labeled under “violent crime”, which would mean he’d have to be “using force” or “proposing some kind of threat”. Which he wasn’t, but obviously it was so serious that he had to be arrested multiple times for it. Like Tom Barret’s incident, Harriet Cleveland lost practically everything due to owing a ticket.
Choosing the right criminal defense firm to represent you when you are charged with a criminal defense can be hard. When you are charged with a criminal defense, it means that you have breached common law and it is the government that is bringing the legal action against you. When you are accused of a criminal crime, you could face penalties that range from a fine to going to jail or prison. In some cases, you could even lose your life if convicted. Some examples of criminal offenses can include: