Ask HN: I need legal advice
In march I was with a white female late night 1am went to the store to buy alcohol but she ended up stealing 3 vodkas from a local grocery store and she ran out with the alcohols while the manager and the workers took picture of us and my car.
The store camera has pictures of her stealing alcohol. While we were leaving the store the store works ran at us and in panic I got scared and yelled I have a gun back up. 2 witness heard me say that. I didn't hurt anyone or take anything but I did say I had a gun even though I really didn't have a gun just trying to scare them away. The girl left town and never coming back but now I'm being charged with this felony. I was given a felony dismissal date to reduce it down to a charge of just a Assault 4 gross misdemeanor. Should I take it to trial or take the felony dismissal? I can't afford a good lawyer and my public defender is saying it's risky to go to trial even though no one got hurt and I didn't steal anything it's clearly in the pictures the manager took that the girl stole..
I also don't have a criminal record besides an assault charge back in 2007 when I was a juvi.
12 comments
[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 32.0 ms ] threadI am not a lawyer. But you are better off taking the deal if you can't afford a lawyer. You won't beat it going to trial.
Keep in mind 2 witnesses heard you say " stay back, I have a gun". What defense do you you have for that?
There are consequences for such actions even if there was not a gun present. If you think by going to trial, you are going to beat it you'd be surprised. So listen to your public defender or get a good lawyer.
Having a criminal record almost certainly won't get you a job.
That being said, different criminal records may differ significantly in how much they hurt the ability of your education and experience to get you a job.
> Gross misdemeanor and a felony both look bad on background checks at least trial I have a chance to beat it all.
Well, I'm not sure of the specific state or specific law the charges are under, and IANAL, but it sounds from your description like it is quite likely that there is fairly damning evidence for the prosecution and not a lot you have to offer against it. So, while in theory its possible for you to get a not-guilty verdict at trial -- juries can do pretty much anything -- it doesn't seem like its a great gamble. And while neither offense is going to look good on a criminal background check, presumably the felony all comes with greater potential incarceration time (and quite possibly imprisonment under worse conditions) and other disadvantages; that shouldn't be disregarded.
But, really, the legal advice you are getting from your public defender is probably vastly better than any you'll get here.
> even though no one got hurt
It sounds like you committed multiple crimes, regardless of whether anyone got hurt. Where is there any room for you to argue against the charges?
Your public defender might not be an expensive "good" lawyer, but this is a clear-cut situation. Your options are to:
1) take advice from a bunch of random people on the internet
2) take a lawyer's advice
My suggestion is go with #2, no matter how "bad" that lawyer might be. S/he certainly has more experience (and knowledge of the situation) than pretty much anyone on HN. It's kinda weird that you ended up here to ask for advice at all...
1. You have admitted you were present for the crime and that you yelled you had a deadly weapon. Even if you have denied making this statement up until this point, there is a good chance if this case goes to trial, the prosecutor will dig up the admission some way or some how, increasing your chances of conviction.
2. What do you gain by going to trial? You have admitted guilt so there is little chance the jury will say forget about it, let this guy go. Worse case they will sentence you to the fullest for the crime, but most likely you will get minimum based on the crime, which in your case sounds like a felony.
3. Personally I would take the plea deal. You are going from a felony to a misdemeanor. In many states it is a whole lot easier to expunge or seal a misdemeanor than a felony down the road. A misdemeanor also, in most cases, will allow you to keep all your rights.
4. If you can afford an attorney, hire an attorney. Most public defenders (PD) are overworked and underpaid, and unless your case has some reason to stand out the unfortunate fact is that it will be one in a pile on someone's desk. Not to underestimate a PD, but there may be other options that an attorney with more time to review the case could find. If you have no adult criminal record you may also be able to plead guilty but have adjudication withheld. Essentially this means you admit guilt, the judge will sentence you of the crime, but if you complete your sentence it will not be viewed as having a criminal conviction and you will not lose your rights.
5. If you are honestly concerned about your criminal record, do you know how to get a hold of the girl? You may try to work a deal where your charges are dropped, or reduced further, if you are able to get the girl to turn herself in or point the police to where she currently is. People may call you a rat or snitch, whatever. This isn't about what someone thinks of you. You are facing real penalties and the possibility of doing jail time. In the end it is your future and you have only yourself to look out for.
Again, not a lawyer, but I have walked in your shoes to some extent.
plus if the girl turns herself in how would that help me? I'm being charged with assault not her.
As for the girl turning herself in, if she is the one that actually committed the theft she may be worth more to the prosecutors in terms of conviction than your assault charge. Just like a getaway driver turning in the bank robber. The bank robber is who they really want, and in most cases they will let the getaway driver off with a slap on the wrist if they help get the bank robber convicted.
I can't reiterate enough though that I am not a lawyer, not familiar with your case, and this by no means legal advice by any stretch. The only honest, been there done that, advice I can give you at this point is that in situations like this you need to step back and assess the direction you are headed. If you are truly remorseful, this was a slip in judgment, and you are honestly wanting to get your life headed in the right direction, you need to remove yourself from your current circles. Snitches get stitches is all fine and great when all you aspire to is life on the streets or in jail, but if you want to change for the better you have to look out for yourself first. That means taking actions that can be difficult at times, like completely dropping the circle of people you hangout with (they aren't your friends if they are robbing stores when you are with them) or moving out of the area.
I suppose it is possible that you might get lenient treatment if you were exceptionally remorseful and contrite. Maybe. Or maybe the judge or jury will feel that "We Need To Send a Message."
You claim that you "didn't take anything." But (apparently) you are not being charged with the robbery. So you are in agreement with the Cops / Prosecutor on this. You seem perhaps to think that the assault charge is about the robbery (yes?) but it looks to me that the assault charge is about the threat to use deadly force ("I have a gun!") You should get this clarified with your lawyer. You should also know the differences in sentencing levels between "Assault 3" and "Assault 4."
Even if you did not really have a gun and did not physically harm anyone, the law may still consider that you committed Assault. It sounds like you are not being charged with the robbery... well, that's something good for you. But you were "involved" in a robbery and when the victims of that robbery pursued you, you shouted out that you had a gun. Have you gone on record agreeing to that?
If you haven't gone on record admitting that you shouted out that you had a gun, you could try lying under oath and claim that you did NOT say such a thing. And face two witnesses who will swear that you did say that. That might not work out well for you.
If you did claim to have a gun (even though you did not), in that situation the law might assume that the victims felt (or any ordinary person would feel) threatened. Such a threat might be classified as Assault.
The fact that you were charged with (felony) THIRD degree assault, with an offer to reduce it to "Assault 4 gross misdemeanor" suggests that somebody either is willing to give you a bit of a break (!?), or they figure that going to trial, and succeeding, with the 3rd degree assault charge might be difficult. (Why not charge you with FIRST, or SECOND degree assault... hey, you could be in a worse position than you are!)
So...
Go to trial and lose: you have a felony on your record. I think this is Bad.
Go to trial and get more leniency than the reduced charge offer... you'd be ahead. What would need to happen for you to get that better deal? How likely is that to happen?
If you take the offer: you have a "gross misdemeanor" on your record. (I'm guessing that's less bad than a felony but I don't actually understand the difference.)
Does your lawyer think you have any additional wiggle room? If you overflow with remorse, contrition and abject apologies... could you get 6 months of community service instead? Or something?
That's all I have for now.