What would you do?

reply to post by ScatterBrain


Today, the case against me has been dismissed.

Honestly, I'd play ball and take the best deal I could get.

Sucks and cowardly - I know - 20 years ago I'd say different but I have a cousin who is still in jail after 20 years for molesting his then girlfriends little girls. They offered him 6 months and therapy/whatever but he (more or less) said "I am 100% innocent and I will never take any deal that requires me to state otherwise" ... cut to less then a year later the little girls real father is accused and convicted of the same crime, plead guilty and was out in 4 months (we're pretty sure he coached his kids into saying it was my cousin or something to divert the authorities from his own actions)

Now my cousin still rots in jail, any and all deals are "off the table" ... he says if he could go back in time he would take the original deal in a second. Hindsight is 20-20 I guess...


BTW - I'd like to say that if there was a good chance of proving my innocence I wouldn't take a deal, only if the odds were against me and it came down to a "he said-she said" scenario.

reply to post by RedParrotHead


Thank you but I just couldn't have been able to sleep at night had I taken a plea. I even tried to wrap my head around a lessor charge and realized It would be telling a lie to do so. I knew that I risked jail and other penalties but those things are much easier to take when you know you did not lie. As I mentioned earlier today, the case has been dismissed. I credit God because he gives the teachings that keep me.
Thanks for the advise everyone, you rock!!

Sorry I didn't find this thread before!

1. Your attorney wasn't going to be paid extra for doing extra work, and so didn't want to do the court appearances. She was basically being forced by her obligations to do pro bono to provide her services at her own cost...

2. Your attorney may have suspected that it would be dismissed. As a rule of thumb, the more your case is delayed, the less likely you are to actually be sentenced. IF the case had been cut and dried, then they'd have run you through the ringer as quickly and economically as possible.

3. I would have advised you to raise cain about your broken ribs. When you are in police custody, they are literally responsible for you. That includes catching you when when you fall, and cannot catch yourself due to your handcuffs. How did they know you were not trying to escape. The fact that you could "fall free of their grasp makes me think that you simply don't remember---or don't want to believe that they tripped you. Why weren't they holding you, if the path was slick? How did they know you weren't making a grab for a gun? Because they pushed you, and you have been trained not to believe that your own memory could be truthful.

At a minimum, that should have been the lead story in the local media. I would have advised you to have a relative do a "press conference" on the jail steps, pointing out everything I just said, and highlighting the social ties between your accuser and the local police department. You can do that without lying, and it will ensure you get a VERY speedy trial.

4. If your lawyer was running for prosecutor, why didn't you contact her opponent? The enemy of my enemy...

5. Don't ever, ever EVER lie in a court of law. NEVER plea guilty if you are innocent. If you are religious, remind yourself that one of the 10 commandments specifically forbids you from bearing false witness--including against yourself. Yes, you could be "put away." And you would not be the last American to be wrongly imprisoned. But once you plea, it is as good as actually having done the crime you admit to.

The fact that they offer you a plea bargain at all says that they had a weak hand.

6. The Legal system is always about money. ALWAYS. I don't even mean that in a bad way. There are some good court officers with the highest of personal values and morals. But they have limited budgets; so they must pick and choose their cases. And they are not going to waste thousands of dollars of their limited resources for the sake of pilloriing someone who might just possibly be somewhat innocent.

I knew of a jurisdiction where they had a percentage of their budget they were willing to spend on a given type of case. For instance, say they were willing to spend 20% of their budget on prosecuting domestic violence. Say that equals $2 million. Now imagine that they have 50 cases. In which case they have $40,000 to spend on your case, Tops.

The cost to hold you in Jail was probably something like $150-$350 per day. Having the medics visit you was probably a thousand; make it twice that for x-rays. The cost of partially paying for your pro bono lawyer was probably $50-100 per hour (which didn't even cover her malpractice insurance plus photocopy fees from the legal library, and so was costing HER money, too). Every continuance was another $50-$100 for your lawyer, and all of it low risk because she didn't actually have to face an opponent in the courtroom arena--she just had to file a motion with the clerk, and do that every week or so while she filed for all of her 20 or so clients.

So, I figure they were invested in you about Five Grand for the first couple of weeks. Now weigh that against another 10-25 grand to actually take it to trial, plus 5 grand if they actually have to hold you in jail and incur the cost of feeding you.

Now, weigh all those costs against 2 variables

A) The chance that one or all of them will get sued for malpractice when you "fell and broke ribs" in their custody. Probably wouldn't amount to much, but even getting the suit dismissed will cost them 5 grand. If you win... the police and jail can be out for ....millions of dollars, and an automatically tight re-election campaign. Even if there is only a 5% chance of you suing, can they afford that risk????

B) The chance that your accuser drops the charges against you after all, and then they've spend 50 grand pursuing you, and didn't get a conviction. A candidate for local office can get elected with those numbers.


In conclusion, I am sad you were injured, and mistreated, when there was no real chance they'd actually have taken you all the way to trial....

God bless you.

reply to post by tovenar


Hi tovenar,

1. Your attorney wasn't going to be paid extra for doing extra work, and so didn't want to do the court appearances. She was basically being forced by her obligations to do pro bono to provide her services at her own cost... 2. Your attorney may have suspected that it would be dismissed. As a rule of thumb, the more your case is delayed, the less likely you are to actually be sentenced. IF the case had been cut and dried, then they'd have run you through the ringer as quickly and economically as possible.

Yes, I understand she was paid by the state $350.00 to handle the case regardless of how much time it would take. Her personality was new to me... I had a friend who felt an internal desire to punish people (which I never understood) but, this was the first time I met someone with the desire and power to do so ...creeped me a bit I must say, I am not able to imagine this kind of mind. She kept trying to get me to accept letting the judge decide rather than a jury..I saw that as shady, and not in my best interest but the courts.

3. I would have advised you to raise cain about your broken ribs. When you are in police custody, they are literally responsible for you. That includes catching you when when you fall, and cannot catch yourself due to your handcuffs. How did they know you were not trying to escape. The fact that you could "fall free of their grasp makes me think that you simply don't remember---or don't want to believe that they tripped you. Why weren't they holding you, if the path was slick? How did they know you weren't making a grab for a gun? Because they pushed you, and you have been trained not to believe that your own memory could be truthful.

Well, I thought about that, but I also know I am not supposed to involve myself in this system if I can help it. It is a small thing compared to my purpose here (I can't explain that, I just know). I was pretty angry and shocked when this happened to me (only because of who it was who caused me to go through this...didn't see it coming). But, I found value in the pain I received from the injury. To me, it lets me know, I am no longer under the obligation that brought me here in the first place. This is good news and something I was recently (before all this happened) praying about in earnest. It may have been the answer to my prayers if that makes sense (I should know soon enough, already other things are happening right now that indicates just that).

No, I don't really think I fell on my own lol... I mean really, it's not like I just learned how to walk ya know. I am aware of the type of officer that arrested me and injured me. He has his purpose and it is not for me to interfere with it. Actually, he is a good indicator of what kind of town "mayberry" is (not as it appears). They said I fell....and we all knew it was a lie. These people are aware and have accepted this in their town, it is a choice. I am a stranger here.

At a minimum, that should have been the lead story in the local media. I would have advised you to have a relative do a "press conference" on the jail steps, pointing out everything I just said, and highlighting the social ties between your accuser and the local police department. You can do that without lying, and it will ensure you get a VERY speedy trial.

I am already pretty sure nothing gets in the press that give the town a poor mark. I see the media here as a tool for the system in place. It is best for me to be gracious about it and let it take its course naturally through the gossip that happens in a town like this. I am sure it is more effective than the local paper.

4. If your lawyer was running for prosecutor, why didn't you contact her opponent? The enemy of my enemy...

I don't think she has an opponent. (go ahead laugh, I did).

5. Don't ever, ever EVER lie in a court of law. NEVER plea guilty if you are innocent. If you are religious, remind yourself that one of the 10 commandments specifically forbids you from bearing false witness--including against yourself. Yes, you could be "put away." And you would not be the last American to be wrongly imprisoned. But once you plea, it is as good as actually having done the crime you admit to.

The idea of telling a lie has not entered my mind. You are preaching to the choir. This world suffers a lot because of deceit. Deception should be the enemy but as you see, it has become a trait many put their faith in. It was deception that lead to this injury. If people would have an ounce of courage and put honesty first, we would all be better for it, in my humble opinion of course.

Thank you for your kind words and educating me on their budget, I didn't know anything about it and well... I only know to stay away from it, if I can avoid it. Peace be with you