Time to Think About it? Plea Bargains and Responses in California Criminal Cases
My clients often come into the office anxious to resolve their cases. They want to be done as quickly as possible with as few court hearings as possible. However, when a settlement offer comes, clients often want to think about it.
I recently had a client come into the office and told me she felt pressured to take a deal by her public defender. She showed up for her arraignment on a multiple count, misdemeanor case and asked for the services of the public defender. The PD met with her and told her client that she was facing 4 years in jail or looking at the possibility of a ten (or more) day trial.
The client was mortified. She was anxious to be done. She didn’t want to come back to court, and she certainly didn’t want to go to jail for four years or suffer through a two week trial. What the public defender didn’t tell her client is that she could have simply postponed the arraignment to have time to think about the settlement. The client could have pled “not guilty” and set the case for a pre-trial conference so that the lawyers could have more time to discuss the case.
What the PD didn’t tell her client was something very significant. The Los Angeles County Jail system has been overwhelmed for decades. Inmates in county jail tend to serve only tiny fractions of their sentences. Felons serve the most time, followed by domestic violence cases. Serving the smallest percentage of time are people convicted of misdemeanors, and even DUI’s.
Next, Penal Code Section 4019 mandates jail credits of 50% for “good time/work time”. This means, an inmate on all but the most serious offenses would NEVER serve over half their sentence. Personally, I have not seen an inmate in county jail serve half their sentence on any charge in the last decade.
So, when my client hears an offer in court and his or her head starts to spin, I can almost always ask for some time to think about the offer. More importantly, I should. This gives my client a chance to calm down. She can think about the offer in a safe environment. She can talk to friends or loved ones about the situation and get trusted advice outside of the courtroom. Then, we can let clearer heads prevail and calmy discuss the case and the benefits of settlement versus the options of going forward.
There are rare cases where decisions have to be made on the spot. The ultimate example of this is when a jury is deliberating in a trial. This is truly the situation nobody wants to be in, but it sometimes comes up. The client has until the jury comes back or less to make a decision that may affect the rest of her life.
Another place where this could come up is during a preliminary hearing. Once the preliminary hearing is over, if probable cause is found to exist by the judge, the court will lose jurisdiction over the case. Thus, if an offer comes up on the day of prelim or during the prelim, a decision must be made quickly by attorney and client.
I find the best way to handle this is to take the client and put them in the most comfortable position I can. Maybe we step outside the building or walk to the courthouse cafeteria. We grab a bottle of water and sit down and talk about our options outside of the courtroom, away from the judge and prosecutor and not in a crowded courthouse hallway full of police officers and others. I then advise my clients on the options of settlement versus moving forward and try to help them make the best decision they can.
Not all but most criminal and DUI cases settle before trial. Some cases take longer and some are faster. Some clients require more attention and some less. It is also important to know that a settlement in one case may be very different then a settlement in another case. One client’s needs or desires may be very different from the next. Will you lose a job or a license? Are you in the military? Do you have immigration concerns? Does mental health play a role? Will the conviction affect your divorce or child custody? Are you concerned about your right to own firearms?
These questions and many more should be discussed with your lawyer early on. And, although every case may not turn out with a perfect result, what is imperative is that your lawyer do everything he can do to achieve results that satisfy the specific needs of their individual client.
Is your lawyer giving your case the time and attention it needs? Did your lawyer ask enough questions and get enough information from you in order to accomplish your goals? If you answered “no” to any of these questions, or if you simply want to speak with a lawyer likes to achieve his client’s goals, call me:
Attorney Jeffrey Vallens (818) 783-5700 or (8-5) 230-361 or email me: vallenslaw@yahoo.com
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