Mark A. Broughton's Answers

Can the prosecution get evidence suppressed, or can only the defense do that

The defense does have disclosure obligations under the discovery statutes. If the evidence is going to be used at trial, the defense may have to disclose it prior to trial or the prosecution may be able to have it "excluded" from the trial, or some other less onerous remedy. Exclusion is not the same as suppression, as pointed out, but the defense is not entitled to avoid statutory procedures and sandbag the prosecutor (unless you have a very schrewd attorney and the right situation!)

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Can I have my record cleared sooner?

Yes, tou can ask the judge for an early termination of your probation under these circumstances. There is no guarantee that your request will be granted because part of the reason for probation's that you remain law-abiding for a specific period of time. The fact that you have hastened your probationary obligations bodes well for you. Good luck!

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Turning in a 22 year old for possible statutory rape, will he be charged?

Once you contact the police they will conduct an investigation - talk to you, the girl, her parents, and the boy, if he'll talk to them. They could arrest him if they feel that they have enough evidence, or they can submit the case to the district attorney who ultimately make the decision to file or not to file charges. I'm curious, though - have you contacted the girl's parents? That might be the first place to start. They may approve of the relationship; or they might not know what is going...

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If I enter a drug treatment program prior to my next court date without the judges consent would that bad?

The judge will want you to get help with you drug use issues, but working it with the requirements of the drug laws and procedures is the key to your court case. Depending on your circumstances, you may qualify for drug diversion or "prop 36" treatment, which will require court and probation participation. Your program may or may not qualify. Unless the court orders you into a program you may not get full "credit" for it. There are ways an experienced criminal defense attorney can coordinate...

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Is it possible to get a temporary licence to show the court if you are just starting to make payments on 2 failure to appear

Quite a mess. You are going to have to clear your FTAs. The court notifies DMV when you fail to appear and a hold is placed on tour license. So, you need to go to the court, have the cases placed on the court's calendar, show up on the scheduled date and take care of the cases. You can't just pay a FTA unless you were convicted of a crime of FTA and given a fine. If you have unpaid fines or traffic ticket you are going to have to pay them off as well. Bottom line: you are going to have to...

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What happens if i don't show for booking? (petty theft, 484pc.arrested/cited)

My guess is that the citation gave you a court date, not a booking date. "Booking required" is a notice to the court that you were not booked, only cited. If you are convicted - or granted diversion- you will be ordered by the court to get booked, which is basically having your fingerprints and photograph taken and gather some pertinent information. It is a short process. If you don't show up to court a warrant will be issued - not good for many reasons. So show up and I'll bet things will work out.

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Statute of limitations (criminal) If a case has been filed does that mean the statute of limitations has been "tolled"?

I'm going to answer this a little differently. Sometimes, a case is filed within the statute of limitations but the defendant isn't served with it or is otherwise unaware of it for many years. Perhaps a warrant was issued and never served. Later, he/she is arrested on the warrant, or fimds out about the case and wants to get it resolved. In these situations the defense is not that the charges were not filed in time but that your rights to a speedy trial were violated. There are some...

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How likely would it be for a marijuana possesion charge of 5-50 lbs to be charged if the passenger took the blame?

It is going to be a little difficult to convince a prosecutor, or a jury, that you didn't know 10 pounds of marijuana was in the car you were driving. This is a commonly told story. The specific facts, as in where it was located, how it was packaged, why you were traveling from California to Michigan, will all be important. Your good record will come in handy, though, in plea bargaining and if you are convicted, at the time of sentencing. I agree with previous answers that you need a good...

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How long will my brother get for all this charges ? and what can i do to help?

The simple answer is life in prison if he is an adult or a minor tried as an adult, which is really all that can be said without more information. If I was to guess, this looks like a gang-related drive-by in which someone was killed, and two others were at least in the "target zone," by the use of a semi-automatic firearm. A first degree murder with the use of a gun will boils down to 50 years to life (25-L for each); then, to figure out the additional punishments that can be imposed, one...

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Ex girlfriend filed complaint, now police say i could face criminal threats charge. i have no history of violent crimes

You put way too much information on line for your own good, to be sure. The words used and their potential effect are very important here. I would disagree slightly with the previous answer in this regard: consult with an attorney now, or at least before the case gets filed. The attorney can talk to the filing deputy district attorney and/or investigator before it gets filed, discuss resolution (including explaining your Aspergers situation, which may or may not be a defense if the case is...

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