Home > Research Legal Advice > Criminal Defense > My boyfriend is in for DUI Murder. He has an offer to settle it but his ...
Asked over 1 year ago - Los Angeles, CA
Flag
My boyfriend was in an car accident. The other guy died and his friend told police he had been drinking alot. They caught him later and charged him with Murder. He has a PD who doesnt spend alot of time with him. My boyfriend has been in jail for a year and 8 months now. Today they offered to drop the Murder charge if he takes 10 years on Manslaughter.
He doesn't know what to do since the PD won't tell him how much time he will really do. He has never been in Jail for anything.
He's going to have to work this out with his PD. Nobody on this forum knows as much about his case as his PD does. I doubt very seriously that his PD will refuse to tell him his exposure if asked a direct question.
If the PD does refuse your husband should make a Marsden to have the PD replaced. His grounds will have to be that he is not receiving adequate representation through his counsel and he will have to tell the judge what you have said here. It is impossible to say whether the motion will be granted.
I agree with Mr. Kaman without more knowledge of the case and his criminal history it would be difficult to give you an exact number. The PD should be able to get a close number. PD’s are not known for their hand holding and if that is what you both are looking for hire a private attorney. The PD is required to represent the client; that does not mean they need to market or sell themselves to the client.
Robert Driessen
Thanks for your posting.
The answer to your question is that it might be fruitful to speak to a supervisor at the Public Defender's office if you don't feel that there is good communication, for any reason, regarding this case. It's serious enough that, as you can understand, your boyfriend will want someone who can explain everything before he makes an informed decision, assuming you don't want a private lawyer.
I hope that this helps, but please feel free to ask if you have any further questions. It's my pleasure to help in any way that I can. All the best to you.
Don't speak legalese? We define thousands of terms in plain English.
Browse our legal dictionary