Oroville, CA
Criminal defense Lawyer at Oroville, CA
Practice Areas: Criminal Defense, DUI & DWI, Juvenile
OUTCOME: NOT GUILTY of felony, Guilty of misdemeanor only.
Client in a four-defendant jail fight case found NOT GUILTY on felony charges, convicted of one misdemeanor, released from jail the same night. He had been facing ten years in state prison due to a pri ... or "strike" conviction and prison terms.
OUTCOME: Full acquittal -- Felony Assault
CHICO ENTERPRISE-RECORD Jury finds man not guilty for August guitar attack in Chico By RYAN OLSON-Staff Writer Posted: 10/26/2013 OROVILLE — A 21-year-old man has been acquitted for an Aug. ... 1 incident in downtown Chico where he used a guitar to reportedly fend off an attack. After deliberating for more than five hours Friday, a Butte County Superior Court jury found Jacob Keith Miller not guilty of a felony count of battery with serious bodily injury. The panel of seven women and five men also considered and acquitted the defendant of lesser-included counts of misdemeanor assault and battery. When the incident was first reported, Chico police responded to a 28-year-old man lying on the sidewalk on the 100 block of East Second Street. He had suffered a head wound and lost consciousness. Miller was arrested a short distance away. Outside of court, defense attorney Robert Marshall said the evidence included photos showing a three-centimeter-long laceration on the complaining witness' head. He said photos of people bleeding can generate sympathy when they're shown in court. "I'm glad the jurors got beyond that and looked at the facts," Marshall said. During closing arguments Friday, he said Miller was seeking a place to stay the night because he was unable to return to his grandparents' residence in Willows where he was staying. Miller encountered the 28-year-old man, who was acting drunk and belligerent. When the man attacked Miller, Marshall said the defendant had to use his 1982 Aria Dreadnought acoustic guitar to defend himself. He said both individuals were swinging and the 28-year-old continued being aggressive after the first guitar swing. After the incident, Miller went to a nearby convenience store and waited for officials. In addition to claiming self-defense, Marshall argued the 28-year-old man's injury didn't meet the legal definition of serious. He said being unconscious for about eight minutes isn't like being in a coma. Deputy district attorney Erika Romo argued it was time for Miller to face justice for his actions. "The defendant made a poor choice that day," she said. Romo noted inconsistencies in Miller's version of events at the scene and on the stand when he testified Tuesday. She said he said on the stand he was approached by two men and a woman, but he didn't say that at the scene. Miller also testified he lost his glasses, but there was no sign of them at the scene. The prosecutor said self-defense was applicable if the defendant used only reasonable force. The right to self-defense ends when the assailant is incapacitated. Romo said the 28-year-old began to withdraw after the first guitar strike and was later unconscious. Regarding the seriousness of the injury, Romo argued the law applied to any loss of consciousness. She also asserted that the head wound was serious and more than a mere razor cut. As a result of his acquittal, Miller has been released from custody, online jail records show.
OUTCOME: Not guilty on all counts
Justice (a very fitting name!) was a young man charged with two counts of Penal Code 243, assault with great bodily injury, after a fight at a party. He also had two prior "strike" convictions, so he w ... as looking at a sentence of 55 years to life. The District Attorney's "offer" would have made him eligible for parole when he was 65, but there was no guarantee he would ever get out of prison. In closing argument, I asked the jury to consider deliberating in two steps. First of all, the other guys weren't hurt badly enough to constitute "great bodily injury" so the DA didn't prove that essential element for a felony conviction. After deciding he wasn't guilty of a felony, I encouraged them to consider the evidence of self defense we presented. The other guys were the aggressors, and Justice happened to end the fight with a couple of lucky punches. That meant they had to acquit Justice on the two lesser misdemeanor battery counts, too. I was sweating when the clerk read the "not guilty" verdict on the first felony count. Although I felt a little relief when I heard "not guilty" on the lesser misdemeanor, I couldn't relax until I head the verdict on the second felony, since he was still facing the possibility of 30 years to life. Then we heard the "not guilty" verdict on the second felony, and I felt a wave of relief. The acquittal on the second misdemeanor was the icing on the cake! The jury foreman told me they'd followed my advice.