Client was placed on probation for drug possession and was granted court diversion. My client failed to report to probation officer and to get tested for drug use. She communicated her fear of being ta...ken into custody if her probation officer filed a probation violation petition.
Therefore, the minute my client retained me, I contacted her probation officer to explain to him my client's reasons for violating the terms of her probation. I explained to him that she was not violating her probation intentionally, and that she deserved another chance. The officer intended to take my client into custody. However, after our conversation, the officer decided not to file a probation violation petition for my client.
DUI and DWI
No Jail Time, No Deportation & No Home Confinement For Client In DUI Case
Nov 12, 2013
OUTCOME: No Jail Time, No Deportation & Not Home Confinement For Client
My client was facing charges for driving under the influence. Unfortunately, my client had a previous DUI and a previous felony conviction. Even worse, the current case involved a collision, and his BA...C level was 0.21. During the case, I tried to get my client home confinement as he is undocumented and could face deportation if sentenced to jail. However, although home confinement was allowed, my client did not want to follow through with it because of the high cost associated with home confinement. On the day of my client's surrender to the jail, we wanted to try one more thing to avoid jail time, and my client was allowed to do community service instead of jail time. He avoided jail time, deportation, and home confinement!
Criminal defense
Client Avoids Jail Time & Home Confinement
Oct 10, 2013
OUTCOME: No Jail Time, No Home Confinement For Client
My client was supposed to serve 120 days in jail. However, he was allowed home confinement and was given 45 days to sign up for home confinement or to surrender himself to jail. My client was unable to... sign up for home confinement in the time allotted and needed an extension. However, the judge was refusing to extend my client's surrender date. I explained to the judge that my client and his wife were expecting their second child, and he was working at a decent job that provided him and his family with good medical insurance. I explained to the judge that if my client was taken to jail, he would lose his job, medical insurance, and opportunity to see his child be born. In addition, the medical care for the mother would have been paid out of pocket without medical insurance.
The judge considered our request, and he allowed my client to remain out of jail pending completion of 8 hours of community service per week for 9 months. The judge stated that he did not like home confinement because a person just pays money to a private company to be confined to a home. The judge wanted client to do something more proactive like community service. The client was happy that he was allowed to stay out of jail and not have to do home confinement. All he had to do was 8 hours of community service per week for 9 months. The judge ordered client to return to court 9 months later and show proof of all hours.
After 9 months, client goes to court on his own to show proof of all the hours and more. Client actually went above and beyond the hours he was supposed to do. However, the court was confused and did not remember if the community service would cover the 120 days jail time, or whether the community service my client completed was to allow him to remain out of jail to keep his medical insurance and to see his newborn baby.
Court sets a court date ordering his attorney and the district attorney to appear. I emailed the district attorney prior to the court hearing to remind her that the community service was to be completed in lieu of the jail time, and NO JAIL TIME was to be owed. The district attorney replied and said that the judge stayed the jail time to accommodate our client, but the jail time was still owed. The district attorney stated that the client plead guilty to a district attorney’s offer, and the district attorney did not agree to vacate the jail time. The district attorney also said that she is no longer in that court, and the new district attorney will have to refer to the notes and see what was agreed upon 9 months previously.
I appeared in court, and the new district attorney and I spoke with the judge. The judge asked about the district attorney who made the deal. I told the judge that she is working in another court. The judge asked the new district attorney what the notes in the file said. The district attorney could not find any notes in the file regarding the jail time. I told the judge what he had ordered 9 months previously. I also quoted the judge about what he said regarding not liking home confinement because all you did was pay a private company, and that the judge preferred that the client did something more proactive like community service. The judge then said, “That sounds exactly like something I would say.”
The Judge then agreed with me that the client’s completion of the community service would satisfy any future jail time. The judge asked the district attorney if he objected, and the district attorney said no because the notes in the file did not mention anything about the jail time being vacated. My CLIENT WAS HAPPY and client walked out of the court room and went home.
