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Criminal Defense
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You have been arrested. You are in shock, it has never happened before, you are embarrassed, or may be you are just thinking how you are going to get out of this one, how to get out of jail and how much it is going to cost you (not to mention how much time you may have to serve) or, more seriously, how this arrest going to impact your immigration status. Do not despair, in the United States you are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Lets start from the beginning, if a police officer detains you or stops you for a period of time without an accusation; it is not an arrest, even if your freedom was limited for a period of time. On the other hand, just because a police office lets you go free without bringing you to jail with a traffic ticket or a summons to come to court; that is an arrest. In the worst case scenario, the police officer brings you to a police station or a precinct and "books" you which mean you will have to be in jail unless and until you post a police bond or will see a judge at your arraignment who will determine the amount of your bail. By having a relative or friend post your bail (assuming you can do so yourself), you will be released and ordered to come to court on the next scheduled date.
At the arraignment, the judge will determine if you have a lawyer and if you can not afford one, will appoint one to represent you for free. Just like in any culture, there are many different proverbs in America. Two of them are "you get what you paid for" and "there is no such thing as a free lunch". That does not mean that every court appointed lawyer is bad, but they are all overworked and underpaid and do not wish to step on prosecutors' toes if they do not have to. You are better off scraping as much as you can and hire the best criminal defense lawyer you can afford. O. J. Simpson did and build a dream team which got him the freedom that our justice system said he deserved. Your case, is probably more simple. You have not been indicted for a crime of murder (more on that later).
Most likely store security accused you of shoplifting or you were driving after drinking; perhaps you got into a fight, or the police said you possessed something you should not have on you, in your car nor your home (but it was your friends and you knew nothing about it). You have a court date and a green card. You want to keep both. Hire the best lawyer you can afford who will spend some time with you and research your case. Your lawyer will find equities (facts which are favorable to you) and present then to the prosecutor assigned to your case. If the prosecutor is stubborn or less sympathetic to your equities than he or she should have been; then your privately retained lawyer will fight more aggressively for your rights and will not accept the first available plea bargain. Perhaps, you lawyer will threaten to go to trial or present some other and additional equities in your case which will force the prosecutor to reconsider and make a better offer.
The best you can do is to dismiss the charges out right. It is not always possible even in cases where you may be innocent. It is your lawyer's job to convince the prosecutor to make a motion for adjournment in contemplation of dismissal also known as ACD. It is almost a dismissal (but not on the merits) and it is done automatically within six months of making of the deal and the prosecutor's motion. Sometimes, you have to perform some community service for that which is a number of hours of volunteer work requested by the prosecutor or you may have to attend a class on anger management or enter into some rehab or counseling program if the facts of your case warrant it. Do it, comply with all the conditions and hope that you will pass the interview for the green card or citizenship. In most cases, with this type of disposition you should be able to, although drug and prostitution are more problematic.
In more serious cases, you should have an experienced criminal defense lawyer who you trust. You may be facing a fraud or other serious charge in a Federal District Court and may not have the funds to get an expensive private lawyer. Do not despair. Court assigned lawyers in federal District Court are better trained and paid then their state counterparts and in most cases can handle any defense task which you may face. Here, the situation get s reversed; if you are going to a private lawyer make sure he or she has experience in the type of case you are facing or the federal prosecution will squash them like a bug. Consider deportation proceedings which are almost certain to take place parallel or subsequent to your criminal prosecution. Are you willing to take a risk on doing more time by turning the plea bargain down if such a deal lands you in an immigration jail and plane back to your home country? Because that is what is going to happen unless you will be exonerated completely or will successfully conclude a plea bargaining agreement which will not be considered a plea to an aggravated felony in an immigration court and result in you deportation.
You are presumed to be innocent but even if there is some evidence of your guilt, a good experience criminal defense lawyer may make all the difference in the world with twelve jurors. Have faith in the system and you should prevail or at least be found not guilty of exaggerated charges and may have a reasonable chance of keeping your green card.
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