O Happy Day
Today was particularly busy, with inmate arraignments this morning and then bench trials this afternoon. 35 or more guys must have been brought over, and I probably spoke to 20 or so, getting bonds, entering pleas, etc.
But the best part of the day was this afternoon. I had eleven bench trials set. Some were continued to plea calendars, some pled, and a at least one was dismissed.
I did, however, end up trying two.
One fellow is on first offender probation for aggravated assault, and while the subsequent charges were just misdemeanors (marijuana and driving while license suspended) there was potential for the probation officer to cast a dim view on the subsequent charges. I had some prolonged negotiations with the prosecutor over whether notice was properly served on the driving while license suspended charge. In exasperation, I finally said, "Let's just put it up and see what we've got." I ended up getting a directed verdict on both the license charge and the accompanying marijuana charge, because the State failed to prove identity. The prosecutor is new to criminal law and very sharp -- that is the last time I will catch that slip, I am sure.
I also tried a child abandonment case. I detest this charge, because it is basically used as leverage to have the father pay child support. I have been waiting for some time to try one, and this was the perfect test case. My guy was fairly recently released from prison, and landed a good job. He met a woman after his release, and she got pregnant. The relationship ended. I got the impression that my guy didn't want to be involved after the child was born. Paternity was established, and he eventually consented to an income withholding order at the end of October, 2005. Because she hadn't received any support, the mother took out a child abandonment warrant at the beginning of November, 2005, charging that he had abandoned the child for the last 30 days. My guy was catastrophically injured at the end of November, 2005 and hasn't worked since. The Judge ended up acquitting my guy, because it was clear that he hadn't knowingly and willfully abandoned the child. And, I ended up getting the parties together afterwards and they agreed to go to the Social Security office and sign junior up for disability benefits.
That's a good day's work.
But the best part of the day was this afternoon. I had eleven bench trials set. Some were continued to plea calendars, some pled, and a at least one was dismissed.
I did, however, end up trying two.
One fellow is on first offender probation for aggravated assault, and while the subsequent charges were just misdemeanors (marijuana and driving while license suspended) there was potential for the probation officer to cast a dim view on the subsequent charges. I had some prolonged negotiations with the prosecutor over whether notice was properly served on the driving while license suspended charge. In exasperation, I finally said, "Let's just put it up and see what we've got." I ended up getting a directed verdict on both the license charge and the accompanying marijuana charge, because the State failed to prove identity. The prosecutor is new to criminal law and very sharp -- that is the last time I will catch that slip, I am sure.
I also tried a child abandonment case. I detest this charge, because it is basically used as leverage to have the father pay child support. I have been waiting for some time to try one, and this was the perfect test case. My guy was fairly recently released from prison, and landed a good job. He met a woman after his release, and she got pregnant. The relationship ended. I got the impression that my guy didn't want to be involved after the child was born. Paternity was established, and he eventually consented to an income withholding order at the end of October, 2005. Because she hadn't received any support, the mother took out a child abandonment warrant at the beginning of November, 2005, charging that he had abandoned the child for the last 30 days. My guy was catastrophically injured at the end of November, 2005 and hasn't worked since. The Judge ended up acquitting my guy, because it was clear that he hadn't knowingly and willfully abandoned the child. And, I ended up getting the parties together afterwards and they agreed to go to the Social Security office and sign junior up for disability benefits.
That's a good day's work.
posted by swd at 11:06 PM
1 Comments:
Both the civil side and the criminal side accomplish the same thing. The criminal side just has a much bigger stick.
Charging someone with child abandonment raises the possiblity of jail time. Prosecutors have discovered that dead-beat dads often pay up when they are facing jail.
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