Sentencing, Plea Bargains Altering a check

[pink4lifejw]

My question is ; if i used whiteout on a check that belonged to my mother-in-law , covering the amount of check and rewriting amount over what she had wrote because it was unlegible, my mother in law signed the check and that was not altered. Is that considered forgery? She is denying the check was signed by her stating that i stole the check out of her purse ,which i didnot. I was arrested and spent 1 night in jail pleading guilty to altering a check but the next day the county attorney changed the charge to forgery, now im waiting for a new sentence and the charge will depend on my background check , which worries me because i am a convicted felon.my court app attorney is doing nothing to help me prove my innocense on the signature on the check or the fact that my mother in law signed and permitted me to use the check for groceries,noting that she lived with me at the time and had cashed many of her checks that could be verified if the county attorney or my public attorney would pull up my mother in laws bank statements. I have since kicked her out of my home and she did not file this charge until almost a month later out of retaliation.

 

[Proserpina]

And the reason why she didn't simply write a new check is..... ?

 

[army judge]

My question is ; if i used whiteout on a check that belonged to my mother-in-law , covering the amount of check and rewriting amount over what she had wrote because it was unlegible, my mother in law signed the check and that was not altered. Is that considered forgery? She is denying the check was signed by her stating that i stole the check out of her purse ,which i didnot. I was arrested and spent 1 night in jail pleading guilty to altering a check but the next day the county attorney changed the charge to forgery, now im waiting for a new sentence and the charge will depend on my background check , which worries me because i am a convicted felon.my court app attorney is doing nothing to help me prove my innocense on the signature on the check or the fact that my mother in law signed and permitted me to use the check for groceries,noting that she lived with me at the time and had cashed many of her checks that could be verified if the county attorney or my public attorney would pull up my mother in laws bank statements. I have since kicked her out of my home and she did not file this charge until almost a month later out of retaliation.

I'm going to do a very rare thing.
I'm going to dispense legal advice.
Before you ask, YES, I'm licensed to practice law in Iowa.
Heck, I graduated from one of the two law schools in Iowa. LOL
OKAY, my serious reply.

A criminal defendant isn't required to prove anything.
A criminal defendant is innocent until he or she is convicted or pleads guilty.
Never take a plea. The prosecutor is required to PROVE your guilt, not play Monte Hall of Let's Make A Deal.
Your sentence, if convicted, depends on your clean or filthy record.
Very few criminal defendants (innocent or guilty in reality) testify. Why? A criminal defendant, even a Snow White defendant is branded and tainted as unbelieveable once heir she is charged with a crime. No matter what the defendant says, no one believes anything one may say. I exaggerate a tad, but I hope you grasp my point.

The story you told about the check doesn't pass the truth test. See, I told you,even I don't believe you. If I don't believe you, the average juror won't either.

The truth is short and sweet. It's simple, and easily understood by the average eight year old. Your story could have happened exactly as you told it. Too long, too complicated, and as Proserpina asked, "Why didn't your MIL just write a new check?" Heck, you saw her mistake, you could aked her to write a new check.

Sorry, you made the prosecutor's case. You blabbed. Had you availed yourself of your RIGHT to remain silent, you might have walked. Your recitation of the events surrounding the altered check coincided enough with your MIL's to cause the prosecutor to charge you. Plus, nothing you did BEFORE this incident is at issue. You're on trial for ONE CHECK, the one you admitted to altering. The other checks are of no moment, import, matter, or consequence, insofar as the instant case is concerned.

I wish you well.