I'm a social worker who has a client with legal troubles. His name is "Jim"; he is a black male, mid 20's, 6'7", large build. He has diagnoses of schizophrenia and depression. He's had a tough life..locale of father of origin is unknown, drug addict mother, and a history of family members taking advantage of him. He's a great guy and really is trying hard to put his life back together. He is mild-mannered and not a violent person. I took a liking to the guy and was trying to get him a decent job; he has a CDL driver's license but he told me his driver's license is currently suspended.
So I checked with DMV and found out he had three low-amount bounced checks to resolve, along with a summons issued by AA Police Department. Well, I checked with the PD and found the summons now has a WA issued for it. So I spoke with the investigating detective...the WA was issued because Jim failed to appear in court to answer the charge of issuing a bad check for $600 in order to open a bank account, a comparatively minor offense. "Fortunately," this appears to be the worst of Jim's legal problems.
Now it so happens that he also has another WA issued by BB Police Department for - he thinks, but we are not sure yet - failing to appear for urinating in public. He also apparently has 10 summonses for various other minor charges he has not resolved - (the detective did a warrant check for me). I am concerned that those summonses - if left unresolved - will eventually also have WAs issued for them. Now, Jim was already aware of these legal problems of his but he never attended to them effectively in the past because, of course, he didn't have money to pay off fines and was confused/scared about the prospects of entering the criminal justice system. (He has served a few months in jail in the past for non-violent offenses.)
Now I am advising Jim to deal with these legal problems NOW, even if it's a little painful...it'll save him much more grief in the future, especially if more WAs appear because of the unresolved summonses. If he doesn't resolve these problems, then he'll NEVER get his license reinstated and will be always under the threat of being arrested in the future, perhaps when his life might have progressed like with a good job, wife, and kids. He understands my point of view and I have convinced him that he needs to deal with these things now but he is just real damn scared about doing ANY time in jail; he is very motivated to take care of everything but he just does not want to spend any time in jail doing it.
Now...regarding the criminal offense of issuing the bad check, he is really not absolutely certain whether it was him or not - and this can be supported by his mental history and the circumstances of his past; his uncle's wife' brother may have been the true culprit...too much to get into here. I did make it clear however - I gave him a worst case scenario - that he will likely have to go to trial for this charge and if found guilty, he might do jail time. But I am advising him to do it anyway; in fact, I told him if he is convicted and has to serve time, even THAT is preferrable to not resolving his legal problems now while he is still young and not attached.
After speaking with the detective and a criminal defense attorney, we devised a strategy for Jim to accept responsibility for the resolution of all his legal problems, as well as offering the best chance for him doing no jail time at all.
1. Understand that absence of jail time has a good probability but cannot be guaranteed. Jim understands this.
2. We must proceed diligently, with no time delay, to impress upon the court that we (my agency) and Jim are sincere in our effort to resolve Jim's legal problems.
3. The WAs must be addressed first. It is for the WAs only that the possibility of jail exists. The WA means that Jim must be formally arrested and taken into
custody.
4. One morning, Jim and I will appear at AA Township Municipal Court to only speak with the prosecutor; it is not anticipated that Jim will turn himself in on that day (unless the prosecutor recommends so). I will explain Jim's predicament to the prosecutor, his willingness to resolve the matter and turn himself in, and the ill effects jail would have on his progress. The objective here is to convince the prosecutor to recommend ROR, thus saving Jim from doing any jail time.
5. The next morning, Jim will turn himself in (I will be present with him). He will present himself at the AA Township Police Department early in the morning and, ideally, a bail hearing will be set that same day, later in the morning. I will be at the bail hearing and speak on Jim's behalf, stating that Jim's progress with his mental condition has been steady, jail would surely mitigate any success he has attained, he is not a flight risk, etc. Hopefully, the judge will order ROR (which is a certainty if the prosecutor recommends it).
This would be the ideal response. But I have a few questions about the realities:
1. The Bail Hearing. Is it reasonable to expect the bail hearing to be held on the same day he turns himself in? Can that be arranged when I speak with the prosecutor? If the bail hearing does not occur on the same day, then for how long (worst case scenario) could he be held in custody until the hearing?
2. Can I advocate for Jim at the bail hearing without being a lawyer? I think it is very crucial that I, i.e., my agency, advocate for him.
3. Can we speak with the Public Defender's Office before the bail hearing for advice?
4. Is there a type of agency or service where Jim can get free legal advice about this matter?
5. Where can Jim find an "inexpensive" or pro bono lawyer?
6. The custody Jim surely wants to avoid is the period between the bail decision and the trial date, which could be months; if he doesn't get ROR and can't meet the bail, then he'll be in jail for at least a few weeks. Now, according to the detective, because it is a comparatively minor offense, it is possible that Jim's bail could be gradually reduced over a number of days (two weeks ideally) so that it becomes low enough where he can meet it or even perhaps have the bail eliminated and he be set free until his trial date. Is this true?
7. If Jim, by some miracle, jumps this hurdle – which is the most serious one – without any jail time…well, then there is the WA from BB. Because there is also a WA outstanding from BB, even if Jim is awarded ROR in AA, I know he will still be taken into custody after the bail hearing and kept in a lockup cell in the police station (right next door to the court) while the AA authorities call the BB Police Department and ask them if they want Jim pursuant to their warrant. The detective says that due to the very minor nature of that offense, BB will likely not go thru the effort of sending someone over to AA to take Jim into custody and will recommend simply that he appear in BB Municipal Court to answer the charge. (I would convey to the AA authorities to inform the BB people of my agency's advocacy of Jim.) If for some reason, BB does decide to pick up Jim and take him into custody, then we will follow the same strategy…I will speak with the BB prosecutor, advocate for Jim at the bail hearing, etc. How likely is that to happen; that is, Jim being granted ROR for the criminal offense, immediately followed by BB not wanting to execute its warrant?
My main point is this: Jim has to resolve these things NOW. (Do you agree?)
My main question is this: How can we make it as least painful (no jail time) as possible?
So I checked with DMV and found out he had three low-amount bounced checks to resolve, along with a summons issued by AA Police Department. Well, I checked with the PD and found the summons now has a WA issued for it. So I spoke with the investigating detective...the WA was issued because Jim failed to appear in court to answer the charge of issuing a bad check for $600 in order to open a bank account, a comparatively minor offense. "Fortunately," this appears to be the worst of Jim's legal problems.
Now it so happens that he also has another WA issued by BB Police Department for - he thinks, but we are not sure yet - failing to appear for urinating in public. He also apparently has 10 summonses for various other minor charges he has not resolved - (the detective did a warrant check for me). I am concerned that those summonses - if left unresolved - will eventually also have WAs issued for them. Now, Jim was already aware of these legal problems of his but he never attended to them effectively in the past because, of course, he didn't have money to pay off fines and was confused/scared about the prospects of entering the criminal justice system. (He has served a few months in jail in the past for non-violent offenses.)
Now I am advising Jim to deal with these legal problems NOW, even if it's a little painful...it'll save him much more grief in the future, especially if more WAs appear because of the unresolved summonses. If he doesn't resolve these problems, then he'll NEVER get his license reinstated and will be always under the threat of being arrested in the future, perhaps when his life might have progressed like with a good job, wife, and kids. He understands my point of view and I have convinced him that he needs to deal with these things now but he is just real damn scared about doing ANY time in jail; he is very motivated to take care of everything but he just does not want to spend any time in jail doing it.
Now...regarding the criminal offense of issuing the bad check, he is really not absolutely certain whether it was him or not - and this can be supported by his mental history and the circumstances of his past; his uncle's wife' brother may have been the true culprit...too much to get into here. I did make it clear however - I gave him a worst case scenario - that he will likely have to go to trial for this charge and if found guilty, he might do jail time. But I am advising him to do it anyway; in fact, I told him if he is convicted and has to serve time, even THAT is preferrable to not resolving his legal problems now while he is still young and not attached.
After speaking with the detective and a criminal defense attorney, we devised a strategy for Jim to accept responsibility for the resolution of all his legal problems, as well as offering the best chance for him doing no jail time at all.
1. Understand that absence of jail time has a good probability but cannot be guaranteed. Jim understands this.
2. We must proceed diligently, with no time delay, to impress upon the court that we (my agency) and Jim are sincere in our effort to resolve Jim's legal problems.
3. The WAs must be addressed first. It is for the WAs only that the possibility of jail exists. The WA means that Jim must be formally arrested and taken into
custody.
4. One morning, Jim and I will appear at AA Township Municipal Court to only speak with the prosecutor; it is not anticipated that Jim will turn himself in on that day (unless the prosecutor recommends so). I will explain Jim's predicament to the prosecutor, his willingness to resolve the matter and turn himself in, and the ill effects jail would have on his progress. The objective here is to convince the prosecutor to recommend ROR, thus saving Jim from doing any jail time.
5. The next morning, Jim will turn himself in (I will be present with him). He will present himself at the AA Township Police Department early in the morning and, ideally, a bail hearing will be set that same day, later in the morning. I will be at the bail hearing and speak on Jim's behalf, stating that Jim's progress with his mental condition has been steady, jail would surely mitigate any success he has attained, he is not a flight risk, etc. Hopefully, the judge will order ROR (which is a certainty if the prosecutor recommends it).
This would be the ideal response. But I have a few questions about the realities:
1. The Bail Hearing. Is it reasonable to expect the bail hearing to be held on the same day he turns himself in? Can that be arranged when I speak with the prosecutor? If the bail hearing does not occur on the same day, then for how long (worst case scenario) could he be held in custody until the hearing?
2. Can I advocate for Jim at the bail hearing without being a lawyer? I think it is very crucial that I, i.e., my agency, advocate for him.
3. Can we speak with the Public Defender's Office before the bail hearing for advice?
4. Is there a type of agency or service where Jim can get free legal advice about this matter?
5. Where can Jim find an "inexpensive" or pro bono lawyer?
6. The custody Jim surely wants to avoid is the period between the bail decision and the trial date, which could be months; if he doesn't get ROR and can't meet the bail, then he'll be in jail for at least a few weeks. Now, according to the detective, because it is a comparatively minor offense, it is possible that Jim's bail could be gradually reduced over a number of days (two weeks ideally) so that it becomes low enough where he can meet it or even perhaps have the bail eliminated and he be set free until his trial date. Is this true?
7. If Jim, by some miracle, jumps this hurdle – which is the most serious one – without any jail time…well, then there is the WA from BB. Because there is also a WA outstanding from BB, even if Jim is awarded ROR in AA, I know he will still be taken into custody after the bail hearing and kept in a lockup cell in the police station (right next door to the court) while the AA authorities call the BB Police Department and ask them if they want Jim pursuant to their warrant. The detective says that due to the very minor nature of that offense, BB will likely not go thru the effort of sending someone over to AA to take Jim into custody and will recommend simply that he appear in BB Municipal Court to answer the charge. (I would convey to the AA authorities to inform the BB people of my agency's advocacy of Jim.) If for some reason, BB does decide to pick up Jim and take him into custody, then we will follow the same strategy…I will speak with the BB prosecutor, advocate for Jim at the bail hearing, etc. How likely is that to happen; that is, Jim being granted ROR for the criminal offense, immediately followed by BB not wanting to execute its warrant?
My main point is this: Jim has to resolve these things NOW. (Do you agree?)
My main question is this: How can we make it as least painful (no jail time) as possible?
