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Subsentient (1111)
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Programmer, Linux guru, agnostic, socialist, a hardcore and very serious Utilitarian, leftist on most issues.
Fucked up, disgusting sense of humor. Has no shame.
Journal of Subsentient (1111)
I have a friend named Jamie. She's in her 40s, and she might go to prison for four years on the 23rd of this month.
She had a DUI from 2012, which she was guilty of, and one from 2014, which she was not. Because of her prior conviction, she's getting a much harder time by the courts. She's been offered the choice of signing for four years of prison, or taking it to trial and possibly getting 10 years if found guilty. She's a mother with two sweet, young little girls. She won't get to see them for four years. They're going to end up with her mother in Idaho.
She let a friend drive her truck, who was sober, but because she was next to the truck drinking shortly after it parked, she was hit with another DUI when the cops pulled up over a domestic disturbance, which is common here. Her friend already told that she was not the one behind the wheel, but it doesn't seem to make much difference.
Here's where it bothers me. She is innocent, and she's being given the choice of admitting to a crime she didn't commit and getting four years, or fighting it, possibly losing, and getting ten years.
This is disgusting to me.
I'm writing this, I suppose, to ask for advice. How can I help her?
Time is of the essence.
(Score: 2) by Jeremiah Cornelius on Wednesday March 11 2015, @03:07PM
All I can offer is sympathy and encouragement.
It does no good to go all the other places that I could rail against, when this is personal and real.
You're betting on the pantomime horse...
(Score: 5, Informative) by Jeremiah Cornelius on Wednesday March 11 2015, @03:09PM
Get a GOOD lawyer.
REALLY GOOD. Take on debt, if necessary. For the little girls' sake.
There is NO EVIDENCE of her driving and testimony she was NOT.
He said/She said with a cop. GET A LAWYER.
You're betting on the pantomime horse...
(Score: 3, Insightful) by black6host on Sunday March 15 2015, @08:45PM
Hell yeah! Regardless of whether she's innocent or not, and I take your word she is, she needs a good lawyer. That can be said without knowing anything else about the situation.
You walk into court, you might as well just throw the dice. You never know what's going to happen. Trust me. I know. Better to have someone guide you who knows what the law is, not what's morally right and wrong. That matters not in court. Law rules.
And public defenders..... All they do is make a deal that gets you off their overloaded plate of work. Justice does not matter there either (though there are some good ones.) Most are just overworked and want to get you to settle so they can move on....
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 11 2015, @05:15PM
Not much to offer except to second that she get a lawyer.
Agreeing to plead guilty for a four year jail term for something you did not do, esp. having kids, is just unacceptable. That's a sucker's deal. The cops saw *nothing*, and there is a witness who vouches he/she was the driver.
Don't let her be intimidated into giving up all her rights! Tell her to invoke her right to remain silent. Get a lawyer ASAP. All communication must be through the lawyer.
(Score: 2) by n1 on Wednesday March 11 2015, @06:03PM
[I AM NOT A LAWYER, I DO NOT KNOW THE SPECIFICS OF THE LEGAL SYSTEM IN THIS CASE, EVERYTHING I WRITE HERE IS MY LAYMAN'S UNINFORMED OPINION]
I am truly sorry to hear about the situation your friend is in. She has my sympathy. Aside from agreeing with the other commenters, a good lawyer being the best idea...
She should not take the deal, she is just a statistic at this point, a case closed with admission of guilt is all they want, justice doesn't come into it sadly, more guilty people, more budget next year.
I would suggest that she makes it very clear she is willing to take this to trial and fight it all the way, through all courts necessary to prove her innocence, she is not willing to accept a plea deal for something she didn't do. This hopefully will make them drop the charges, or offer another plea deal which doesn't involve jail time (but probably still admission of guilt).
The second thing I would suggest is getting in contact with the local press, as many as she can, probably best for you or another friend to do it on her behalf; write an editorial about the case to get local attention. The chances are other people will have been in a similar situation will turn out to support her and fight for change in policing. Chances are nothing will come of it in the long term, but yet again might lead to her case being dropped due to the negative publicity the local police and prosecutors are suffering as a result.
Whatever happens, the chances are she's going to have to be extremely careful in the future because she will be a target after causing the local police all these problems, trying to prove her innocence. I find it very unlikely she would be convicted in a jury trial, given what you have disclosed, if that is currently what kind of trial she would be facing.
I wish your friend the best, i'm sorry I can't offer any better advice.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by mrcoolbp on Wednesday March 11 2015, @10:43PM
I also recommend getting a good lawyer, and asking their advice. Spend as much as you can afford, debt is worth it in this case.
(Score:1^½, Radical)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 16 2015, @01:09AM
I think the standard of "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" ought to save her, but really, she isn't being honest. She and the friend both have motivation to lie. Getting even a single incorrect DUI conviction is pretty hard to believe, especially after a conviction, but then being charged with another DUI that is also somehow incorrect? I wasn't born yesterday.
Don't do that shit.
At least the girls (and you too!) will have a bad influence out of their lives.
(Score: 2) by mrcoolbp on Wednesday March 18 2015, @09:01PM
She had a DUI from 2012, which she was guilty of
He said one was legitimate. Not only are you incorrect, you are way out of line. You don't know the surrounding circumstances here, hence you are way too quick to judge. He obviously is dealing with a tough circumstance, you are not helping. Please show some respect.
(Score:1^½, Radical)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 19 2015, @09:13PM
Yep, she admitted the first one. There was then a second (allegedly incorrect) and now a third (also allegedly incorrect). She also admits to some activity that, though not illegal, is very unwise and is circumstantial evidence that she was doing worse: she was drinking (by her truck and holding her keys!!!) when the cops showed up.
This is a person who should have been fully aware that she was one arrest away from prison. Drinking is not an option. Clearly, she couldn't control herself.
She admits to the drinking because she knows the cops saw her. She doesn't admit to driving because she thinks no cops saw her.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 25 2015, @01:04AM
The 23rd has been and gone. How did your friend fare in court yesterday?
I am not the smart assed AC above.
I read a stat a while back that 90% of cases are settled out of court. If everyone demanded a trial, supposedly it would bring the (in)justice system to it's knees.