I've been charged with a misdemeanor and don't intend to contest the
charges. I'd like to know what my options are. My limited grasp of the law
would lead me to believe that I can plead guilty, plead no contest, or
request court supervision. What would each of these entail? Also, can I
meet with a public defender immediately prior to my arraignment and discuss
my case and find out from that person what my options are? And, finally,
what would be the benefits of hiring my own lawyer as opposed to having a
public defender defend me? I'm not sure but suspect there is a standard
deal for first-time offenders such as myself and don't see how I would
benefit from having my own lawyer. No defense will be attempted, afterall.
Thanks for any input.

AnHonestMan wrote:>>
I've been charged with a misdemeanor and don't intend to contest the charges. I'd like to know what my options are. My limited grasp of the law would lead me to believe that I can plead guilty, plead no contest, or request court supervision. What would each of these entail? Also, can I meet with a public defender immediately prior to my arraignment and discuss my case and find out from that person what my options are? And, finally, what would be the benefits of hiring my own lawyer as opposed to having a public defender defend me? I'm not sure but suspect there is a standard deal for first-time offenders such as myself and don't see how I would benefit from having my own lawyer. No defense will be attempted, afterall. Thanks for any input.

From my personal experience, I was cited wrongfully for a minor vehicular
infraction and challenged the officer in court.
I did not speak to an attorney beforehand, other than the assistant
prosecutor immediately before court.
When I pointed out that the state law was in my favor, the prosecutor backed
off.
The judge asked me for my plea, then asked the prosecutor if it was going to
be persued or not.
She said no and the judge said, "You're free to go sir.".
The officer was a bit pissed off that he lost.
If it had gone the other way, I would have requested a jury trial and then
persued hiring an attorney.

Since this is a misdemeanor in your case, just go to court and explain your
side of the story.
If you first go for an arraigment, ask for a court date.
Then in actual court, state your basic case. In many states, if the officer
doesn't show, you win.
In many cases, you don't even need an attorney for the arraignment.

If you plead guilty, you pay the fine on the spot. Depending on
circumstances, you may get community service or even jail. Prepare for the
worst if you plead guilty.
"No contest" is like saying, "I'm not sure what I want to do, so I'll leave
it in your hands".
"Not guilty" means you want to challenge the citation. Jury trial or judge's
panel is your call.

"AnHonestMan" <blor@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:pkX8b.10427$NM1.2608@newsread2.news.atl.earth link.net... I've been charged with a misdemeanor and don't intend to contest the charges. I'd like to know what my options are. My limited grasp of the
law would lead me to believe that I can plead guilty, plead no contest, or request court supervision. What would each of these entail? Also, can I meet with a public defender immediately prior to my arraignment and
discuss my case and find out from that person what my options are? And, finally, what would be the benefits of hiring my own lawyer as opposed to having a public defender defend me? I'm not sure but suspect there is a standard deal for first-time offenders such as myself and don't see how I would benefit from having my own lawyer. No defense will be attempted,
afterall. Thanks for any input.

There may be far greater implications to this case than you think. Don't
talk to anyone, especially the prosecutor, before talking to a defense
lawyer.

On Sun, 14 Sep 2003 10:23:17 GMT, "AnHonestMan" <blor@prodigy.net>
I've been charged with a misdemeanor and don't intend to contest thecharges. I'd like to know what my options are. My limited grasp of the lawwould lead me to believe that I can plead guilty, plead no contest, orrequest court supervision. What would each of these entail? Also, can Imeet with a public defender immediately prior to my arraignment and discussmy case and find out from that person what my options are? And, finally,what would be the benefits of hiring my own lawyer as opposed to having apublic defender defend me?

First of all, if you can afford your own lawyer, you have no business
sucking the public's tits by using a public defender.

Not that I think most public defenders would are any good.

Would OJ Simpson be a free man today if he had had a public defender?



I'm not sure but suspect there is a standarddeal for first-time offenders such as myself and don't see how I wouldbenefit from having my own lawyer. No defense will be attempted, afterall.Thanks for any input.

"Al Lewis" <big@boss.man> wrote in message
news:5cr9mv429ikfg64i0vvvth13de4g6jk9cf@4ax.com... On Sun, 14 Sep 2003 10:23:17 GMT, "AnHonestMan" <blor@prodigy.net>I've been charged with a misdemeanor and don't intend to contest thecharges. I'd like to know what my options are. My limited grasp of the
lawwould lead me to believe that I can plead guilty, plead no contest, orrequest court supervision. What would each of these entail? Also, can Imeet with a public defender immediately prior to my arraignment and
discussmy case and find out from that person what my options are? And, finally,what would be the benefits of hiring my own lawyer as opposed to having apublic defender defend me? First of all, if you can afford your own lawyer, you have no business sucking the public's tits by using a public defender. Not that I think most public defenders would are any good. Would OJ Simpson be a free man today if he had had a public defender?

With the jury he had, yes. Of course, it's possible that he wouldn't have
had that jury had he had a public defender representing him from the start. I'm not sure but suspect there is a standarddeal for first-time offenders such as myself and don't see how I wouldbenefit from having my own lawyer. No defense will be attempted,
afterall.Thanks for any input.

"Al Lewis" <big@boss.man> wrote in message
news:5cr9mv429ikfg64i0vvvth13de4g6jk9cf@4ax.com... On Sun, 14 Sep 2003 10:23:17 GMT, "AnHonestMan" <blor@prodigy.net>I've been charged with a misdemeanor and don't intend to contest thecharges. I'd like to know what my options are. My limited grasp of the
lawwould lead me to believe that I can plead guilty, plead no contest, orrequest court supervision. What would each of these entail? Also, can Imeet with a public defender immediately prior to my arraignment and
discussmy case and find out from that person what my options are? And, finally,what would be the benefits of hiring my own lawyer as opposed to having apublic defender defend me? First of all, if you can afford your own lawyer, you have no business sucking the public's tits by using a public defender.

I don't think asking the public defender the most basic of questions such as
what my options are is exactly sucking the public's tit. If it took more
than five minutes to explain my case and hear their response I'd be
surprised. Ok, maybe ten. Not that I think most public defenders would are any good. Would OJ Simpson be a free man today if he had had a public defender? I'm not sure but suspect there is a standarddeal for first-time offenders such as myself and don't see how I wouldbenefit from having my own lawyer. No defense will be attempted,
afterall.Thanks for any input.

"Richard" <anom@anom> wrote in message news:bk2dkb0nrq@enews3.newsguy.com... AnHonestMan wrote:>> I've been charged with a misdemeanor and don't intend to contest the charges. I'd like to know what my options are. My limited grasp of
the law would lead me to believe that I can plead guilty, plead no contest, or request court supervision. What would each of these entail? Also, can I meet with a public defender immediately prior to my arraignment
and discuss my case and find out from that person what my options are?
And, finally, what would be the benefits of hiring my own lawyer as opposed
to having a public defender defend me? I'm not sure but suspect there is
a standard deal for first-time offenders such as myself and don't see how
I would benefit from having my own lawyer. No defense will be attempted, afterall. Thanks for any input. From my personal experience, I was cited wrongfully for a minor vehicular infraction and challenged the officer in court. I did not speak to an attorney beforehand, other than the assistant prosecutor immediately before court. When I pointed out that the state law was in my favor, the prosecutor
backed off. The judge asked me for my plea, then asked the prosecutor if it was going
to be persued or not. She said no and the judge said, "You're free to go sir.". The officer was a bit pissed off that he lost. If it had gone the other way, I would have requested a jury trial and then persued hiring an attorney. Since this is a misdemeanor in your case, just go to court and explain
your side of the story. If you first go for an arraigment, ask for a court date. Then in actual court, state your basic case. In many states, if the
officer doesn't show, you win. In many cases, you don't even need an attorney for the arraignment. If you plead guilty, you pay the fine on the spot. Depending on circumstances, you may get community service or even jail. Prepare for the worst if you plead guilty. "No contest" is like saying, "I'm not sure what I want to do, so I'll
leave it in your hands". "Not guilty" means you want to challenge the citation. Jury trial or
judge's panel is your call.

From what I've read in the fine book, "The Criminal Law Handbook",
court-appointed lawyers often ask defendants about their version of events
during an initial meeting immediately prior to arraignment. They then
dispose of the "guilties" as quickly as possible-often through quick plea
bargains-in order to devote the bulk of their time to cases that may go to
trial. That is the option I have decided on. Thanks for your input. I'm
glad things worked out for you when you went to court.