The Umansky Law Firm recently represented a juvenile who was charged with assault in an incident that allegedly happened between her and another student while at school. She was arrested and faced 60 days in jail and a potential adjudication of delinquency, which could have followed her for the rest of her life. When The Umansky Law Firm got involved in the case, we began negotiations with the prosecutor. We discussed the case to see if it was possible to avoid a potential trial. After discussing the matter at late for the prosecutor as well as with the client, it was clear that the prosecutor was not willing to work with the law firm. He was only offering our client probation and an adjudication of delinquency.
After discussing the matter further with the client, it was agreed that the case would be set for trial. When that was executed, the offer went down to two months of probation instead of the other four months that the prosecutor was originally offering. As the case progressed, and the day of trial got closer, we prepared extensively with our client so they would be ready to go to trial with the case. The day before the trial, we called the prosecutor and asked whether he had his witnesses ready and whether he was going to be prepared to go to trial the next day. He informed us that he would be and that he had every intention of going to trial and the case was ready to be tried the next day. That was about 9 in the morning. Around 5 PM that same day, we received a call from the prosecutor, informing us that after further consideration the prosecutor was going to drop the case. What that let our attorneys know was that the prosecutor never wanted to go to trial, and had no intention of ever trying the case. The reality of cases such as these is that sometimes it’s necessary to set a case for a trial and call the prosecutor’s bluff.
The prosecution’s goal is to get a conviction, and they will often go to great lengths to get that conviction. In this case, the prosecutor wanted the defendant to enter a guilty plea and accept the presented terms. If she would have had any other attorney representing her, they may have insisted that she accept the deal to avoid going to trial. This would have been highly unfavorable, but since she had an attorney who was willing to take her case to trial she was able to leave the situation unscathed.
This may not occur in every case but it shows that it is possible as prosecutors often implement similar tactics. Make that you have strong legal representation no matter the charges. Contact the Orlando criminal defense lawyer at The Umansky Law Firm at 407-228-3838 for a free case evaluation.
The Umansky Law Firm Criminal Defense & Injury Attorneys
