quote:

Originally posted by photohause:
If a Go Fund ME is set up, I'll participate.
Dave, lots of guys here on your side.

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We want this over for you.

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quote:

Originally posted by Hildur:
Wishing you the best on the upcoming hearing. I had to deal with a legal issue when I first moved to Puerto Rico. Even though the police had no proof of any wrongdoing and straight up lied to hit me with an additional, more serious charge that involved jail time, it worked out for me in the end and it sounds like you're going down a similar path.


In my limited experience having a legal issue outside of the USA, the police/judges loved holding a foreigner (especially this white American who is not fluent in the native tongue) accountable to the fullest extent of their laws and that I am not above it. For me, there was definitely a racial component and I got railroaded along the way by the arresting officers and judges who disregarded the proper legal procedures so I couldn't dismiss the case despite having the facts and evidence (or lack thereof) strongly in my favor. It ended up taking me over a year to resolve it and in the end my attorney made enough of an argument and work for the prosecutors to accept a plea deal where the more serious charge (that the arresting officers lied about) was dropped and I plead guilty to a misdemeanor that will be expunged from my record 6 months after I took the deal.


The only advice I can suggest is to get a second opinion about your legal course of action from another attorney, if allowable. For my case I went with a highly recommended local attorney who knew the judges and prosecutors where my case was being held. Probably 8+ months of extensions/delays was due to my original attorney playing too nice with the prosecutors, conceding to every motion by the prosecution to extend due to whatever bullshit reason they had. Perhaps he didn't want to create any bad blood because he had to see them every day. Maybe he did it to continue charging me for every court appearance as it didn't matter if he was representing me for 30 minutes or 3 hours. If I stayed with him one thing was certain: I would have paid a lot more money to get the same result. In Puerto Rico it's not allowable for me to solicit another attorney while I had one representing me so I had to take the risk of dismissing my first attorney in open court with the hope I would get a better lawyer to replace him. For me, the gamble paid off. I interviewed probably a dozen attorneys and went with one who was far enough away where he didn't give a FUCK about pissing off the prosecution or judge because he would likely never have to try a case on my side of the island. As soon as I made the switch, he went right for the jugular and the judge had to disregard proper procedure to keep the case alive. If I had "fuck you" money and nothing better to do I could have taken it all the way and would have very likely won. However the system in Puerto Rico allows for the prosecution to appeal "not guilty" verdicts and frankly after spending over a year dealing with it I would rather take a deal, pay a fine and have a clean record in 6 months vs. dragging it out.


For you, pleading guilty then throwing yourself at the mercy of the court for sentencing when the prosecutor has already shown how obtuse he/she is might lead to an undesirable result that could lead to a longer, more expensive legal battle. In a perfect world we are supposed to be able to trust our attorney and take comfort in the fact that they have our best interests at heart. That's hard to find in America and in foreign countries the odds are even lower. Foreign lawyers love Americans in our situation because they'll make more from us on 1 case then they will make doing 10 for the locals. While I understand where your lawyer is coming from if it were me I'd get a second opinion. Once you plead guilty you can't unring that bell and it sounds to me like you lose a lot of leverage. I'm assuming you and your lawyer have taken that into account when you decided on this course of action however I think it would benefit you to have another attorney concur with that strategy.

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Originally posted by dave7378:


Yes I have consulted others as I am afraid of pulling down my pants and hoping not get get poked. Exceptional circumstances is the best approach but I can't argue that without pleading guilty. My attorney, a very accomplished guy down here who rarely loses, told me if I plead not guilty and go to trial that I will certainly lose and get 12 years. Not an option. I'm comfortable with this decision as I don't really have a lot of options. I trust my lawyer. His name is Oliver Smith or anyone that might want to look him up.

As for Puerto Rico, I think that if and when I'm comfortable with traveling again, I will come there. Been there about a dozen times. I am half Irish and half Puerto Rican and still have family that lives there (Quebradillas). My daughter is in San Juan with friends right now. When I come maybe I'll look you up Thanks for the thoughtful post.

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Originally posted by mark123:
Brother Dave, I hope you’re well. We’re thinking of you.