quote:

Originally posted by Imabmwnut:
Depends on the offense. Was there a victim? What about their rights? These are my questions with no more info than is presented.

There was no direct victim. Tennessee has a Due Care law. If the defendant put other lives at risk, he’s guilty of not providing due care. It’s probably best if I explain what he did. He was caught doing 97 in a 55. When the troopers lit him up, he ran. They chased him for several miles until he lost control and rolled his car into a field. Here’s where the felonies come. In his car was a device used for smoking marijuana. I think it’s called a bong. There was also enough marijuana trace to amount to possession of a schedule (I forget the number) substance. Compound that with driving on a suspended license and lapsed insurance. Those are the charges.

This son was not raised to be this or do these things. He gradually became this person I don’t understand nor recognize anymore. I knew he had screwed up retarded perspectives from his social media fellow retards but believed he’d mature out of it before getting into real trouble. After all, he’d been raised to know right from wrong and why. Well now he has stepped in real excrement. Frankly I would let him suffer more but…….he’s father to two of my grandchildren who need their parents.

Mrs DF and I are capable and willing to care for and raise those babies. I’m not sure my daughter-in-law is willing to stay married to him given all of his poor decisions over the past two years. We all know what happens with desperate single moms and their vulnerable children. To head that off at the pass, we’ve offered her our basement at no charge indefinitely with very few conditions. We’ll see how that develops.

In the meantime I hope there’s a way he can compensate the State and county with minimal incarceration and maximum labor/service until his debt is paid. And I want it paid. This must nver happen again. We’ve already lost one son to life outside the law and eventual death.

I say this as a criminal defense attorney and as a former prosecutor. You need to find someone who has a good relationship with the District Attorney/Prosecuting Attorney. Judges have a lot of power, but honestly in this situation the prosecutor has far more. They will determine what charges he faces, make recommendations as to sentence, influence bail and many, many other decisions.

This is a referral service and it's a place to start:

Avvo

I echo what others have said about getting a local attorney. But you need to talk to them to get a feel for the situation. You are going to go through a very difficult time, you are going to want someone that will help with that, not make it worse.

And good luck and prayers!

quote:

Originally posted by golddot:
I will say a lot of times in my experience a simple consultation with the district judge or the presiding judge that's going to hear his case can go a long ways, particularly if you go in there with your hat in your hand.

Things may be done very differently where you're at, but that would be a ludicrous suggestion with any court I'm familiar with.

Someone can't simply walk into a courthouse, say "I want to talk to the judge", and then chat with them about a case, regardless of where their hat is located. Same with mailing the judge a letter, sending them an email, calling them, etc.

That is known as ex parte communication, and is strictly forbidden by the rules of judicial conduct in any jurisdiction I've ever dealt with or even heard of.

Darth, you have an email from me.

What RogueJSK said is spot on.

I'm a 40 + year lawyer, did Prosecution for a bazillion years, retired and did some criminal defense and some civil matters and I really caution you about writing or dropping in to try to talk to the judge.

First of all, the judges, in my experience, never read the letters, rather they file them in the court file and send copies to the prosecution and defense attorney if one is on the case.

Trying to see the judge, at least here gets a couple-three bailiffs or court security officers involved and, at the least, the person trying to see the judge leaves the court house with a warning.

Please don't do that.


Bob

Darth,

Nothing of value to add to your situation, but as a father of two 20 year old young men, you have my sympathy that you have to deal with this. They can piss us off, disappoint us, and sometimes even let us down, you never stop loving them.

Best of success to you and yours -

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
...But I’m here to tell you, I know what jail means and he doesn’t have the constitution for it. He’s young naive and scared....

Not a lawyer and not a parent, feel free to disregard all I say. I've paid attention to this type of situation for 40 years watching my Dad as a criminal defense attorney, and watching which kids learned lessons and which didn't. I believe letting him be in jail and scared for a few days is one of the best things that can happen. It's the only way some kids learn. And yes, you might help line him up with a good local criminal defense attorney. I wouldn't recommend running to fix his situation though, if he feels alone he might figure out he put himself in that situation and maybe make some positive changes.

Thank you all for your advice and positive thoughts. We are hoping to ask an appropriate attorney a specific question. Mrs DF was told my son cannot meet with a public defender until the court date. That seems wrong to me. How can his representation be prepared? How can he be properly defended that way?

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by golddot:
I will say a lot of times in my experience a simple consultation with the district judge or the presiding judge that's going to hear his case can go a long ways, particularly if you go in there with your hat in your hand.

Things may be done very differently where you're at, but that would be a ludicrous suggestion with any court I'm familiar with.

Someone can't simply walk into a courthouse, say "I want to talk to the judge", and then chat with them about a case, regardless of where their hat is located. Same with mailing the judge a letter, sending them an email, calling them, etc.

That is known as ex parte communication, and is strictly forbidden by the rules of judicial conduct in any jurisdiction I've ever dealt with or even heard of.

Correct!

I’ve thought about this all day since reading this in the morning. I’ll temper what I wanted to respond with this. Don’t waste any money on a private attorney. If your son qualifies for a public defender, so be it. You could spend 5-10 grand on a private attorney but in the end your kid would end up with a couple weekends in jail either way. Maybe a PD could get him into a diversion program. Wouldn’t that money be better spent on food/necessities for your grandkids/daughter in law? Don’t waste the money. Your kid needs to learn a lesson. By the grace of God, the trooper chasing him, innocents along the road, or your kid weren’t hurt.

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
Thank you all for your advice and positive thoughts. We are hoping to ask an appropriate attorney a specific question. Mrs DF was told my son cannot meet with a public defender until the court date. That seems wrong to me. How can his representation be prepared? How can he be properly defended that way?

The PD will attend the arraignment, enter a not guilty plea. The case will be kicked down the road and during that time the PD will meet with your kid during that time to formulate a defense.

quote:

Originally posted by jer830:

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
Thank you all for your advice and positive thoughts. We are hoping to ask an appropriate attorney a specific question. Mrs DF was told my son cannot meet with a public defender until the court date. That seems wrong to me. How can his representation be prepared? How can he be properly defended that way?

The PD will attend the arraignment, enter a not guilty plea. The case will be kicked down the road and during that time the PD will meet with your kid during that time to formulate a defense.

Unless I misunderstood, he has already been arraigned. I posted a signature bond and we brought him home. He was in jail for two days plus. He was not allowed a phone call. We just started looking for him at hospitals and law enforcement websites. The latter is where we found his booking documents.

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
Unless I misunderstood, he has already been arraigned. I posted a signature bond and we brought him home. He was in jail for two days plus. He was not allowed a phone call. We just started looking for him at hospitals and law enforcement websites. The latter is where we found his booking documents.

No phone call allowed, or did he not make use of it? If the former, there are potential constitutional violations present. Whatever attorney is used NEEDS to know of it in this case.

quote:

Originally posted by Anush:

quote:

Claiborne County

As you know Claiborne County is very rural. I think that you must find a local attorney that knows the judge & prosecutor. They may go to the same church & play golf together.

That seems so obvious and basic but I never would have never have considered that was an issue.

To the OP, that’s a tough situation you’re in. I’m praying for that whole situation.

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:

quote:

Originally posted by jer830:

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
Mrs DF was told my son cannot meet with a public defender until the court date. That seems wrong to me. How can his representation be prepared? How can he be properly defended that way?

The PD will attend the arraignment, enter a not guilty plea. The case will be kicked down the road and during that time the PD will meet with your kid during that time to formulate a defense.

Unless I misunderstood, he has already been arraigned. I posted a signature bond and we brought him home. He was in jail for two days plus.

There's a chance he may have been arraigned already, but probably not.

The typical timeline - at least around here - would be:

1) Arrest and jail
2) 1-3 days later, an initial detention/probable case/bond hearing where PC is checked and appropriate bond and release conditions are determined
3) Bond posting and release (or not)
4) Several weeks/months later, formal arraignment of charges, with initial not guilty plea and appointment of public defender if needed.
5) Any necessary preliminary hearings over the next several months.
6) Several months/years later, trial or change of plea.

Between #4-6 is when he would be meeting with his PD to prepare his defense. You're likely at #3 currently, with the hearing a couple days after arrest most likely being #2, not formal arraignment.

The Tennessee system may work differently.

quote:

Originally posted by jer830:
I’ve thought about this all day since reading this in the morning. I’ll temper what I wanted to respond with this. Don’t waste any money on a private attorney. If your son qualifies for a public defender, so be it. You could spend 5-10 grand on a private attorney but in the end your kid would end up with a couple weekends in jail either way. Maybe a PD could get him into a
diversion program. Wouldn’t that money be better spent on food/necessities for your grandkids/daughter in law? Don’t waste the money. Your kid needs to learn a lesson. By the grace of God, the trooper chasing him, innocents along the road, or your kid weren’t hurt.

Excellent reply.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by golddot:
I will say a lot of times in my experience a simple consultation with the district judge or the presiding judge that's going to hear his case can go a long ways, particularly if you go in there with your hat in your hand.

Things may be done very differently where you're at, but that would be a ludicrous suggestion with any court I'm familiar with.

Someone can't simply walk into a courthouse, say "I want to talk to the judge", and then chat with them about a case, regardless of where their hat is located. Same with mailing the judge a letter, sending them an email, calling them, etc.

That is known as ex parte communication, and is strictly forbidden by the rules of judicial conduct in any jurisdiction I've ever dealt with or even heard of.

just offering my observations.

I’ve thought about this all day since reading this in the morning. I’ll temper what I wanted to respond with this. Don’t waste any money on a private attorney. If your son qualifies for a public defender, so be it. You could spend 5-10 grand on a private attorney but in the end your kid would end up with a couple weekends in jail either way. Maybe a PD could get him into a
diversion program. Wouldn’t that money be better spent on food/necessities for your grandkids/daughter in law? Don’t waste the money. Your kid needs to learn a lesson. By the grace of God, the trooper chasing him, innocents along the road, or your kid weren’t hurt.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
If your son has a history of felony arrests this would be the proper path. If not get a private attorney. County jails are not nice places and other inmates take advantage of young boys. Prison is actually safer. Is substance abuse involved?

Young boys don't go to jail or prison

.

I can offer you my experience with a similar situation.

I was young, maybe 25 ish at the time, which would make my sister 21 ish at the time. She was arrested for a felony, one more serious than your son.

My mother and I visited her in jail. Over a the course of the week my mother struggled with what to do. She eventually bailed her out and hired a private defense attorney.

Because my sister had no prior record the defense attorney was able to get no jail time other than time served, but the class of felony stayed on her record. Which of course has hindered her in life on some things; no voting, no firearms, job background checks, etc.

Had my mother acted more quickly, and my sister kept her mouth shut, and a public defender not been involved briefly, there was a small chance it could have been pled down to a misdemeanor.

I can also happily say that this incident scared my sister straight. She never had another issue with the law, and this was 25 years ago.

Based on my personal experience, I say hire an attorney ASAP.