I was caught in a recent sting by the local PD in Hayward. This is my first offense. Uncover female at a car wash. DA has decided to file charges. Would an attorney be able to negioate a better resolution to this than I could myself?  At the arraingement once I saw what was in the DA's file via discovery am I in the position to ask for a reduction to disburbing the peace and a 6 month probation or should I hire an attorney to raise these same issues?  Am I any worse off for litigating an being found guilty at trial other than the expense of lawyer and jury?  Thanks in advance for your help.

Everything you the defendant say in attempted negotiations can be used against you, as statements by the adverse party, total exceptions to the hearsay rule.

Nothing your attorney says can be used against you as testimony in court. S/he is your rep, your negotiator, your advocate.
You probably do not even know how to find the nearest law school.
The extent of your disadvantage is way beyond your understanding.

You made the mistake of chatting up the wrong person, but if you get a half smart lawyer you can make this disappear.

You have no idea how much a solicitation of prostitution charge in the public record can f**k up your life.
Take a day and find the best defense lawyers in town to get rid of such charges. When a nonlawyer practices law, the results are stupendously disastrous.

Do not even think about continuing to represent yourself. A layperson who tries to be a lawyer for himself has a world class moron for a client, unless you are all wise. ROTFLMSO.
I am very sad but also laugh at these situations after all of these years because I see so many arrogant non lawyers hauled off to jail for a real 6-12 months, and deliberately put in a cell with another physically larger moron named Bubba or Tyrone who turns them into sex slaves, quickly ripped up and condemned to WEARING DIAPERS FOR LIFE. THE US JUSTICE SYSTEM DOES NOT GIVE A F**K ABOUT THAT EITHER.


-- Modified on 9/18/2002 4:58:50 PM

-- Modified on 9/18/2002 5:02:47 PM

Remember the classic definition of a skilled defense lawyer is: One who can plead a charge of buggery down to "following too close"

legal shlong your comments are about as welcome and an helpful as your name.  i got solicitations from individuals who seem remarkably like yourself. one individual went so far as to site the specific california penal code section as well as name the alleged crime by name. great way to communicate private information to a potential client's spouse. you gotta love a lawyer that looks out for your interest by increasing your need from just a criminal matter to include a family law specialist. wonderful to lose half your pension or investment account because some sap doesn't have the ability to generate sufficient business based on quality work.

i hired an aggressive trial litigator. not some dumbass who went to a second rate law school or even a second rate undergrad program. but education aside, i saw this guy cross examinate a witness before a jury trial. seeing is believing.  the smucks that would have taken my cash and got the same deal within 2 hours but instead would find ways to burn thru my retainer are symtomatic of why most individuals hold lawyer in utter comtempt. surely not everyone feels that way but i'm sure more feel this way than do not feel this way about lawyers in general and lawyers like you in particular.

what i had hoped for was a meaningful discussion such as the positive exchange of information and ideas contained within. i've come to value the difference in people between Red Book and TER.

If you want to avoid a conviction, don't even think about trying to represent yourself.  You would be disadvantaged in too many ways to count.  Even if you just want to negotiate a deal, the DA has no incentive to be flexible because in his/her eyes, you have suspect credibility and a miniscule chance of succeeding at trial on your own.  
Also, keep in mind that the DA's office has roughly a 95% conviction rate on charges that they file.  You need every possible advantage for a chance at successfully defending your case.

The Lawyer

and your input. That was a very full succinct post.
Cousin schlong tends to get annoyed with self-lawyers, but then he's been a CA Bar Member since 1974 and has seen so much dumbf**ckery by lawyers and non lawyers alike in these almost 30 years. Your analysis states the reality quite well.
Darrow said that one who represents himself has a fool for a client. Modernists would use a different word than fool, may bonehead or dumbf**k.

The neat thing about criminal versus civil matters is the manner in which discovery is handled. I would have preferred to not learn this difference first hand but such is life.

After having seen their evidence I am inclined to believe that I could meet my burden of reasonable doubt. The point is however mute since I've hired a really good guy to represent me. My bad experiences in the past with lawyer in the bay area market prompted me to find out which federal court he was arguing in recently and I sat in the courtroom. Pretty damn impressive the way my guy got the person being examined to admit things that were not seemingly obvious under direct. Ok, if all the guy could do was cross I might still be concerned but once I pointed out various things in the discovery material he pointed out still other things from our prior strategy sessions.

I'm now left with a dilema.  Given my guy's comments I have every confidence in his ability to beat the other team at trial. I have no doubt about this. My issue is do I want to spend the money or do I just want to call it a day. No shame in leaving while the leaving is appropriate and I could lose. Nothing is certain other than death and taxes.  Its just that the cops were such arses. I would love to see them wither under a blistering 7 hour examination. Of course that kinda expensive revenge. If you look at my reviews you can surmise I have more important crap to do with my cash but still seeing the other side beat down would make the memories of sitting in the hot paddy wagon just that less painful.

Am I really this stupid? Hell I'm gonna take the deal and get back to hobbying. Last guy to TJ is an ole rotten george w bush kinda republican.  First 5 drinks are on me.

Not a fake lawyer like the Lost Shlong who is always mouthing off half accurate legal platitudes under his multiple identities.

He who represents himself has a fool for a lawyer.

Sparky that you for your comments. I've found that you are probably representative of the calibre of individuals utilizing TER.  I mean your one sentence comment drawn from a cliche is as meaningful as your 9 reviews all of which occurred this year. I am overwhelmed not only by your intellectual property but by your budget for the hobby. Like legal short d*ck you represent the kind of mentality which promulgates the type of activities occuring in Sacramento, Stockton, Oakland and ever other jurisdiction which allows car confiscations.  Its people like you which expose true hobbyist to excessive dangers.  Case in point would be the No Limit event of September 26th wherein two on duty OPD narcotics officers were caught in a sting.  Your actions or lack there of effect all of us. You just lack the capacity to draw the correlations.

Given these types of experiences the only value add TER has for me is the ability to query the db for intel on a new market. Being a part of the slt of my organization I have significant business travel. Therefore being able to find latinas in different markets keeps me maintaining a VIP membership. This forum lacks the depth, comraderie and meaningful dialogue of San Francisco Red Book.  From forums on SW, MP, SC, Escorts to International hobbying SF RB has a tremendous wealth of information readily available to anyone willing to give back.

Gee Sparky I spend more money on Cardhu than you've spent on the hobby this year.

....in upstate New York, while on a business trip I got "stung" and spent a night in jail since I wasn't local to the area.  I hired a criminal lawyer, and he actually got me what is called an ACD, or an "Adjournment Contemplating Dismissal".  Since it was my first offense, the Court put me on a 6 month probation in New York State.  As long as I stayed out of trouble for the 6 months, the record would be expunged, and it was.  So, no record.

My advice is to get yourself a good lawyer.  If you can find one that has experience in this type of incident (I have trouble calling the hobby a "crime"), he should be able to help you since it a first offense.  Good Luck!

F.

F,

I appreciate your kind words as well as your fact based comments.

Blew through 12 guys and one female of the type individuals described above which attribute to the putrid reputation the legal proffession holds in popular American culture. I sent a detailed mail note to several criminal firms with 8 questions. Only 2 individuals had the presence of mind to respond appropriately. The others try to bull shyt me and convince me I needed to give them $3,000 to $5,000 of my hobby cash. Dont get me wrong I'm pay ten times that to stay out of jail. Like you I spent enough hours in jail to never want that experience again but only a fool spends more money than is appropriate given any set of circumstances.

Got a former deputy US attorney who was also a county prosecutor in the same office where my case is being handled.  Makes all the difference in the world. First attorney I paid had me subject to many things that dont make sense to me like a 4 way search clause and 3 years of probation. New lawyer got rid of search clause and the probation became 1 year with a contractual obligation to go back downstream and attempt to end the probation at 8 to 9 months.

i'm as happy as a texan at a gun show with his wife's credit card and a latina waiting back at the hotel.