qupee
Member
ya if they come in on a warrant usually your only avenue is to fight the basis of the warrant and most of the time that's a really uphill battle and the bar is set higher than "reasonable doubt".
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ya if they come in on a warrant usually your only avenue is to fight the basis of the warrant and most of the time that's a really uphill battle and the bar is set higher than "reasonable doubt".
mountain dew aint bad if you add whiskey. just sayin.
i once beat a case using a public pretender. he was going to go private and wanted to take my case. we not only won we made the cops and undercover look real bad. didnt cost me a penny . and he got a good rep and was doing well last i heard.
mountain dew is really sweaty breasts
in our suppression hearing none of the 7 cops had the same story. also the helicopter video showed my front yard full of cop cars and not 1 cop. this was 2 hours before a warrant was issued. where were they? i know exactly where they were. i almost certain most of my charges will be dropped. slim chance that the whole thing will be tossed. 1 cop that brought bottled water to the others said that he walked to my grow shed with the investigating detective at around 3:30 pm but said they did not enter. BULL SHIT!!!!!! the warrant wasn't issued till after 4 pm. shady crooked ass keystone cops screwed up the investigation. just hope my lawyer can figure out a way to prove it. 
maybe i'm nuts but i aint copping to shit!!!!!!!!! if they want me to do time again they are gonna have to force it on me.
That's what a trial is for, forcing you to do time.
The plea is for when you want to do less time.
If you don't win your suppression hearing then you may want to seriously consider a plea, especially if probation is on the table. You may still be a convicted felon, but at least you won't spend however many months/years in a cage.
Of course, you could go to trial and hope for jury nullification, it's worked for some peeps. That's pretty risky though, and if you're wrong...
In regards to my previous post.. here are a bit of the details. Not sure if the plant count warranted all the $$ spent, or if it was because it was a norml lawyer and not the judge's butt buddy. Details might be interesting to some none the less.. outcomes all favorable.
Non-med state, but go easy on cats for the most part. You could call it decriminalized, but they do actively pursue and raid if they get tips, knowledge, etc.
* 260ish plants - feds didn't pick it up - norml lawyer - $25k spent - house arrest..6k cash returned.
* Under 100 plants - local ex-prosecutor as defense attorney - $7500 spent - disappeared as far as I'm concerned.. not court docket/record of anything.
* Another similar case under 100 plants (small grow).. $5k total..judge only wanted $2500 - same outcome as above. poof.
* 1st DUI - ^same local lawyer as above - $1500 spent - didn't blow/taken to trial..arresting officer could count his fingers forwards and backwards without messing up...it was epic. That was the end of that after the jury busted up laughing - case dismissed..all charges dropped.
I agree that it is normally unlikely to be "fighting" them, but rather just paying them and moving on with your life.
And PS - don't "tell" them anything like its for for back pain..personal use.. its your 1st time, etc. Nobody gives a shit what whiny ass excuse you have.... take the hit, pay the man, and move to grow another day. I can't stand when I hear this silly as reasoning for growing in a non-med state like LEO is going to say "oh..well in that case.. we are out of here. nice to meet you.". Keep your fucking mouth shut... period. I don't care if the arresting officer doesnt like you because of it. Admitting to guilt with stupid ass excuses is NEVER going to help your case and your lawyer is likely going to hate you and charge you more for making his job that much more difficult.
Keep your mouth shut! Let your lawyer do his job (aka.. shuffle cash to the judge).
Non-med state, but go easy on cats for the most part. You could call it decriminalized, but they do actively pursue and raid if they get tips, knowledge, etc.
* 260ish plants - feds didn't pick it up - norml lawyer - $25k spent - house arrest..6k cash returned.
* Under 100 plants - local ex-prosecutor as defense attorney - $7500 spent - disappeared as far as I'm concerned.. not court docket/record of anything.
* Another similar case under 100 plants (small grow).. $5k total..judge only wanted $2500 - same outcome as above. poof.
* 1st DUI - ^same local lawyer as above - $1500 spent - didn't blow/taken to trial..arresting officer could count his fingers forwards and backwards without messing up...it was epic. That was the end of that after the jury busted up laughing - case dismissed..all charges dropped.
I agree that it is normally unlikely to be "fighting" them, but rather just paying them and moving on with your life.
And PS - don't "tell" them anything like its for for back pain..personal use.. its your 1st time, etc. Nobody gives a shit what whiny ass excuse you have.... take the hit, pay the man, and move to grow another day. I can't stand when I hear this silly as reasoning for growing in a non-med state like LEO is going to say "oh..well in that case.. we are out of here. nice to meet you.". Keep your fucking mouth shut... period. I don't care if the arresting officer doesnt like you because of it. Admitting to guilt with stupid ass excuses is NEVER going to help your case and your lawyer is likely going to hate you and charge you more for making his job that much more difficult.
Keep your mouth shut! Let your lawyer do his job (aka.. shuffle cash to the judge).
i was convicted of violent crimes 30 years ago. probation, drug court and anything less than prison time isn't in the cards for me. they offered me 10 years and give my wife 3 years probation. i countered with 5 years and let my wife walk. they said HELL NO!!!!!!!!! me wife has a clean record so i'm not real worried about her doing time. i may try to bargain after the hearing is done next month
just have to see how things play out. btw plant count was only 24 and no cash or assets seized. lots of folks in that county see nothing wrong with mj so i'm hoping for a sympathetic jury. maybe after the suppression hearing is over they wont much left to hold over my head and they will come down to the 5 i offered instead of the pricey jury trial.
thegambler
Active member
About 22 years ago I was caught with 875 plants indoors, with a sophisticated hydroponic system 500 ft. within a school zone. My wife and I were looking at one 1st degree (20 years prison), two second degrees (10 years) and a bunch of 3rd and 4th degrees. In that state you would only do time on the 2 most serious charges. The school zone charge was a manditory 5 years. Their offer was so ridiculous we laughed at them. I spent a total of $75K for the lawyers and a payoff (remember- 20 years ago) and got the charges against my wife dropped. I got 6 months jail (I did 2 months- 1st offense), 300 hours probation, and a $1000 fine. These lawyers had great connections within the prosecutors office and when the "main" guy went off on a vacation- it was settled REAL quick.....like the next day. Maybe not as much anymore but back then, it was who you know and who owed who a favor. My best advice would be to hire a former prosecutor who still has connections in the county where you live.
S
SeaMaiden
So should I have a problem with the criminal defense attorney I've put on retainer? This is the first time I've ever had a criminal attorney on retainer, I've only ever had civil and contract people on retainer. I figured they all work the same way for the most part.
If they took the retainer I would think that you are ok
where I'm from a criminal lawyers first question is "what are you charged with?" and if you say nothing they say "well you don't need me!" guess they don't want to appear morally ambiguous or something
one thing that no one mentioned is that a lawyers opinion of YOU makes a huge difference in the quality of service that you receive so try not to appear to dumb,rich or cocky because it will cost you plenty
yea id say to be comfortable at least 80k. I've seen my boys drop over a hundred on case that woulda cost 'em 25 to life. Find what the best lawyer in your area charges for the worst thing possible because in this game you never know what can happen or what you might need to do. If it comes down to me and them i wont even hesitate.. I know i have accuracy no matter the distance and a good lawyer plus the Corps background always helps
what you like a sniper or something?
budderfly
Member
No, I'm afraid I'd rather not share specifics. There's a ton of interesting personal stories in this thread, though. Thanks to everyone who shared.
i was convicted of violent crimes 30 years ago. probation, drug court and anything less than prison time isn't in the cards for me. they offered me 10 years and give my wife 3 years probation. i countered with 5 years and let my wife walk. they said HELL NO!!!!!!!!! me wife has a clean record so i'm not real worried about her doing time. i may try to bargain after the hearing is done next month
btw plant count was only 24 and no cash or assets seized. lots of folks in that county see nothing wrong with mj so i'm hoping for a sympathetic jury. maybe after the suppression hearing is over they wont much left to hold over my head and they will come down to the 5 i offered instead of the pricey jury trial.
I hope your hearing works out in your favor, certainly sounds like their testimony is at odds with the video of the raid.
Plant count sounds reasonable, and if there's no indication of sales you might stand a chance before a jury. Look up Loren Swift, he supposedly had 25 lbs of mj and 50 lbs of plants and got acquitted by a jury in IL; course he was also a vietman vet (Navy, but still) and a medicinal user. But there was no evidence of sales, like records, baggies or phone numbers, although dude did have a scale and vacuum sealer. Still, the jury let him walk.
Also, if you do end up going to trial, you may want to consider a bench trial; if the judge has a lenient attitude towards mj (as opposed to the so called harder drugs) then he may find you guilty of a lesser charge and/or give you a lighter sentence than if you were found guilty by a jury. Because a bench trial is much less work for the judge than a jury trial.
I had that mindset once - "You gotta force me to sit down!"
Didn't work out so well.
i agree 100 percentone thing that no one mentioned is that a lawyers opinion of YOU makes a huge difference in the quality of service that you receive so try not to appear to dumb,rich or cocky because it will cost you plenty
