The information below is not a substitute
for having
a lawyer to consult with, to advise you,
and to represent you in courtroom proceedings!
FAQs
As just indicated, these FAQs and responses do not include
everything you might want to know, or even everything you really need to know,
about your situation. They are intended only to get you oriented, in a very
general way, so that you can work with your
lawyer more successfully. Any actual, concrete situation will require additional
information, and will almost certainly have particular features demanding exceptions or qualifications to what is
said here.
In particular, you will find
nothing below about defending particular kinds of cases, although developing appropriate
strategies and discussing them with my client is at the heart of what I do in
any particular case. That process is far
too specific, and too confidential, to be addressed in this format.
Do you handle traffic tickets?
Yes. Speeding tickets, tickets for running stop lights, and similar cases are
not criminal matters. Because these cases do not carry a possible jail term,
there is no right to have a lawyer appointed at public expense. For that
reason, I did not handle them in my public defender days. In recent years,
however, such cases have become a regular and substantial part of my private
practice.
What if I am not a U.S.
citizen?
If you are planning to become a U.S.
citizen, a criminal conviction might result in your being denied naturalization.
If you are not a citizen, a conviction might also provide a basis for
deportation and permanent exclusion from re-entry into the U.S. This might happen even if you have family
here, and even if your family members are U.S. citizens. If you are a foreign
national, you may also have a right under international treaties or agreements
to talk to officials from a local consulate of your home country about your
situation. This may be an important source of help. If you are not a U.S. citizen, make
sure that your lawyer understands exactly what your immigration status is in
this country.
What if I haven't yet been formally charged?
If you have not yet been charged, but think you might be, you should talk to a
lawyer immediately. A lawyer may be able to make suggestions about how to
preserve evidence of your innocence, advise you about speaking to law
enforcement authorities, take statements from witnesses while things are fresh
in their minds, and help you to prepare for such possibilities as a court
hearing on bail and conditions of release.
Does the court my case was filed in have any significance?
Different courts enforce different provisions of the law. Crimes that
are uniquely federal concerns are prosecuted in the federal court system. Provisions
of tribal or municipal codes can usually be enforced only in the particular
tribe’s or city’s court system. Procedures can also vary from one court to
another, although there are broad similarities among the various courts that
handle criminal cases.
Among the various state trial courts, criminal charges filed
in a city’s municipal court or a county’s district court will generally be
misdemeanors or gross misdemeanors, with maximum possible sentences,
respectively, of 90 days or one year. Although such charges can also be filed in a county’s superior court,
the superior court is usually reserved for felony cases, where the maximum
possible sentence is measured in terms of years in prison.
The court in which you find yourself charged may also have a
bearing on what solutions are available for your problem. For example, deferred prosecution programs
are available only in district and municipal courts. Similarly, in the juvenile division of the
superior court, a diversion from prosecution is often available that has no
real equivalent elsewhere.
What court appearances will there be?
The first few hearings you are
likely to have in a criminal case are an arraignment and, possibly, a prior
preliminary appearance or subsequent bail hearing. The concerns at these early hearings include advising the accused person of certain rights;
making sure that the accused person understands the charge(s); taking a plea (almost always
“not guilty”); and setting any bail or conditions of release that will be
imposed until the case is resolved.
Later hearings may include a pretrial or omnibus hearing; motion
hearings; trial; and, when necessary, sentencing. A lawyer can help you understand what to
expect at each stage, and ensure that you will be properly prepared. Your personal presence will be required at each
hearing in a criminal case.
In non-criminal cases such as
contested traffic infractions, if a lawyer will be there for you, you can sometimes waive your presence, saving yourself a trip to court. In infraction cases, it often happens that
the entire case is dealt with in just one hearing.
What about bail and conditions of release?
In many cases, the judge may allow
a defendant to be out of jail while the case is ongoing, on the defendant’s
personal recognizance. This is no more
nor less than a personal promise to appear for future hearings. (Any failure to
appear as promised ordinarily results in the judge issuing an arrest warrant. It may also be treated as the separate crime
of bail jumping, or as a basis for a contempt of court sanction. )
A judge may, however, have concerns about
whether the defendant will actually return based just on a promise. Such concerns might be based, for example, on a past history of non-compliance with court orders, on the
seriousness of the charge, on a lack of ties to the local community, or on some
other fact such as the defendant’s appearance and demeanor in court. If the judge has such concerns, bail will
usually be set in some dollar amount.
If bail is set as “cash only,” then the defendant has to somehow find the stated
amount of cash to post with the clerk, or remain in jail. If it is set as “cash or bond,” the bail can
be arranged through a professional bail bondsman. The bondsman will require a percentage of the
specified amount as a non-refundable fee, and may also require other security
for the balance.
Conditions of release are generally intended not so much to assure future appearances as to guard against any danger the defendant might potentially pose to himself, to others, or to
the integrity of the court process, whether release is on personal recognizance or by posting bail.
Commonly-imposed
conditions include staying away from particular places; having no contact
with specified people; not driving without a valid license and insurance; not
consuming alcohol or (without a valid prescription) prescription-only drugs; and
not possessing firearms or other weapons.
What about sentences?
At a very general level, sentencing in misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor cases
tends to allow more room for treatment and rehabilitation-based approaches,
while felony sentencing is, by and large, more concerned with imposing a
measured punishment. In the district and
municipal courts, the terms of any particular sentence are largely at the
judge’s discretion, under the statutes governing indeterminate sentences. In superior court, on the other hand, the
judge’s discretion in felony sentencing is generally confined by the Sentencing
Reform Act of 1981. That statute started out as
a fairly complex way to approach sentencing, and has grown more and more
complex over the years since it took effect.
In either sentencing system, for some offenses there are mandatory terms that
the judge must impose. The commonest
example at the misdemeanor/gross misdemeanor level involves the automatic
consequences for DUI offenses, which vary in severity according to the
defendant’s past driving history and the circumstances of the offense for which
the defendant is being sentenced. These
automatic consequences are complicated enough that the courts adopted a rule
requiring DUI defendants to be advised of the possibilities at their
arraignment hearings, by means of a written summary (to see it this summary in MS Word format, click here and follow the link for 4.2A).
At the superior court or felony level,
mandatory increases in penalties may be required, for example, where a firearm or deadly weapon figured in the commission of the offense, or where the persistent offender or “three strikes” law
is involved.
Sentencing is, all by itself, a complicated business, and the assistance of a lawyer is essential at this stage.
Even where a person intends to admit the
crime, a lawyer’s help is essential. Simply
“throwing one’s self on the mercy of the court” is no longer a sensible
approach, if in fact that ever was a wise option.
Do you handle appeals?
Yes I do. While the questions above have all
been about what happens at the trial court level, I particularly enjoy
appellate work. I am happy to discuss
your case with you if you were unsuccessful at trial, and are now interested in
pursuing an appeal.
I also welcome other
kinds of post-judgment cases which, strictly speaking, are not appeals,
although they are often thought of and referred to as if they were. The most familiar examples are petitions for
habeas corpus relief in federal court, and the Washington state courts’ counterparts to such
proceedings, personal restraint petitions.
General links
I have provided some links here that may be of help in working through your case with a lawyer's help. As with the FAQs above, these links should not be used as a substitute for actually getting a lawyer's advice and assistance. Instead, they are provided with a view to making such help more efficient and more effective.
Courts:
State, county, city & tribal courts (directory)
U.S. District Court for Western WashingtonConstitutions:
Constitution of the United StatesConstitution of the State of Washington
Codes (statutes & ordinances):
United States Code (USC)
Revised Code of Washington (RCW)
Washington city & county codes
Court rules:
Washington state & local court rules
Public defenders:
State & local public defense offices (directory)
Federal Public Defender for Western Washington