dc, I'm not familiar with the California system. For instance, I don't know if a judge is bound by a plea bargin. In the system I am fimiliar with, he is not. It'a roll of the dice, but he almost always goes along. Does the DA have to tell you ahead of time he is going to ask for jail time? Again, I don't know. But what is more likely to happen is he will tell your attorney "if your client insists on going to trial, I'm going to ask for jail time". Just a tactic to pressure you into pleading. I agree with Scruffy, if you plead, that year of probation is BS. Although we do have "supervised" and "unsupervised" probation here. In the first, you have close scrutiny, in the second, you just have to stay out of trouble for that year. No monthly reports, visits, ect.

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What Sam describes with regard to the probation possibilities is well worth consideration -- so you need to find out WHAT kind of probation you'd be faced with if you were to accept that as part of a plea.

In my case, I was falsely accused of possession of HEROIN -- the cops did this on purpose, just to be rotten. I had poppers -- and they said they were "liquid heroin," which was patently absurd.

Long story short: ALL charges were dropped on that one because obviously when the state tested the poppers they found they were NOT, in fact, "liquid heroin."

However, it took them SIX MONTHS to do this, during which my life was a living hell -- I thought I was facing a felony conviction. It got to the point where I wondered if the cops who wrote up the bogus charge might actually have PUT heroin into the popper bottle. Thankfully that was not the case, but I think I had good cause to wonder.

During the time I had to wait, the court sent me letters telling me that I could go to "drug court" and be tested on a weekly basis for a year -- and go to rehab.

Since I have no drug addiction problems and was NOT in possession of heroin, my attorney told me NOT to accept these offers: "Throw the letters away," he said.

The letters offered a SEALED record pending completion of "drug court" and rehab -- and the promised no jail time as part of the bargain.

There were days when NO JAIL TIME sounded good, even though I was innocent. I even told my attorney that since I could easily pass a drug test and fake rehab, maybe this was a good idea after all. He STRONGLY disagreed.

I mention this because this MAY be part of the reason why your attorney is offering advice that you are unsure of at this time. He may not like the conditions of the probation that are being offered to you and is holding out for a better deal.

If that is the case, you NEED TO KNOW.

USUALLY an attorney will hold out if he believes he CAN get a better deal. Most attorneys will NOT put their client at risk for a stiffer sentence based on THEIR stubbornness.

Also, sometimes stringing a DA along with the THREAT of trial ultimately leads to the DA giving a better deal -- but this tactic can backfire and the DA can WITHDRAW ALL DEALS anytime he wants if he feels YOUR attorney is being unreasonable.

So this is why you MUST ask questions and get some logical answers from your lawyer, OK? You have a right to know his motives and what he hopes to gain for YOU.

Continued wishes for a good outcome here.

Let us know what happens.

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Scruffy is right.

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When I gave the advise to retain a lawyer who has a proven record of successfully defending people arrested and charged with lewd conduct, I was hoping that 'dcfan' would actually retain someone with a proven track record.

Within the legal profession, you have attorneys who actually do have a reputation and an established record of successfully defending people arrested and charged with sex offenses according to the criminal statutes. Lewd conduct falls under the criminal statutes for sex offenses.

There are many lawyers who handle these types of criminal cases. This does not mean they have a reputation and an established record of successfully defending someone charged under the criminal statutes for various sex offenses which include lewd conduct.

Some attorneys are not as competent as other attorneys who handle these types of criminal cases. You want to find an attorney who has an established track record of winning these types of cases. If you required heart surgery, wouldn't you want a physician who has an established track record of patients who survived the ordeal and are alive to prove it?

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Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. And, under a just God, cannot long retain it.

-- Abraham Lincoln

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