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Anonymous #12
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You should leave town and never look back. Open a taco stand and get rich!
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Anonymous #13
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#5 is right. do not, whatever the fuck you do, DO NOT TAKE THE PLEA "BARGIN". we are all taught that "the truth shall set you free" and it's absolute bull shit. when dealing with the police, no matter how guilty you are, no matter how much they got you, you shut your mouth and lawyer up. never ever admit guilt. never even speak to the police without a good lawyer (if they have anything on you, of course) to coach you on exactly what to say. otherwise, they will ruin your life without hesitation. police have a lot of experience making people unknowingly forfeit their rights and fuck themselves. if you play their game, they will win. do not play unless it's on your terms that you've discussed with your lawyer.
Honestly, if I were you, i'd leave the country. probably get a fake ID + social security number and move to canada or something. start completely new. but thats just me, not saying you should do that. i just wouldn't want to take the chance of going to prison which I'm sorry to say, is a very real possibility for you. if the possession charge sticks, thats a felony no two ways about it. whether or not it sticks depends on how good your lawyer is or how smart + lucky you are.
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Anonymous #14
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Re: Caught with "magic mushrooms" [Re: Anonymous #5]
#23476390 - 07/25/16 06:20 PM (7 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
Anonymous #5 said: If I were you I would do everything in my power to get those charges dropped. Any type of conviction will follow you the rest of your life.
Deny everything, demand a jury trial, plead guilty to a disorderly conduct charge at the most.
Be careful hiring an attorney, many are not worth their weight in horse manure. If you can get a personal reference for a good trial attorney go with that. The best trial attorneys can always get the best plea deals.
I disagree with a couple things you said. First, the general idea of paying a good trial lawyer is not to take a plea, although they will charge you less money if it can get satisfactorily resolved without going to trial. Second, almost every trial I ever heard of (in real life, not on TV, the lawyer wants a bench trial not a jury trial. It's possible the lawyer might want a jury for a soft drug case, but then you have to hope you don't get 12 jurors who don't know that shrooms are soft drugs. Most younger people get out of jury duty, and jurors are disproportionately older people with nothing better to do. The stealing the bottle from behind a bar could be a big mitigating issue in this case, but the judge might be impressed by him entering AA. If I was him I would be going to N.A. meetings too even if the motivation for AA is sincere and the N.A. is just strategy.
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Anonymous #15
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Ive pushed possession charges out a few years in court with a good lawyer, then at the end kept pushing for trial, not bench, then got my sick deal, but seems like some Of those prosecutors try to fake you out all the way like they can win, don't give them an inch man. Get a cheap lawyer for now just to stall it all out, save for a real lawyer.
Ain't like the first couple times in there you have to be done. I don't even know how many times I went back in there to delay it, at least a dozen. A good lawyer (not enlilly) can make that happen for u.
Three years of fucking with the courts cost me 3k, but it was money well spent.
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Anonymous #16
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You cannot win a controlled substance case unless you can PROVE your innocence at jury trial. The jury instructions are worded in such a way that they basically tell the jury to convict.
If you can get it plead down to drunk and disorderly or a DC ticket do it. An illicit drug conviction is the mark of Cain in the US. I know this from experience- You will not even be given the chance to do a burger flipping job, that is, if you don't have RECENT RELEVANT work experience burger flipping.
They will use any excuse they can not to hire you officially besides the drug conviction, but it's the drug conviction that actually prevents you from getting the job. It is because of liability insurance.
I actually tested it using more or less identical applications one with the drug conviction and one with a faked name but otherwise similar credentials and no drug conviction. This was on very menial jobs, not stuff like medical or financial.
Having a lot of very hard to find and useful skills and not being able to get a real paying job sucks. To be honest the only thing stopping me from saying F it and just going nuts is the foreknowledge that it will just further their agenda, and anything that would make a real impact would be so overkill that the point would be lost.
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Anonymous #1
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Heres an update: The case got moved up to a superior court because it was a felony and the date got pushes back to mid august, but when I called in to confirm the date and change the time I ended up having a conversation with their records person. The woman told me that I needed to show up with a lawyer whether it was a public defender or a private lawyer or else the date will be pushed back again ( possible strategy?) She also informed me that my current income $600 a week is "way too much" to qualify for a public defender and that my high rent, debt, and expenses are not taken into account in qualifiying. She said so you need to get a private lawyer before coming here. After speaking for a little, she realized I hadn't been through this process before and asked if I had ever been in trouble before. I said no other than an open container (public drunkeness - dropped to open container). No drug charges? No How much was it? Less than an eigth. She said ok you know what let me talk to the prosecutor and it could work it could not. She gave me the impression that she was going to get the case dropped back down to the municipal court. Which would be alot better. She said call me back on monday before paying for a lawyer because chances are the case will be moved and the date will be pushed back again, so you can wait on the lawyer. I bet some of you will say this is some intricate plot by the old lady in the records department to fuck me, but I highly doubt it she seemed genuine. ANYWAY thats the update. I will keep the this thread updated until the conclusion so stay tuned. Oh and I am still sober and in AA 24 days now. So when the time comes I will have someone to vouch for my sobriety. Trying my best not to be a dirtbag. Also all mycology and gear is completely gone.
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Anonymous #9
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Re: Caught with "magic mushrooms" [Re: Anonymous #1]
#23484075 - 07/27/16 10:22 PM (7 years, 6 months ago) |
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Truly sorry you gotta deal with this shit.
Edited by Anonymous (07/27/16 10:22 PM)
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Anonymous #15
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Re: Caught with "magic mushrooms" [Re: Anonymous #1]
#23485932 - 07/28/16 02:10 PM (7 years, 6 months ago) |
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Yes, show without the lawyer (mine had me do that), it is a strategy, but confirm with a lawyer in your state to make sure its the same there.
The basis of my strategy was staying out of trouble and delay the case as long as possible. When u have little or no priors, and u stall them a couple years, its way easier to get the deal u want without dumping 10k on something trivial.
Personally, I dont think 3k for almost 3 years of lawyering is a bad deal. Get your attorney from another county, decent part of my cost for my guy was just his travel, each time I was in court it was for as little as 5-10 minutes.
Dress nice, look nice, stand and sit with good posture, be clear eyed and attentive. I even put on underwear to go, and I only do that for funerals man.
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Anonymous #5
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Amen.
Annon #1 don't listen to any of these bitches telling you to bitch out. That would just be a bitch move. I would re explain about demanding a jury,but I already covered that and I do believe it is very important that you demand a jury and it's never too late to demand a jury trial even on the day the (punk ass) bench trial is supposed to get started .
The longer you can delay without actually asking for a delay is greatly in your favor. The best thing you can do is what you're doing, researching and being proactive with anyone you encounter that can help you reach your end goal.
I knew a guy years ago that got out of some serious felony charges by fucking one of the clerks really good and she tossed all his paperwork in the shredder. Don't be afraid to think outside the box.
Use any means at your disposal to get a favorable outcome anyone telling you to own up and plead guilty doesn't know what the fuck they are talking about. The fucking pigs and prosecutors won't think twice about lieing under oath, I've seen them do it.
It's obvious who has been thru the system and produced a favorable outcome for themselves in this thread because they all echo my sentiments.
Play absolutely stupid for the time being but study all of your rights and even more importantly study the procedure that was supposed to be followed. If you find that they have made an error in procedure you can get the whole thing tossed.
There is a book for whatever state you may be in called criminal rules and procedures , find it and read it. Knowledge is truly power.
Don't believe anyone who tells you that you cant win in a jury trial. Look at OJ Simpson for example. People make decisions with their feelings and not always based on logical reasoning.
I'm pulling for you man. Keep us updated!
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Anonymous #17
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Quote:
Anonymous #12 said: You should leave town and never look back. Open a taco stand and get rich!
Best decision you could make
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Anonymous #1
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Good news:
The clerk lady called me and told me that the prosecutor agreed to move the case back down to the municipal court as a misdemeanor. The charge will be failure to turnover.
"But they dont want to go any lower than that"
She said that I would probably also be offered some program where if I don't get in any more trouble for the next year my charges can be dropped and expunged. This is also great because it will take time for the municipal court to re-prosess and set a new date. (Insanely slow bureaucracy does have an upside) In that time, I could probably save up for a lawyer. I am wondering if that is even worth it at this point, or if showing up with a lawyer could possibly piss them off and make them reclassify it as a felony again.
What are your thoughts?
Sidenote. I know I should just count my blessings, but I can't help but wonder what would have happened if the clerk heard a black mans voice on the other end when we first spoke.
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Anonymous #15
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Re: Caught with "magic mushrooms" [Re: Anonymous #1]
#23533908 - 08/12/16 08:19 AM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Save for a good lawyer, id still plan to spend 3-5 thousand, but id expect to walk away with no charges. Talk to a lawyer for free, find out if you should start suffering thru AA meetings or something, so you can say you are preemptively addressing what the courts could call your "problem". Since its all annony there, u might be able tolie about it, just learn the names of the ones running the meetings. Dunno for sure, dont do the AA thing.
I dunno about that expunging crap, I know other people who were told about that when they plead guilty and took the deal, only to still have it pop up during employment checks, so whats the point?
Lawyer I had told me that expunging is a long expensive process throu the courts, and even after you win the record wash, it still doesnt usually happen, and you go back to court again, more money, more bullshit.
But, id talk to a real lawyer if I were you, not the pseudo lawyer we have here, who has so little actual lawyering to do, he posts here as much as the kids with no job. The lawyers ive had are way to busy for stupid shit like this site.
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Anonymous #1
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I was actually going to AA for awhile, but stopped going a couple weeks ago. Still 100% sober and plan to stay that way, but I just really didnt enjoy those meetings. I dont get quitting a drug and then dwelling on your use of that drug for the rest of your life.
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Anonymous #5
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Re: Caught with "magic mushrooms" [Re: Anonymous #1]
#23534740 - 08/12/16 12:46 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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I'm with you on that AA meetings bs. Them guys are all sitting around counting the days until they start drinking again. I guess it helps some tho.
Glad to hear they dropped your shit down. Idk what your laws are in your state so don't get me to lieing about the status of any charges.
Definitely keep saving for a lawyer. Remember you can demand a jury trial at any stage of the game. That would definitely piss everyone off, but could get you the drunk and disorderly.
Anything you plead out to will haunt you forever. Don't believe anything they say about any of that.
Thanks for the update and good luck on the outcome.
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Anonymous #18
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Re: Caught with "magic mushrooms" [Re: Anonymous #1] 1
#23832138 - 11/14/16 12:49 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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fyi, the reason the police were so "curious" about your stash is b/c they were doing their best to let you incriminate yourself, which it sounds like you did a fine job of. Saying you "got them from some hippie dude" is basically admitting you know they were illegal. Never say ANYTHING to the police (other than questions about your identity) once you have been arrested.
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Anonymous #19
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Got caught with 10 g's in my car one time only because the guy I just picked up to take to the store had a warrant out for his arrest. In retrospect I had ample time to eat them but I decided to hide them in a coffee cup haha obviously a terrible decision. They ripped everything apart took my bong and my weed and found the shrooms
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Anonymous #20
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Im smart. and I say stick with anon 5
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Anonymous #21
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You're on probation...
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Anonymous #22
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seems like i might be late to the party but (assuming your like me and broke$) might i suggest looking up your local university or college law department? although i am in Canada our legal system only offers limited free legal advice and representation, approx 3-10 hrs so I'v eache heard(if you qualify). chances are if you qualify for a public defender(which sounds awfully unfair in usa) you will qualify for law student representation. quick simple breakdown: 3rd and 4th year law students work and review a few cases each. they summarize and submit to their professor (a distinguished lawyer) for instruction and carry out his decision as agent. it looks great on you if you began AA before being court ordered to attend since it corroborates with your drunken behavior the night of and your recognition of a greater problem that can be better solved in "treatment" than prison
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Anonymous #1
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Re: Caught with "magic mushrooms" [Re: Anonymous #1]
#25114243 - 04/04/18 05:56 PM (5 years, 9 months ago) |
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got conditional discharge fines of like 1700 and had to "pass" a drug test once about 3 months into the 12 month probation period (at an independent testing place because I was out of state), just incase some sad soul reads this thread one day.
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