Early on with my criminal defense clients, I develop an action plan for the work ahead for me and my client, with the goal of improving our chances with case negotiations, any trial, and any possible sentencing.

When my clients ask me the benefit of following their part of this roadmap, I can tell them about my many other clients who have benefited from doing my advised homework assignments, many of which are detailed here.

Doing the homework is not an admission of guilt nor a concession of defeat by my client, but a team-empowering approach towards obtaining the best possible results in the case.

As but one example, I recently obtained a felony theft case dismissal after my client did my proposed homework assignments and came to court with funds towards any negotiated restitution amount. Those equities alone did not assure a dismissal, but helped, along with my presenting my client’s case to the prosecutor in the most persuasive possible light.

This case dismissal was great not only for my client’s liberty, but also because a felony or misdemeanor theft conviction is a scarlet letter on one’s record, for reputational purposes, employment opportunities, obtaining security clearances, obtaining immigration benefits, and even for becoming a notary public.

Of course, negotiating efforts do not always resolve the case. When the prosecutor knows that a trial will be the result of not reaching a negotiated resolution, that can help spur negotiations forward. When negotiations do not work, my client and I go to trial.