Bad news. Attny won't take case unless we pay $10K up front. They referred him to someone who might take pymts; however, even though the website says they are solely criminal defense, they don't list sex offenses as one of their areas. The law firm the NV attny referred him to said the same thing. Both firms think this will go to trial or whatever.

Does anyone know how this works? If we can't get an attny, can he go to the interview and request a public defender then? We only have a few days. How do we proceed?

Thank you all for your help and support. It means the world to me. I don't know what I would do without you.!

JunkYardJane I sent you a private message.

JunkYardJane,

You said, “Does anyone know how this works? If we can't get an attny, can he go to the interview and request a public defender then? We only have a few days. How do we proceed?”

If your son cannot retain an attorney, it’s simple----he does not go to talk to LE about the case.

He can refuse to talk to LE. What people do not understand sometimes is that an American citizen has no obligation to EVER talk to the police. If detained by the police, I think all he has to do is give him his name and his address to identify himself.

If he is arrested, he will be placed in the county jail waiting for his case to be adjudicated. Within a short period of time after the arrest---usually something like 72 hours---he will be brought before a judge for a court hearing called an arraignment. At that time he will plead “not guilty,” his bail will be discussed, and he will be appointed a PD if he is indigent and cannot afford a private attorney.

He does not want to talk to the detective or anyone else without an attorney. He can tell the detective just what I mentioned in a previous post----“I am not making any statements without my attorney present.” Just don’t show up for the meeting with the detective. He cannot have a PD until he is officially charged with a crime.

Just hang tight. I imagine he may very well get arrested at some point, but any arrest will not be b/c he failed to meet with the detective and discuss the case. It is possible that they planned to arrest him at this meeting with the detective.

rewdiazepam

What a day! We've tried so many attny's, and they all want the same thing: money we don't have. They ALL said the same thing: do NOT talk to the cops! So it has been decided that my son will NOT be going to the interview on Tuesday. It was the last attny my spoke to that actually explained things. He gave my son a website to check everyday to see is a warrant has been issued. He explained how extradition works and that depending on the type of warrant, they might not even come get him.

This will hopefully give him some more time so he can get a second job and get as much money as possible together. Because no matter what, we might not have enough money to bail him out anyways. We don't even know if they WILL press charges. Most likely, but he might as well stay out of jail for as long as possible. (I heard through a P.I. that they WILL be pressing kidnapping and statutory rape charges)

Anyways, making the decision NOT to go, has helped to lift some of this paralyzing depression we've been having. (for now)

I also think that it is finally sinking in, for my son, just how bad he screwed up. He said that after explaining things to so many people today, he really felt like crap (or something to that effect).


All of you here have really been a godsend for me, and I've been relaying what you've told me to both my son and husband.


We have also told my son NOT to come into AZ for any reason until we see what happens. I can just imagine he gets pulled over for some reason, and with this "small town" network, they'll bring him in. So, tomorrow, I'm going to go visit him so I can hug him. The next time I see him, he may be behind bars.

My son finally found an attny that was willing to take the case with the plan of not going to trial, and wanted "only" $4500 upfront. My son called his bank and was approved to up the limit on his credit card, so he was able to pay that. They already informed the police that he has retained counsel.

Personally, my husband and I can come up with $2500 (between credit cards and cash) for bail. But nothing else without getting behind on bills.

Having an attny has taken a bit of the weight off. Even if he isn't any good, at least it's something.

I was with my son last night and this morning. He's terrified now. He's already been taking care of things, but I gave him a list of things to do, and he's called me to let me know he's done them all.. One of the things was to make a list of all his expenses/income, so if we have to change to a public defender, that will help to speed the process along. Because, honestly, I don't know how we'd come up with any more for the attny.

I also had him make a list of family/friend's addresses and phone #'s, so that will be available if he goes to prison, and make it a little easier to set up for visits/calls.

He also downloaded a DMV form to give power of attny to his roommate and myself, so if he gets arrested and they impound his car, we can get it out as quickly and cheaply as possible.

He has packed up all his belongings in case we need to pick them up. I told him we have to prepare for the worst, and he's doing that. So I'm thankful that these things are being done, and that he's had the time to do it. I guess we've been more fortunate than most. It would have been horrible if he had been immediately arrested and unable to get things in order. All we can do, is prepare and take care of the things that we CAN control.

If I hadn't found this group, we'd be flying blind. Thank you all.

Jane,

Just a few thoughts.

I doubt that your son’s case will go to trial. I don’t know how many times he had sex with the young lady or how many times they crossed state lines, but each time it happened is one count. For example, if he had sex 20 times with this young lady, he may be charged with 20 counts of his offense.

If he went to trial, the prosecutor could try him on all 20 counts. If each count carried a five year sentence and he was found guilty on all 20 counts, which is quite possible, then he could receive 100 years from a jury. The DA may ask to have all the counts running consecutively---in boxcar fashion----rather than concurrently, which means he would run all the counts into one single count.

Since they have the young lady’s statement, they have all the proof they need if he goes to trial. He could say, “I did not do this,” but if she testifies and comes up with a halfway decent story, he will get convicted.

So his attorney will most likely work on a plea bargain with the prosecutor. DAs do not like to lose cases, so the DA will be willing to give a little to get a sure conviction with a plea bargain. The DA will have to give some things up to get a plea. For that reason, the DA will probably drop most of the charges except one or two and your son will be tried on those counts.

As I mentioned, DAs hate to invest time in a case and then lose, so the DA does not really want to go to trial either; he wants a sure conviction. The DAs problem is that he has a young lady as a complaining witness who probably does not want to go through a trial. If she should happen to get cold feet and refuse to testify, then the DAs case may completely implode on him and he is left with nothing. As a result, the DA may offer your son a sweetheart of a deal just to get him to plead. A plea bargain is a win for both sides: the DA gets a sure conviction and the defendant gets a good deal.

I am NOT an attorney, but this is how most of these cases work out.

You said, “Having an attny has taken a bit of the weight off. Even if he isn't any good, at least it's something.”

Of course it does. Most people in your situation feel a sense of complete isolation and fear. They cannot talk about the charges or the case to someone else, so they suffer in silence. Having an attorney means having someone on your side.

Since there will most likely be a plea bargain and he will not go to trial, he does not need a hot shot criminal defense attorney like Matlock, but rather an attorney who can get him a good deal via a plea bargain. He needs a good negotiator rather than a hot shot trial lawyer.

My one fear is that since she may have traveled across state lines, the feds would step in. In that case, they would charge him with “transporting a minor across state lines for immoral purposes. But maybe the feds will not want to press charges.

Jane, you are just beginning this journey. So far, you and your son have done everything right and made some good decisions. My advice is to “take one day at a time” and try not to worry about something in the future which may or may not ever happen.

Above everything else, these situations are DOABLE. Not pleasant, but doable.

God bless you and your family.

rewdiazepam

The police are not your friend. The DA isn’t looking for justice, all he wants is a conviction no matter the facts. Do not trust anyone except possibly your lawyer and the people here giving advice.

Thank you Bluerose27. Waiting to see what happens is awful. I check a website that lists active warrants several times a day. So far nothing.

My son and his GF are planning on getting married as soon as she turns 18 - which isn't until April. That's a long way off. But that won't really help much, as in AZ, it is still illegal, unless they were married at time of the incident. So they can still go after my son for the next seven years.


I'm just wondering, since no charges have been filed yet, and there's been no arrest, how long will it be before we can breathe easier? If they were going to do something, wouldn't they have done it by now?

No, they take forever. In my situation my case was delayed for several months. I was arraigned and around 8-9 months later I accepted a plea for probation.

Though I am curious if they were to get married could the state compel her to testify against her husband? If she got emancipated or a legal guardian signed off on her getting married (doesn’t sound like a very good shot of this since she wants to get custody of her siblings) it could throw a huge monkey wrench in the whole thing. I think I saw this half brained scheme on a law and order SVU episode. Couldn’t hurt if he asked his lawyer if there is any merit in something like this. It’s a definite Hail Mary play but the state is going to use everything in their arsenal to win, might as well ask.

In AZ, they won't accept marriage as a defense unless they were married at the time of the offense. However, they DO want to get married.


Since I last posted, the father has temp. custody of all the kids and is going to court for full custody. There is a no contact order between the GF & mother.

I have talked to and met the GF and the father. He doesn't like the age difference, but is ok with the relationship otherwise, and my son will meet him next week. (He has talked with him on the phone) Until he has full custody, we are not pushing for emancipation or consent for marriage. But either way, that would still have to go through the courts. At the very least, they are planning on getting married as soon as she turns 18 (which isn't until April).


In the meantime, the cops are trying to find out if the P.I. who was involved with the case has any recordings that will be useful to them. They told the attorney that they are looking at 6 counts - of what, I don't know. My best guess is sexual misconduct with a minor. Which would be a felony 6 - which could possibly be pled down to a gross misdemeanor. Until they actually charge him with something, we're in limbo.


So, to keep our spirits up, my husband and I are planning the wedding. We've also both become ordained ministers and always state on the phone with my son or the GF that we are having a spiritual counseling session, just in case anybody is listening. I know, that sounds wacky, but we're beyond paranoid!

I know marriage is not a defense, but the DA couldn’t call her to testify against your son because of spousal privilege. It’s something I think he should at least look into since they want to get married anyway.

If they were somehow able to get married the DA would have a hell of a time trying to meet their burden of proof if they didn’t get a confession from your son. That would be a huge bargaining chip for your son’s attorney to take to the DA to try and get a better plea deal.

Curious if you have ever heard anything like this Rew?

They have no confession from my son (unless he said something stupid to the P.I. and it was recorded). GF wants to recant and will refuse to testify. The only way they got her to say anything, is they kept her for 7 hours and kept making her switch rooms. Then told her that her BF told them everything and that he wasn't in any trouble. So she admitted to having sex 6 times. She's prepared, if asked, to say it was because she was there so long and was exhausted, so she said what they wanted to hear.

Also, I found out, that AZ has a new program that will provide free lawyers to minors who are victims of crime. So there's that avenue, since we can't afford a second attorney; in case the cops try to demand that she come in for a second interview. She is aware that she does not have to talk to them unless she is subpoenaed through the court.

Overview

The Supreme Court has recognized two types of marital privileges:

Testimonial privilege
Communications privilege
Testimonial Privilege

In criminal cases, one spouse may refuse to testify against his/her defendant spouse as a witness. As affirmed by the Supreme Court in Trammel v. United States (1980), the witness spouse alone may choose to waive the privilege, regardless of the defendant spouse's objection.

From:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/marital_privilege

This means if her dad signed off on her getting married the DA could not call her as a witness against your son. And I can’t imagine a jury would want to convict the husband in a case like this.