Independent, that is exactly what they want you to think.

"you better play nice, or I will throw the book and the bookshelf at you!"

You can be polite, you can be cordial, you can even be somewhat accomodating, but NEVER in a criminal case do you just blindly 'cooperate' with the DA because it might get you an easier plea agreement.

Remember it DOESN'T MATTER what your plea agreement says, when it comes to sentencing, unless otherwise stated, approved and signed by all parties, the judge can sentence a person to whatever they see fit. So even if they have an agreement of 3-5 years, the judge can give the 15 year sentence if they like ANYWAY.

The DA has as much to do with sentencing as the defense attorney does. So even if the plea agreement says that the person shouldn't get any jail time or prison time and 10 years of supervision/probation, the judge can sentence the person to 10 years in prison instead if they so choose. I have seen this OVER and OVER and OVER. People believing that once a plea agreement is done that sentencing is a formality... IT IS NOT! It is another proceeding where a judge can do whatever they like, regardless of any of the parties involved.

Yes I obviously agree with you the DA is fishing. But what if that was part of the deal for a plea bargain, that the DA gets to talk to the wife and if she likes what she hears she will offer a lesser plea? At this point he is going to jail, they hold all the cards. They could send him away for life, they haven him dead to rights. They need zero more cooperation from the wife or the daughter to do so. They have him by the gonads.

In most cases I would agree with you Wisconsin. Never talk to the DA and take your chances. H3 if you have an uneasy feeling about how your husbands case is being handled go talk to the defense bar. But I personally think from what you've said its being handled okay.

You are still entitled to a fair (snicker) trial with a jury of your peers even if you have confessed - just because you confess that right is not taken away - it is only when you accept a deal that the right to a trail is removed - and even then you can appeal the plea

That's right they hold all the cards, but that doesn't mean you need to give them more by talking to them unrepresented. That is just bad advise, period.

They had my husband by the gonads too... He signed a plea agreement for a 3-5 year sentence as well. On sentencing day they gave him 15 years, 10 incarceration and 5 extended supervision, regardless of the plea agreement that was signed. We were able to withdraw the plea do to several mistakes that my husbands previous attorney made. We were able to take the whole thing back to court, tried very hard to get the whole thing thrown out, to no avail. In the end we had to take the same type of plea, this time around the judge (a different one than the first time around) gave him 4 years incarceration and 6 years extended super vision.

Everyone that has to deal with anything in the court should have their own representation that they trust. Do not rely on a DA or anyone that you aren't paying directly to be on your side or in a mood to really help you before themselves.

H3 needs to consult an attorney for her and her daughter's best interests. They need to not talk to the DA without a witness or recording the conversation, if they can't have representation with them.

Personally I do not think that the defense attorney is handling it well at all... allowing someone that could hurt the case more than a confession does to talk to the DA alone. That is just bad strategy or just poor attorney behavior.

I am glad that H3 is considering going to legal aid to at least get a consult or to talk to someone. It is the first step to making sure that she and her daughter are protected.

You are entitled to a trial but no defense attorney in their right mind would advise him going to trial if there is a plea bargain on the table. The defense attorney cannot suborn perjury so the client cannot testify in his own defense.

So yes he has a right to trial, but he cannot exercise it without being hammered over the head.

I agree but that is true in most sex crimes whether guilt was admitted or not - evidence or not

It is true not just in sex crimes, but in all crimes. You get arrested for anything, you better have the money for a good lawyer, because if you don't you are screwed.

And Wisconsin:

Yes I agree she should talk to a lawyer for her daughter, if you read back that is the first thing I commented.

In about 90% of cases Id agree with you, in this situation I'm giving the lawyer the benefit of the doubt. It could be a hopeless situation that lawyer is put in and no matter what is said it won't change that. We don't have all the facts in the case, his lawyer does.

H3 if you feel uncomfortable with the lawyer talk to the lawyer and ask why she recommended talking to the DA. Then talk to a different attorney for a consult and if you still feel uneasy talk to the defense bar.

So I just remembered that my daughter does indeed have a lawyer. she was given one by the military. He called today and wanted to schedule a teleconference with my daughter tomorrow. I will give an update on that.

Anyways on the 18th my husband had a court hearing. I was just told tonight by his defense attorney that the DA said I was giving her a hard time by not allowing her to speak to my daughter numerous times And that I was basically making stories up of NCIS coming her to my neighborhood basically not giving a damn and spreading what happened to my neighbors. That made me pissed off...to question my honesty. Anyways his attorney said that they would only plead to one count of molestation (I believe) and that has a term of probation but the DA wanted them to plead to something else that would give a term of 6,12, or 18. So as of right now they are still negotiating but they both agreed for my husband to do the evaluation. Now I am waiting for next court hearing on jan 5th.

Why hasn't your daughter been appointed a Guardian Ad Lidem.. This is usually an attorney that handles the interest of the child...I know my daughter was assigned one.

Ibeenthere, what is a Guardian Ad Lidem? Are you talking about victim advocate?

Each state goes about a child victim differently. A guardian ad litem is just an advocate for the child that isn't the parent who speaks to the court on what is the best thing for the child. In some states that's an attorney, in others it's a social worker.

That's what I thought, thanks Independant. My daughter's victim advocate didn't fight for what was best for her, but best for the DA. That was straight from their mouth.

Ok, so the DA after talking to you basically questioned your honesty, portrayed you as being not cooperative and the like. After the both of you 'agreeing' that your husband wasn't a 'bad person' she goes on to tell someone else that you were less than the good person you are. This is why one never ever talks to the DA or the prosecution without another witness or attorney or a recording device present.

When it comes to children in the legal system be them a 'victim' of a crime or the 'perpetrator' of a crime, they are not treated fairly as children nor as adults when they are charged with crimes that are adult offenses. In this country at 18 you can go to war and die for your country but you can't have a beer until you are 21. If you are 11 you can be charged as an adult if you commit murder and sentenced to life because they say at the age of 11 they know right from wrong and what it means to take a life. Yet they are not worldly enough to consent to sex? How STUPID Is that?

So what I am trying to say is that there are no circumstances where the DA is any kind of ally or friend or helper in a case that is State v. XXXXX that is not their job. Their job is to get convictions, as many with as long of sentences as they can muster. For that is the proof those elected offices need to show their constituents that they are 'fighting crime' and 'putting the bad guys away'.

When it comes to the legal system if you are the accused you are fighting for your life, literally. If you are the victim, you are fighting a system that would like to keep you a victim, which in turn could lead to another offender, as we all know all to well the cycle of abuse that sex offenses stem from.