Does A Prosecutor's Attitude And Temperament Affect What A Criminal Defendant Gets?
When filing charges in criminal cases in Los Angeles, the prosecutors are tasked with that responsibility. The police investigate cases. The prosecutors file charges, and the judge sentences a person in a criminal case.
So, the prosecutors are a very important cog when it comes to dealing with criminal cases in Los Angeles courthouses. So, if you have a prosecutor who is not reasonable, that's going to put you in a difficult position as a criminal defendant. I've been doing this a long time and I know the prosecutors in courts who are not reasonable and I avoid those prosecutors.
If I've got a case where I have to deal with those particular prosecutors, I will make sure that I deal with them correctly. I will make sure that if there's any way that I can change the prosecutor, I put in the effort and time to maneuver my way around that prosecutor strategically. Either to another prosecutor or to a supervisor is crucial because the prosecutors in criminal cases can change the complexion of what happens.
They can file unreasonable charges. They can take unreasonable positions as to what they think a particular sentence should be, so it's crucial as a criminal defense attorney that we take into account the prosecutor we're dealing with, how that prosecutor deals with the particular type of charge that the client is charged with and what strategic maneuvers you can take to make sure that that prosecutor doesn't hurt your client.
When I say hurt your client, I mean be unreasonable, do not let the client get a fair resolution in the case, try to add additional charges to the client, and put the client in prison. The prosecutors have all sorts of abilities in criminal cases that you, as a defense attorney, must ensure your client avoids.
Unreasonable Supervisors
I've been doing this for a long time. I've had cases where I know the supervisor in a particular court or courthouse is going to be unreasonable, so I'm not bringing that case to that supervisor because that supervisor will be absurd with my client, and my client will not get the right result.
They need a certain result—whether that be a not guilty verdict, a non-prison case, or a probation case—whatever we determine, myself and my client, by our strategy and by our talking about the right result in the case—that's what I'm going to try to get. Knowing which prosecutors can interfere with that result is key when it comes to the defense of criminal cases in Los Angeles.
So, prosecutors can affect what happens to a criminal defendant. They can change the charges, the sentence, and how a person is treated in a criminal case.
So, for me, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that if it's a case that we're going to negotiate, we're going to negotiate and talk to a prosecutor who is going to be fair – who is going to at least keep an open mind about the case and my client.
If I can't get that, I will try to switch it to another prosecutor, or I will go to the judge and say, " we need you to intervene in this case. We cannot come to a resolution. We think what the prosecutor is offering is unfair.
You've got to be ready, willing, and able to stand up to the prosecutors in these criminal cases; otherwise, a lot of times, they're just going to bowl over your client, and you're not going to get the result that's fair in your criminal case in Los Angeles.
