Other Possible Charges Instead of Attempted Murder In Los Angeles
A lot of people who are charged with attempted murder may be good for a particular crime – maybe even the attempted murder charge, but obviously, they don't want to take the conviction for attempted murder because it typically carries a fifteen to life if there's premeditation and deliberation involved.
If there is no premeditation and deliberation, and it's just kind of a spontaneous act, and there's no life attached to the back of it, it still comes with a heavy price, and you're typically looking at multiple years in state prison.
Obviously, you should let your criminal defense attorney help you with trying to come up with a different charge because they know the best defenses to your case. If they know what they're doing, they can suggest what could be substituted for the attempted murder charge. It just depends on the facts and circumstances surrounding your case.
Assault with a Deadly Weapon Charge
Some examples that I can think of and be able to give to some of my clients would be assault with a deadly weapon. So, if you assaulted somebody with a deadly weapon and they charge you with attempted murder.
Let's say you tried to run somebody over with your car – that would certainly be attempted murder if they could prove that you were trying to run the person over and kill them, but it would also be assault with a deadly weapon, which is a less serious charge.
You would face less time, and you wouldn't be looking at a potential life sentence on the back of it. So, that's one example of how you could change the charge.
Another example would be a non-premeditation/deliberation attempted murder. This charge means you planned it out. You decided to try to kill somebody. You did the acts, and you did the steps towards killing the person, but you were unsuccessful in killing the person, and therefore, you're charged with attempted murder.
But, sometimes people just become angry in a sudden quarrel or see something, or somebody does something to them, and they decide very quickly to kill the person.
That could just be a run-of-the-mill attempted murder without premeditation and deliberation. Then, you would be looking at significantly less time than the fifteen to life that usually comes along with a premeditated attempted murder charge. That's another example of a charge that keeps you out of that fifteen-to-life range as it relates to attempted murder in Los Angeles.
Self-Defense Argument in Attempted Murder Charges
Another alternate scenario is that you come up with a defense. Maybe you were defending yourself. If someone tries to shoot you and you shoot back, that would certainly be an example of you using deadly force to protect yourself against deadly force.
Sometimes, somebody does something to another person, and that person responds with deadly force and goes too far with what they're doing. In other words, it's almost what he calls criminal defense, an imperfect self-defense argument.
That's another way to try to reduce the attempted murder charge to something less, like an attempted voluntary manslaughter.
Again, you can't operate in the abstract when making these decisions. I can keep going with examples of other charges that could substitute for an attempted murder charge in Los Angeles. Still, what the prosecutors and judge will look at if you're trying to negotiate for something like that is very fact-specific.
In other words, the prosecutors are usually unwilling to make up any old charge that has nothing to do with our facts. But, if they can come up with a charge that fits the fact pattern in your case, sometimes they're willing to get rid of the attempted murder charge.
Coming up with these charges and angling the case around so you can get something other than this horrible attempted murder/fifteen-to-life result is up to your criminal defense attorney. That's something that is done between you and your attorney.
You guys talk about it, think about it, and make the right decisions as it relates to your case so that you can get the result that you must have and not end up with that attempted murder conviction because that's a scary thing.
You could go to trial if you're innocent – absolutely. But, if there is a chance you're going to get convicted of an attempted murder charge and you're looking at fifteen to life, it doesn't seem smart to go to trial. Instead, you may want to consider letting your attorney try to negotiate a favorable plea agreement for you.
Los Angeles Attempted Murder Attorney
Again, this is something you and your attorney discuss. You decide whether it makes sense, given the circumstances of your case, to take some sort of responsibility for what happened between you and the alleged victim(s), and then the question is, what type of responsibility?
What type of charge? What kind of punishment should you be facing? So, the prosecutors know they have a lot of power when it comes to an attempted murder charge, and that's why a lot of times they either try to get you to take a high sentence or they simply won't negotiate at all because they feel like they have you.
So, you've got to get with your criminal defense attorney. I have been dealing with these types of cases for the last twenty-five years. I can get you in.
We decide what makes sense and then execute the strategy that will quickly get you out of the criminal justice system so you can move on with your life, avoid jail time and prison time, have your reputation preserved, and end up with the right result.
