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Can I appeal or get out of a deferred prosecution agreement I did not fully understand what it was.
Anonymous8 views5 answers
My attorney, the prosecutor and judge tricked me into accepting a plea bargin of a deferred prosecution on a misdemeanor domestic assault charge that the State had no chance of winning at trail. They told me if I completed a class the charges would be dismissed. My attorney did not fully explain to me what a deferred prosecution was and how it can ultimately effect my record in the end regardless if the case gets dismissed after completing a class. Nobody explained to me that a deferred prosecution would be an admission of guilt and that it will show up on databases all over the place. A deferred prosecution is a honey trap and the same as a guilty plea in my opinion and I didn't know this until I did the research. How could my attorney have advised me to do this? I am so upset.
The way you're describing the DP almost makes me think you might have it confused with either an SIS or even an SES. Deferred prosecutions are nothing like a guilty plea, and while your record might show an arrest, it would never show a guilty plea or conviction unless it was determined that you violated the DP and the charges were re-filed and successfully prosecuted.
Short of no-strings-attached dismissal and in some cases acquittal, DP is the best result you can get. I say "in some cases," because it may even be better than winning at trial in the sense that you don't end up paying a small fortune to a lawyer to try the case, along with other factors like having to appear at court potentially multiple more times. Now granted, if the terms of the DP are harsh, I can see why you wouldn't like the situation.
IF AND ONLY IF you actually do have a DP, your potential consequences of violating the terms are limited to the case being reinstated by a more pissed-off version of the prosecutor. You still retain your right to trial and right to an attorney and all other rights you had before entering into the DP. It's just that the prosecutor would potentially be less willing to work out a favorable plea deal with you the second time around. If you are correct that you would win at trial and/or have the case dismissed before trial, then you may indeed be well-served by retaining an attorney of your choice and letting the prosecutor know that you do not intend to complete the terms of the DP. But I wouldn't do that without getting competent legal advice from an attorney that has had a chance to review the matter thoroughly.
If it so happens that what you actually have is an SIS or an SES...well...in that case you have more immediately at stake because you have indeed pled guilty, and violating the agreement would only tend to lead to a conviction (in the case of an SIS) that you wouldn't otherwise have, along with additional sentencing. If it is an SIS or SES and you are sufficiently unhappy with your decision, it is possible to get your plea of guilty withdrawn under some circumstances, but again I would strongly advise against it until you've had a thorough consultation with a competent attorney who has had a chance to review your case.
Anthony Joseph MuhlenkampCriminal Defense AttorneySaint Louis, MO ·
Generally speaking, the terms, your rights and responsibilities are all contained within the four corners of the actual document. You need to review that document to see if you have the ability to get out of it. However, please bear in mind that if you do, the whole thing will generally just start over and you are looking at the same charge. I know nothing about your case. However, before you try to get out of it you will want to review your chances of winning the case. The last thing you want to do is get out of the agreement (which usually ends up with a dismissal if you do what you agree to do, which is a goo thing) then go to trial and lose, then have to deal with an actual conviction on your record or possible jail time, which you do not have to worry about now. I can't speak for what your lawyer told you. He should have reviewed the document with you and explained all of the potential consequences to you. Good luck.
I guess it depends on which databases you are talking about. If you are talking about case.net, then yes, the guilty plea will appear there but only while the case has yet to be dismissed. Once the terms of your deferred prosecution agreement are met, and the case is dismissed, it will no longer appear on case net.
If your case is truly unwinnable at trial, then deferred prosecution isn't a bad outcome.
I'm sorry to hear that. A deferred prosecution is a contract, I suppose you could sue for fraudulent inducement to get out of the contract. If you won you would have to start over with the criminal case.
