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Recent Blog Posts in August 2009 |
| August 31, 2009 |
| I didn't finish the conditions of my probation in time...what will happen now? |
| Posted By Lloyd Golburgh |
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I have been convicted of DUI 1st offense. A VOP (violation of probation) was filed due to my
not completing the terms of my sentence prior to the end of my
probation. My PD (public defender) has gotten 2 continuances during which time i have
been able to pay all fines, court costs, bought out my CS (community service), and i have
completed DUI school. At my DUI school evaluation they referred me for
alcohol and drug counseling. I have now completed all terms of my
probation with the exception of the counseling. I have a hearing in 2
weeks. The prosecution has requested there be no more continuances. I
have now completed DUI school and received my certificate. Is the
counseling sessions also part of my sentence that must be completed
prior to my next hearing, or is it just an administrative issue with
the DMV at this point?
FloridaDUIPRO.com answered: you should be in the clear. the fact that you will have completed
everything by the time you see the judge should obviate any further
punishment. the counseling portion is usually a dmv issue. they require
you complete it in order to maintain your hardship license. i would be
surprised if the judge punished you further.
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| August 29, 2009 |
| How much should I expect to pay a lawyer for a Reckless Driving charge? |
| Posted By Lloyd Golburgh |
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"FloridaDUIPRO.com" answered: This is a tuffy. It depends on the driving and criminal history of the
driver, the amount of work involved, whether or not the case will
proceed to trial, etc. Typically, one should expect to pay anywhere
from $1,500.00 on the very low end to about $4,500.00 on the high end.
A good rule of them (though not always true, of course) is YOU GET WHAT
YOU PAY FOR!
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| August 29, 2009 |
| If you are arrested as a juvenile...? |
| Posted By Lloyd Golburgh |
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"Arrested as a Juvenile" asked: if you are arrested as a small child for tresspassing and had to attend
a arbitration hearing then complete a jail tour, is that the same as a
conviction?
"FloridaDUIPRO.com" answered: probably not. check with the juvenile clerk's office on the 4th floor
of the courthouse downtown fort lauderdale. they'll tell you whether or
not the child was convicted. only the child (who may now be an adult)
can have access to that file, though, so don't send a parent or
relative.
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| August 29, 2009 |
| Can a witness who fails to appear be arrested? |
| Posted By Lloyd Golburgh |
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"Scared Witness" asked: My daughter was subpoened to testify against someone in an assault
case. She was not present at the time of the assault but received a
phone call from one of the attackers who told her what they had done.
She has been threatened and is terrified to testify. If she does not
show up for court, would she be arrested or fined?
"FloridaDUIPRO.com" answered: there are two answers to this question: the legal answer and the
practical one. the legal answer is, "yes." your daughter can be dragged
into court and be subjected to criminal contempt for failing to comply
with a subpoena. the practical answer is, "no." usually, witnesses and
victims don't get harassed by the state attorney's office, especially
when they are legitimately afraid.
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| August 28, 2009 |
| Is this Breaking and Entering? |
| Posted By Lloyd Golburgh |
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"Is this breaking and entering" asked: My girlfriend at the time invited me to stay with her at her home (IN A
GATED COMMUNITY) so I did. Some days later I went out and returned home
(in her home). The door was locked so I went in through the window.
When I saw her bringing another man home, I left. I took my belongings
with me. She called the law and they met me at the front gate. They
searched me and found my items and a small amount of a controlled
substance. They arrested me for B&E, Theft, and a controlled
substance. If I now live there, how can I have B&E my own home, and
if the charges can be dropped because of a fl. statute that defines "my
home," should the controlled substance charge be dropped as well
because of an unwarranted search?
FloridaDUIPRO.com answered: as far as the B&E charge, so long as you can establish that she
never told you that you were no longer welcome, you should beat that
charge. if the belongings were yours, you should beat that charge. and,
as far as the controlled substance charge is concerned, officers can
only search you prior to arrest if they have reasonable cause to
believe you are armed. if they didn't have that reasonable cause that
you were armed and you were searched before you were arrested, the drug
charge can be beat; however, if the officers have probable cause to
arrest you and do so, they can search you 'incident to arrest' and the
drug charge will stick.
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| August 28, 2009 |
| Does driving without a license without knowledge (civil infraction) violate DUI probabtion in Florida? |
| Posted By Lloyd Golburgh |
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"On probation" asks: I'm on a DUI probation in Florida, and received a Driving
Without a License Without Knowledge, which the officer told me is a
civil infraction, not a criminal infraction. Does this violate my
probation?
FloridaDUIPRO.com answers: i'll answer your question directly, but it actually leaves me with some
questions which i'll pose afterwards. a civil infraction would not be
grounds to violate your probation; however, you will need to tell your
probation officer that you've had contact with law enforcement if he or
she asks. my question is as follows: if you are on probation for dui, i
have to assume you under some kind of license suspension. if that's
true, i'm not sure how you could be charged with driving without a
license without knowledge. on the other hand, if your suspension was
shorter than the term of your probation, than it is conceivable that
your license was reinstated and you simply didn't have it with you when
you were pulled over. i would need more specific detail to be able to
answer with more accuracy.
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| August 27, 2009 |
| Dodger's Belisario enters Not-Guilty Plea to DUI |
| Posted By Lloyd Golburgh |
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By Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com
08/27/09 2:21 PM ET
Dodgers reliever Ronald Belisario pleaded not guilty Thursday to
misdemeanor drunken driving charges in Pasadena, Calif., according to
The Associated Press.
Belisario was with the Dodgers in Denver as they got set to
take on the Rockies on Thursday afternoon. His attorney entered the
plea at his arraignment and a pretrial hearing was scheduled for
October.
Belisario was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol early on June 27, as California Highway Patrol
officers initially pulled him over because they said they saw him
talking on his cell phone while driving. He was then released on $5,000
bail.
A native of Venezuela, Belisario sports a 2.30 ERA in 51 games
during his rookie season. The 26-year-old right-hander was signed as an
amateur free agent by the Marlins in 1999 and spent six seasons in the
Minors before making his Major League debut earlier this year.
Alden Gonzalez is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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| August 24, 2009 |
| Will the hospital check my blood for alcohol content? |
| Posted By Lloyd Golburgh |
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"will the hospital check my blood for alcohol" wrote, "last night, i mad a poor choice when i decided to drive drunk. i ended
up fliping my car and got taken to the hospital. a police officer came
and gave me a ticket for careless driving but no ticket for dui. while
at the hospital they took 4 tubes of blood. is it posible for me to get
a dui?"
floridaduipro aswered: "yes." the hospital will likely test your blood
for it's alcohol content. the state attorney can issue a subpoena for
those results so long as you are notified of their intent to do so.
also, depending upon the circumstances, the officer may have ordered a
blood draw. in that case, the nurse would have drawn your blood and
handed over the test tubes to the officer, who would then submit them
to the medical examiner's office for analysis. the circumstances
surrounding the legality of the blood draw need to be explored by an
attorney experienced in dealing with 'blood draw' cases. the fact that
you weren't arrested leads me to believe that, either they could not
establish impairment, or, you were going to be staying at the hospital
and couldn't be released. typically, law enforcement will await the
results of the blood-analysis and, if you were over the legal limit,
issue a 'summons for you to appear' for an arraignment. i am a broward county dui lawyer and would be happy to meet with you to discuss all
this in person for free.
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| August 23, 2009 |
| Pre-October 08 Breath Tests in Jeopardy |
| Posted By Lloyd Golburgh |
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FORT
LAUDERDALE - Because a state inspector was fired for interfering with
inspections of breath-test machines, a Broward judge ruled Friday that
results from one of the devices cannot be used in a drunken-driving
case before him.
Defense attorneys said County Judge Lee Jay Seidman's ruling is a
bellwether that will likely be followed in 500 to 1,000 other pending
cases in Broward County. That could mean reduced charges, and possible
acquittals, in many instances.
A spokesman for the Broward State Attorney's Office said the office would appeal Seidman's ruling.
The breath-machine issue came to light with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's firing of Sandra Veiga last October.
Local law enforcement agencies perform their own monthly inspections of
the devices, and the FDLE does annual inspections to certify their
accuracy.
For about two years, Veiga was the FDLE employee in charge of annual
inspections for all Broward County breath-testing machines. She also
tested machines for Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.
She admitted that she turned off power to machines that looked like
they were going to fail inspection. A failure could have indicated a
malfunction.
Veiga's actions, defense attorneys say, cast grave doubt on the
machines' reliability -- and mean any reading they gave indicating a
driver had consumed too much alcohol --- is worthless as evidence.
At a Tuesday hearing before Seidman, defense attorney Carlos Canet led
the charge to throw out breath-alcohol tests performed on drivers in
Broward County during Veiga's tenure with FDLE. He acted on behalf of
his client, Richard Medina, and 32 other attorneys representing more
than 150 clients facing prosecution for drunk driving.
In Seidman's ruling, the judge ruled that the integrity of the machines
under Veiga's care and control had been "fatally compromised" and
"evidence gathered under such troubling circumstances" could not be
presented to a jury.
Ron Ishoy, spokesman for the Broward State Attorney's Office, said the
machines are "extremely accurate," have never been proven to be
otherwise, and that the office would file an appeal.
"The ultimate effect could be that numerous impaired drivers may not be
held accountable for their actions and end up killing or hurting
innocent people," Ishoy said.
He said prosecutors could not approximate how many cases could be
affected, adding that some of the prosecutions could be pursued with
evidence other than breath-testing results, such as testimony from
police and video of field-sobriety tests.
FDLE spokeswoman Heather Smith said the agency takes its responsibility
to conduct and document inspections of the breath-testing machines
"very seriously."
"We are confident that no breath tests used in DUI cases in Broward
County were affected by the actions of Ms. Veiga," Smith said. "All of
the Breathalyzers in Ms. Veiga's coverage area were independently
tested and verified to be functioning correctly."
Mindy Solomon, the chief assistant in charge of county court for the
Broward Public Defender's Office, said her office has 45 clients whose
cases could be dismissed. Seven of those cases are pending before
Seidman.
Seidman's ruling will apply to similar DUI cases pending before him, Solomon said.
"Now every other judge has to rule," she said.
County Judge Kathleen Ireland is expected to be the next judge to weigh in on the controversy Aug. 28.
Tonya Alanez can be reached at tealanez@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4542.
Copyright © 2009, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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| August 20, 2009 |
| New NHSTA study |
| Posted By Lloyd Golburgh |
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| http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/reports/811095.pdf
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| August 18, 2009 |
| Judge Declines To Open Recordings In Miami DUI Case |
| Posted By Lloyd Golburgh |
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KELLI KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer
writes, "Sean Casey admits having several drinks the night of a fatal accident
in 2001. Somewhere around his last rum and Coke, while watching the sun
rise at a Miami beach bar, he says he blacked out. Everything after
that is a blur.
He doesn't remember driving home, only waking up in his apartment. But
someone slammed Casey's black BMW into 71-year-old Mary Montgomery as
she crossed the street, killing her. Authorities found the car
abandoned, its tags leading them to Casey. They charged him with DUI
manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene of a crime.
A few years later, he fled the country before his trial, claiming his
lawyer, a big-time attorney now running for judge, told him to leave
instead of taking the chance he could go to prison.
Casey says he has the recordings to prove it, but Florida is among
several states where it is generally illegal to record someone without
their knowledge.
On Tuesday, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge John Thornton ruled that the
transcripts of those recordings will remain sealed, saying they were
made illegally because they were secretly recorded. The judge also
found no evidence that attorney Milton Hirsch committed a criminal act.
The judge called the tapes contraband. Casey and his lawyers maintain
Florida's statute is flawed and that regardless of how recordings are
made, they should be allowed as evidence because they show a crime has
been committed.
Casey said in a jailhouse interview this week that his former attorney,
Milton Hirsch, told him "that he wished I could disappear, to get out
of harm's way. He said prison is not a place for you. Prison is a place
with big muscle guys."
Casey also claims his legal psychologist, Dr. Michael Rappaport, told
him to leave the country before the trial, telling him "most of the
people who leave the country don't get caught. And there aren't DUI gay
guys from Miami on Interpol's list."
The Boston native said he was terrified. He and his family drained
their accounts for almost $100,000 to hire Hirsch, a big name lawyer
who'd handled prominent national cases including his successful defense
of Pedro Guerrero, a former major league all-star, on drug charges.
"When Milton Hirsch tells you to do something, you do it," said Casey, who speak fluent Spanish.
He talked with his parents and fled to Chile, where he had friends and
got a job with the Chilean Press Foundation. As a Georgetown alumnus
who once worked for the Inter American Press Association, Casey
frequently battled freedom of speech issues in Latin American countries.
He was deported back to the U.S. two years later and pleaded guilty to
the charges in the 2001 crash and was sentenced to about 12 years in
prison. Now Casey says Hirsch pushed him into pleading guilty, avoiding
a trial because the attorney didn't want the recordings to be revealed.
On Tuesday, Judge Thornton said he listened to the Hirsch tapes, saying
they "are not fully accurate, are incomplete and are misleading."
Hirsch, who is running for circuit judge in Miami-Dade County, has repeatedly denied the claims.
"They're utterly specious. This is proof that the sillier and less
substantial a claim is, the more press it will garner," Hirsch said in
a telephone interview.
But the judge did not listen to the recordings of Rappaport's alleged
conversation with Casey. A message left at Rappaport's Miami office
last week was not returned.
Casey, who tried to withdraw his plea in 2007, says it's all a cover up
and that Hirsch knew what he was implying. Casey wants is the
recordings to become public, vacate his plea and have a new trial.
Prosecutor Angelica Zayas accused Casey of using his media connections
to get the recording unsealed and put into evidence. "It's just trying
to come in the back door what Casey can't do at the front door," she
told the judge.
The Reporters' Committee for the Freedom of the Press and the San
Francisco Bay Guardian editor both filed motions to intervene in the
case in opposing the state's motion to seal the transcripts.
Meanwhile, Casey has spent three years in prison as a teacher's aide
helping other inmates get their high school equivalency degrees.
He says one day the truth will come out. He thinks someone slipped
something into his drink at the bar that night and then stole his car.
Casey says he was never a heavy drinker and had never blacked out
before the fatal crash. Blood alcohol tests after he was arrested put
him at twice the legal limit.
Casey's current attorney, Thomas Julin, says he will likely appeal
because Florida's statute "interferes with the search for the truth."
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| August 17, 2009 |
| How do I get my hardship permit? |
| Posted By Lloyd Golburgh |
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'How do I get my hardship permit' wrote: I was pulled over for speeding, and open container was noticed by
officer. I knocked it over, now charged w/ tampering (3rd degree
felony) AND dui 1st offense. I also refused breath test, but probably
failed roadside. I will get a good lawyer, but What should I be doing
now, immediately? And after lots of reading, I am still not clear about
how to obtain the hardship license.
FloridaDUIPRO.com answered: you can save yourself some time by securing your deadline at dmv. you
have ten days within which to apply for a formal review of the driver's
license suspension and get a hardship permit. bring your dui ticket
with you to the bureau of administrative reviews at 3708 w. oakland
park blvd and request those two things: the hardship permit and the
formal review hearing. understand that you may drive, unrestricted, for
the first ten days so long as you have the dui citation on you.
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| August 16, 2009 |
| ..and UNequal justice for all? |
| Posted By Lloyd Golburgh |
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| Cleveland Brown Wide Receiver Donte Stallworth plead guilty in June to
manslaughter while driving under the influence of alcohol and received a 30-day jail sentence. What would you get?
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| August 15, 2009 |
| Irony |
| Posted By Lloyd Golburgh |
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The definition of Irony: I followed an 18-wheeler for
over 100 miles today on the turnpike coming south from Orlando. This
truck was having significant difficulty in maintaining his lane of
travel. It was scary. He nearly lost control multiple times. So, I
called the Florida Highway Patrol to report this driver and to get a
Trooper to respond to follow the truck and decide for themselves if
they should make a traffic stop to check out the driver. TWICE. I also
actually stopped on the side of the road at one point and summoned a
Trooper who was sitting idle in his car off the highway. He had not
received my report about the truck "because it wasn't in his zone."
He took down the description of the truck and said he'd call it in too.
Would you believe that no Trooper ever showed up and the truck kept on
going south on the turnpike? For over 100 miles of distance and one
hour of time.
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| August 07, 2009 |
| What's going to happen? |
| Posted By Lloyd Golburgh |
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Petit Theft Arrestee writes: "Recently, I was arrested for the first time for petit theft. I didn't
mean to take the items, but the way the whole situation seems, it looks
like I stole the items. I'm really scared 'cause, for one, I've never been
in trouble in my life, and two, I just got a scholarship for college and
I don't want this on my record. What should I do? What's going to happen?
FloridaDUIPRO answers: go to your arraignment (for which you will receive a blue notice in the
mail) and ask the state attorney if you're eligible for the pre-trial
diversion program. because you have never been arrested before, you are
likely eligible. you'll have to write a letter of confession, do 25
hours of community service, pay $300.00 to the program, $150.00 to the
state attorney's office, and stay out of trouble while in the program.
after 3 months, your charges will be 'nolle prossed (dropped)' and you
will then be eligible to expunge your record. you don't need a lawyer
for this, but if you feel more comfortable having one, you can call my
office and my assistant Lori will help you.
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| August 07, 2009 |
| Women are drinking more...Getting arrested more. |
| Posted By Lloyd Golburgh |
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Women drinking more, DUI arrests up, experts say
08:40 AM CDT on Friday, August 7, 2009
Lisa A. Flam, The Associated Press
NEW YORK – The case of the
mother who police say was drunk and stoned when she caused a deadly
one-way crash seems to be part of a disturbing trend: Women in the U.S.
are drinking more, and drunken-driving arrests among women are rising
rapidly while falling among men.
And some of those women, as in the New York case, are getting behind the wheel with kids in the back.
Men still drink more than women and are responsible for more
drunken-driving cases. But the gap is narrowing, and among the reasons
cited are that women are feeling greater pressures at work and home,
they are driving more, and they are behaving more recklessly.
"Younger women feel more empowered, more equal to men, and have been
beginning to exhibit the same uninhibited behaviors as men," said Chris
Cochran of the California Office of Traffic Safety.
Another possible reason cited for the rising arrests: Police are less
likely to let women off the hook these days.
Nationwide,
the number of women arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol
or drugs was 28.8 percent higher in 2007 than it was in 1998, while the
number of men arrested was 7.5 percent lower, according to FBI figures
that cover about 56 percent of the country. (Despite the incomplete
sample, Alfred Blumstein, a Carnegie Mellon University criminologist,
said the trend probably holds true for the country as a whole.)
"Women are picking up some of the dangerously bad habits of men," said
Chuck Hurley, CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
In
New York's Westchester County, where Diane Schuler's crash happened,
the number of women arrested for drunken driving is up 2 percent this
year, and officers said they are noticing more women with children in
the back seat.
"We realized for the last two to three
years, the pattern of more female drivers, particularly mothers with
kids in their cars, getting arrested for drunk driving," said Tom
Meier, director of Drug Prevention and Stop DWI for the county.
The increase in arrests comes as women are drinking excessively more than in the past.
One federal study found that the number of women who reported abusing
alcohol (having at least four drinks in a day) rose from 1.5 percent to
2.6 percent over the 10-year period that ended in 2002. For women ages
30 to 44, Schuler's age group, the number more than doubled, from 1.5
percent to 3.3 percent.
The problem has caught the
attention of the federal government. The Transportation Department's
annual crackdown on drunken driving, which begins later this month,
will focus on women.
On Thursday, Daniel Schuler refused
to accept an autopsy report that showed his wife had the equivalent of
10 drinks and smoked marijuana within an hour of the wrong-way highway
crash that killed her and seven other people.
"I never saw her drunk since the day I met her," Daniel Schuler told reporters outside his attorney's office.
But a preliminary autopsy of Diane Schuler ruled out a stroke, heart
attack or aneurysm, Westchester County officials said. The medical
examiner said Thursday that he stood by his report that found her
blood-alcohol level was more than twice the state's legal limit, she
still had undigested alcohol in her stomach, and she had high levels of
the key ingredient in marijuana in her system.
Lisa A. Flam,
The Associated Press
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| August 06, 2009 |
| DUI Manslaughter is becoming Murder. Is this what we want? |
| Posted By Lloyd Golburgh |
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| A 17-year-old Orange County, California kid drives 100 miles an hour
while under the influence of alcohol. The resulting crash killed his
friend. Murder requires there be 'specific intent' to kill. Is it right
to equate those who kill while DUI with those who criminally intend to
kill? Is life in prison what we as a society want for that 17-year-old?
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| August 05, 2009 |
| Is law enforcment blurring the line between good and evil? |
| Posted By Lloyd Golburgh |
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Is law enforcement losing it's moral way? Does it have a moral way? Is it encroaching on the territory of the bad guys? Some officers traffic in controlled substances, others drive drunk and still more sexually assault those they arrest in exchange for leniency. what's happening to our boys and girls in blue?
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| August 05, 2009 |
| Should I write a letter to the judge? |
| Posted By Lloyd Golburgh |
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Question: My son's father was killed by his girlfriend and she is trying to say that he was abusing her to the point of having to kill him. His girlfriend who killed him and i were the only 2 serious relationships he ever had and my sons grandmother (my ex's mother) wants me to write a letter to the judge so that she (the girlfriend) cant get a bond. im not going to lie and what i do have to say about him might incriminate him or even back up her story so what should i do? I dont want to help her because she took my sons father away. So should i just wait til they subpeona me or write the letter. no matter what i do i know i have to tell the truth.
Lloyd H. Golburgh: My answer is based on the premise of real justice, rather than legal justice. If you care about real justice, you'll let the prosecutor and the girlfriend's lawyer know what you know about your ex. If you have information that is consistent with the girlfriend being victimized by your ex, maybe his murder was justified. Maybe not. But the lawyers for the state and for the girlfriend should be informed of what you know. They can fight about whether or not it was justified. Once they have the information, the chips can fall where they may and your conscience should be clear.
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