Do I Get a Court-Appointed Attorney?

Am I entitled to a free attorney? That question can only be answered if a number of factors are met when an individual is charged with a crime. When individuals are charged with misdemeanor crimes they are only entitled to an attorney if they are facing jail time and meet the court's financial requirements to qualify for an attorney. While each crime technically could result in jail time, it is only when the prosecutors office is seeking a jail sentence that a court will recognize that an individual is facing jail time and consider the appointment of an attorney. Additionally, an individual seeking appointment of an attorney must qualify financially. The financial requirements vary depending on the individual court. There is no bright line rule or requirement that a court is required to follow. Moreover, a court may require that you pay a fee that helps the court cover the cost of a court-appointed attorney.

When individuals are charged with felony offenses, they are entitled to counsel to represent them. Again, those individuals are required to meet strict financial qualifications in order to be entitled to the assistance of an attorney free of charge. In Maricopa County the office of the public defender, legal defender, and the Office of Public Defense Services handle indigent representation. While these attorneys are certainly qualified and competent attorneys, their caseloads are substantial. If you are facing criminal charges and you would like a little more one-on-one attention, hiring a private attorney might be the best way for you to receive that personal attention. Private attorneys generally can limit their practice so that their caseload is not overwhelming so that they can focus and give attention to the individuals who need it. If you have been charged with a crime state of Arizona and would like a free case evaluation please contact my office at www.arizonaattorneykg.com or by calling at 480-305-5755.

I've been convicted - now what?

When and individual is convicted of a crime they have two major avenues in which they can go about trying to overturn that conviction. Individuals convicted at a trial I have appellate rights to be able to appeal certain aspects of the trial including: the admission of certain evidence; the judge's ruling to allow certain testimony; and other ruling at the trial. When an individual accepts a plea agreement the only relief that they have falls under Rule 32 of the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure. Ineffective assistance of counsel, and writs of habeas corpus are both treated under rule 32 postconviction relief.

When an individual decides to appeal a conviction that appeal is heard by a higher level court than the one that heard the case.  For example an individual who was convicted in either a justice court or a city municipal court would appeal that conviction to the county Superior Court. An individual convicted in Superior Court would appeal any conviction to the Arizona Appellate court and from that court to the Arizona Supreme Court.  The only appellate relief after the Arizona Supreme Court is at the United States Supreme Court, which takes very few cases. Individuals who wish to appeal criminal convictions must file a notice of appeal with the court in which they were convicted within 20 days after the entry of judgment and sentence.

The petition for post conviction relief filed under rule 32 is considered to be part of the original claim for the original case. In that sense it means that the original court where the conviction occurred will hear the postconviction relief motion. In filing for post conviction relief there eight grounds in which postconviction relief may be granted. The first is that the conviction of the sentence was in violation of federal or state constitution. The second is that the court has no jurisdiction to render judgment while the third is that the sentence is a legal. The fourth is that the defendant is being held in custody after the sentence imposed has expired and the fifth includes newly discovered evidence. The sixth ground is if an individual missed their time to file a Notice of Appeal which was not their fault.  The seventh includes if there is a significant change in the law that would've applied to the individuals case which in turn would've probably overturned any conviction. The final ground for relief is if the defendant demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence that the claim was such that no reasonable fact finder could have found the individual guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  There are multiple ways to challenge a case after conviction.  If you been convicted of a crime and are looking to follow post conviction relief or an appeal please contact my office at www.ArizonaattorneyKG.com or by giving me a phone call for free case evaluation at 480-305-5755.

What's going to happen to me?

If I'm convicted of a crime what is my punishment going to be? That is a question that I commonly get asked by individuals who are seeking my services. The type of punishment that somebody could receive depends on a number of factors. Those factors include:  whether you been convicted of previous criminal offenses; how long ago those previous convictions were; and the current charges that you are facing. Arizona has two different levels of criminal offenses-felonies and misdemeanors. Felonies range levels of seriousness from class one to a class six, with a class one felony being the most serious.  Misdemeanors, on the other hand, range levels of seriousness from a class one to a class three with a class one being the most eserious. Individuals convicted of felonies who are first-time offenders are considered probation eligible for sentencing purposes. What this means is that no matter the class of the felony, with some exceptions, the court could print individual probation instead of sending them to present. An individual who was convicted of a felony offense with prior felony convictions, is required by law to serve a term in Department of Corrections. The court is required to send that person to prison, even if the court doesn't feel that the case warrants prision.

The maximum penalty that an individual can face with a class one misdemeanor is six months in jail, a $2500 fine plus surcharge, and up to three years of supervised probation or five years of probation if the case is a DUI. Class two misdemeanors carry a maximum penalty of four months in jail, a $750 fine plus surcharge and up to two years of probation. A class three misdemeanor carries a
maximum penalty of 30 days in jail, a $500 fine plus surcharges, and up to one year of probation. Some criminal offenses mandate certain punishment that could be different than those penalties discussed previously. For example an individual convicted of a DUI is required to serve at least one day in jail and could be facing prison time. Other crimes such as dangerous crimes against children could result in a penalty of life imprisonment, even if the person is a first time offendeer. In short individuals convicted of criminal offenses can face a variety of potential penalties. Each case has its own unique set of circumstances and its own factors that contribute to the sentence an individual may receive if they are convicted. If you are facing criminal offense and are worried about potential penalties that you may face please do not hesitate contact my office at 480-305-5755 or at www.ArizonaattorneyKG.com.

DUI Law Changes Part 2

In the second installment of modifications under Senate Bill 1200, we will be looking at how the new law affects jail terms for regular, extreme, super extreme DUI as well as other changes for regular and extreme DUI.

With the new modifications in the law an individual who is convicted of a first offense non-extreme DUI is only required to serve one day in jail. This is a modification from the previous law which stated that an individual had to serve 24 consecutive hours in jail. This means that judge can give an individual credit for any time and they were placed in holding cell, any time that they were with the officer during the booking process, or any time they spent in one of the DUI vans.

An additional modification that Senate Bill 1200 allows is that an individual is not entitled to a jury trial for a first offense not extreme DUI.   This means that an individual facing a trial will leave his or her faith up to a judge’s ruling to determine their innocence or guilt. This is a deviation from before, when all DUI offenses were jury trial eligible.

In addition to modifying the 24 hour rule as well as the jury trial rule, Senate Bill 1200 allows for an individual convicted of extreme DUI to have all but nine days of his or her sentence suspended if that person installs a certified ignition interlock device for one year. If an individual is convicted of a super extreme DUI, all but 14 days of that sentence can be suspended if the person installs a certified ignition interlock device. A person who was convicted of a second offense DUI or an extreme DUI is also eligible for installation of the certified ignition interlock device after a 45 day driver’s license revocation.

From a practical standpoint Senate Bill 1200 reduces the total amount of time that an individual is required to spend in the county jail. From a financial perspective this is great news for those individuals convicted of a DUI.  If you find yourself charged with DUI, feel free to contact our law firm at www.arizonaattorneykg.com or 480-305-5755 for a free case evaluation.

Changes in Arizona DUI Law

In late 2011 Arizona Legislature amended the DUI and interlock laws through Senate Bill 1200. Over the course of the next few blog post will be providing information on the updates that were contained in Senate Bill 1200 and how that can affect your future DUI case.

The first thing we want to talk about is the home detention program and how that's affected by Senate Bill 1200. Senate Bill 1200 authorizes a City Council, county sheriff, and the County Board of Supervisors to establish a continuous alcohol monitoring program, similar to home detention program for persons convicted of DUI.  A person must pay all the fees associated with this program plus $30 while they are on the program.  What this means in practical sense is that some justice court who previously didn't have home detention now have the authorization to establish such a program.

Another benefit of Senate Bill 1200 is that it is that it modified current home detention programs. Now an individual is only required to serve 20% of their total sentence in actual jail prior to being allowed to participate in the home detention program. For example, an individual convicted of extreme DUI is required to serve a minimum of 30 days in jail.  Under the new home detention program an individual is only to serve 6 of those days in jail before being eligible to be released to the home detention monitoring program. What this means from a practical sense is less time visiting Sheriff Arpaio and less fees (i.e. jail costs) associated with your DUI.

Lastly Senate Bill 1200 repeals any prohibition for a home detention program for individuals convicted of aggravated DUI. What this means is that those individuals who normally would be required to serve a four month prison sentence, could potentially be eligible for home detention.

In short Senate Bill 1200s modification of the home detention program allows for individuals convicted of DUI more leniency and helps those individuals keep their jobs, pay smaller fees, and ultimately ease the substantial burden of a DUI.  If you have been charged with DUI, contact our law firm for a free consultation at www.arizonaattorneykg.com or 480-305-5755.

GRAB AND RUN, IT'S HOW IT'S USUALLY DONE

It is called “take-out” for a reason.

A woman in Chicago reported her wallet had been stolen from her car. When officers got there, she told them she had seen a green car leaving the area. She had also found out that her card had just been used at a McDonalds only 50 yards from the gas station where the wallet was taken.

When the police got to McDonald’s they found a green van and the women and her children having lunch inside of it. They matched the receipt to the stolen card and also found another receipt for gas charged to the same card.

The woman was charged with felony identity theft, misuse of a credit card and illegally conducting criminal activities.

Next time, maybe she’ll consider taking her lunch home before sitting down to eat.

If you find yourself charged with similar or other crimes, please visit our website and call us at 480-305-5755 or toll free at 888-380-4507. We can work with you to resolve your case and send you back on your way.

GIVE ME YOUR LUNCH MONEY!

In today’s economy, even school districts are facing strict budget cuts. On top of that the new federal nutrition standards mean that it will cost more per lunch to meet those requirements. How do schools close the deficit?

One school district in Ohio has hired a collection agency to recover an estimated $900,000 in unpaid lunch money. The district says it loses more than $2,600 every school day.

This issue is not unique to this school district; schools nationwide are seeing more and more students without lunch money. They want to make sure the students are fed but at the same time they cannot afford to allow unpaid meal charges to remain outstanding.

So some families in Ohio will start to receive calls from a collection agency in April attempting to collect on this debt.

Remember, it is not illegal to be poor or to not be able to pay your bills. Some things like check forgery or writing bad checks are illegal acts and you can be charged with a crime for those acts. If you are in this situation, please visit our website or contact us at 480-305-5755 or toll free at 888-380-4507. We can help you get through your case with a fair outcome.